Roger Partridge is chairman and a co-founder of The New Zealand Initiative and is a senior member of its research team. He led law firm Bell Gully as executive chairman from 2007 to 2014, after 16 years as a commercial litigation partner. Roger was executive director of the Legal Research Foundation, a charitable foundation associated with the University of Auckland, from 2001 to 2009, and was a member of the Council of the New Zealand Law Society, the governing body of the legal profession in New Zealand, from 2011 to 2015. He is a chartered member of the Institute of Directors, a member of the University of Auckland Business School advisory board, a member of the editorial board of the New Zealand Law Review and a member of the Mont Pelerin Society.
Latest reports:
Policy Point: Extra quarantine capacity for 'critical workers' is critical (2020)
Research Note: The rule of law or the law of rulers (2020)
Work in Progress: Why Fair Pay Agreements would be bad for labour (2019)
Submission: The Review of the Capital Adequacy Framework for locally incorporated banks: How much capital is enough? (2019)
Submission: Phase 2 of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act Review (2019)
Who Guards the Guards? Regulatory Governance in New Zealand (2018)
Submission: Education Amendment Bill (2018)
Submission: Commerce (Criminalisation of Cartels) Amendment Bill (2018)
Submission: Employment Relations (Allowing Higher Earners to Contract Out of Personal Grievance Provisions) Amendment Bill (2017)
Phone: +64 4 499 0790
Judging by the length of Labour’s manifesto proposals for workplace relations reform, you might think New Zealand’s labour markets were not working well for workers. Read more
On August 8, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the Government would consider loosening New Zealand’s border controls and strict visa regime. Ardern said the Government is “keen to get local businesses more access to essential skilled workers to help grow the economy and create opportunities for resident Kiwis.”The Government is right to be concerned about this issue. Unfortunately, the Government was forced to switch its focus to stamping out the virus and fixing the country’s evidently porous borders.But with firms... Read more
In mid-April, German sewerage experts were allowed through New Zealand’s tightly controlled border with the country still locked down at Alert Level 4. Read more
On Newstalk ZB, Mike Hosking reviews Roger Partridge's latest NZ Herald article "The inconvenient questions over NZ's virus setback" and explains why it is important to read it. Read more
After a Covid-free century of days since the country’s last case, 11 August will be remembered as the day the lustre wore off New Zealand’s triumph over the coronavirus. With Auckland at Alert Level 3, nearly two fifths of the “team of five million” is back in lockdown. Read more
With the number of Auckland’s Covid cases increasing exponentially, there is every chance the Government will extend the city’s Alert Level 3 lockdown for several weeks. Read more
Over the past fortnight the border issue troubling politicians and the media has been whether Kiwis returning from overseas should contribute to the costs of their managed isolation. Read more
Roger Partridge tells Corin Dann on Morning Report that border exemptions for critical workers have become a bit of a lottery. A survey among New Zealand Initiative members showed that large projects are stalling, major plant commissions are being deferred and senior executives and their families are marooned overseas. Read more
Last week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern decided the conduct of her Workplace Relations and Safety Minister showed a “lack of judgment.” Read more
A good project manager knows that unnecessary bells and whistles endanger a project's aims. Gold-plating a specification wastes resources and threatens a venture’s viability. Read more
The proverb “All that glitters is not gold” is a line from William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. Any doubts about the Bard’s wisdom were dispelled this month when New Zealand’s “gold standard” quarantining was shown to be fool’s gold. Read more
On Tuesday afternoon, the Environment Select Committee published its report on Shane Jones’ Forests (Regulation of Log Traders and Forestry Advisers) Bill in Parliament ahead of its second reading. Read more
This week, Trade and Export Minister David Parker was exposed to one of the world’s worst ailments: trade protectionism. Read more
Making the most of our Covid-free status could open the way for New Zealand to host sports events such as the Six Nations rugby tournament.The Government could let in more athletes, film crews, and university students under a well-managed re-opening of our borders.Roger Partridge explains to Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB why there are many opportunities if we put in place proper quarantine systems. Read more
With Alert Level 1 approaching, there are few signs the Government has shifted its thinking towards capitalising on New Zealand’s coronavirus-free status. Read more