New Zealand's state housing agency, Kāinga Ora, was restructured in 2019 with an ambitious dual mandate to deliver social housing and lead urban development.
By 2024, it faced mounting challenges: spiralling debt, weak governance, and troubling service quality. The government’s 2024 Independent Review found the agency financially unsustainable and underperforming in its core mission.
Dr Bryce Wilkinson, Senior Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative and author of our new research report “Owning Less to Achieve More: Refocusing Kāinga Ora”, argues that the government policy should focus more on assisting those with severe housing needs than on being an owner and landlord.
In our webinar, Dr Wilkinson will be joined by Sir Bill English, former Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, who will share his perspective on the political and practical challenges of restructuring state housing provision and the potential benefits of a more decentralised, community-based approach.
Date: Thursday, 16 October 2025
Time: 2:30 pm
Please register for the webinar via this link. Also, submit your question in advance on Slido.com using code #2835230
Dr Bryce Wilkinson, Senior Fellow, The New Zealand Initiative
Bryce is a Senior Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative and the Director of the Wellington-based economic consultancy firm Capital Economics. Prior to setting up his consultancy in 1997, he was director, and shareholder in First NZ Capital. Before moving into investment banking in 1985, he worked in the New Zealand Treasury, reaching the position of Director. Bryce holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Canterbury and was a Harkness Fellow at Harvard University. He is a Fellow of the Law and Economics Association of New Zealand.
Rt Hon Sir Bill English, Former Prime Minister, The National Party
Sir Bill English was Minister of Finance from 2008 to 2016 and served as the 39th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2016 to 2017. He now runs social technology businesses with his family and provides advisory services to businesses in Australia and New Zealand. He is a director of Wesfarmers and Todd Corporation.
Dr Oliver Hartwich, Executive Director, The New Zealand Initiative
Oliver is the Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative. Before joining the Initiative, he was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney, the Chief Economist at Policy Exchange in London, and an advisor in the UK House of Lords. Oliver holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Business administration and a PhD in Law from Bochum University in Germany.