Roger Partridge is chairman and a co-founder of The New Zealand Initiative and is a senior member of its research team. He is a regular commentator in the media on public policy and constitutional law. He led law firm Bell Gully as executive chairman from 2007 to 2014, after 16 years as a commercial litigation partner. He is an honorary fellow of the Legal Research Foundation, a charitable foundation associated with the University of Auckland and was its executive director from 2001 to 2009. He is a member of the editorial board of the New Zealand Law Review 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 former chartered member of the Institute of Directors, a member of the University of Auckland Business School advisory board, and a member of the Mont Pelerin Society.
Phone: +64 4 499 0790
Has the Supreme Court once again stepped outside its lane? A recent ruling about who controls our coastlines suggests our highest court is trying to reshape laws made by Parliament, rather than just apply them. Read more
David Harvey’s thoughtful critique in Law News of my report for The New Zealand Initiative, Who Makes the Law? Reining in the Supreme Court,[i] highlights the importance of addressing judicial overreach.[ii] The retired District Court judge agrees with the report’s conclusions that recent Supreme Court decisions raise legitimate concerns. Read more
Something is seriously wrong with New Zealand’s public wealth. We rank near the top globally for per-capita resources and assets - ahead of most OECD nations. Read more
For over three decades, New Zealand has laboured under an employment law paradox. Laws designed to protect ordinary workers from arbitrary dismissal have constrained firms when dealing with poorly performing senior managers. Read more
My recent report, Who Makes the Law? Reining in the Supreme Court,[i] has sparked widespread debate about judicial overreach by the Supreme Court. Read more
Wellington (Friday, 29 November 2024) - The New Zealand Initiative welcomes today's announcement that New Zealand will follow Australia in excluding high-income earners from personal grievance claims for unjustified dismissal. The change implements recommendations from the Initiative's 2021 research note "Nothing Costs Nothing: Why unjustified dismissal procedures should not apply to the highly paid" (available here). Read more
Should judges stick to applying the law, or should they reshape it to reflect society’s values? This fundamental tension over judicial power was laid bare at a New Zealand Law Society webinar this month about what it takes to become a High Court judge. Read more
Some Australian scandals never get the New Zealand coverage they deserve — which is a shame, as they can tell us much about our neighbours. Qantas’s Chairman’s Lounge debacle is a case in point. Read more
Simon O'Connor talks to Roger Partridge on Family Matters about his latest research report 'Who makes the law? Reining in the Supreme Court'. Read more
The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Nikora v Kruger [2024] NZSC 130 has conjured up a revolutionary new principle of property law. According to our highest court, land can be beneficially owned by the dead. Read more
Imagine trying to take instructions from a deceased client, or entering into a contract with your great-great-grandparents. According to our Supreme Court's latest decision, these absurdities might not be far-fetched. Read more
Rodney Hide talked to Roger Partridge on Reality Check Radio to discuss his report “Who Makes the Law? Reigning in the Supreme Court”, which questions whether the lines between the Court and Parliament are becoming increasingly blurred. Read more
Jordan Peterson’s latest message to his followers is a masterclass in rhetorical sleight of hand. Peterson delivered a keynote address at last week’s ARC conference in Sydney, which was also broadcast on Sky News Australia. Read more
On the latest episode of his podcast Different Matters, Damien Grant talks to Roger Partridge about his latest report on the Supreme Court, in which he warns of a looming constitutional crisis in New Zealand, as the Supreme Court increasingly oversteps its bounds, threatening the balance of power between the courts and Parliament. Listen below. Read more
Sean Plunket talked to Roger Partridge on The Platform about whether the Supreme Court has stepped outside its brief - the subject of Roger's latest research report "Who makes the law? Reining in the Supreme Court". Read more