MEDIA

The idea of a currency union with New Zealand is a perennial talking point, and with the kiwi dollar drawing close to parity with the Australian dollar it might seem like there’s never been a better time. However, as Sheryle Bagwell discovers, there’s not much appetite for an Anzac dollar across the Tasman. Read more

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Wellington (23 March 2015): Central government needs to fulfil its long-neglected Resource Management Act obligations if it wants to boost mining activity and free communities from the stifling regulations that are choking off economic development in the rural regions. That is the main finding of From Red Tape to Green Gold, the second report in a two-part series by public policy think tank The New Zealand Initiative, which examines how regulation has prevented almost any form of mineral development in a country that ranks among the richest in the world on measures of resource endowment. Read more

Wellington (20 March 2015): Applying GST on low-value imports could easily backfire and end up doing more harm than good for the economy, The New Zealand Initiative warned today. Head of Research, economist Dr Eric Crampton said applying GST at the border only makes sense if there is a way of doing it that neither deters foreign retailers from shipping to New Zealand, nor imposes substantial hassles on Kiwis importing goods from abroad, nor proves too expensive to collect. Read more

Wellington (13 March 2015): If you have recently been told that economic growth makes us unhappy, that it spoils the environment and that it increases inequality in society, think again. That is the key message of a new report from public policy think tank The New Zealand Initiative. Read more

More than five-thousand submissions have been made on a controversial plan to create a Supercity in the Greater Wellington region. Read more

 

Greece – the hard work starts now. Read more

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Wellington (12 February 2015): The New Zealand Initiative says Chatham Rise Phosphate’s failure to secure a mining consent underscores the flaws in marine resource legislation, which if left unchanged, could permanently stunt economic growth in New Zealand. The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) yesterday announced that would not grant the Wellington-based company a consent to harvest rock phosphate nodules from Chatham Rise, an undersea ridge situated several hundred kilometres off the Canterbury coast. Read more

Wellington (5 February 2015): The New Zealand Initiative welcomed today’s Productivity Commission report highlighting the importance of productivity growth. The report, “Who benefits from productivity growth? Read more

Wellington (2 February 2015): The New Zealand Initiative has welcomed the launch of LGNZ’s latest discussion paper on local government funding as an important step towards improving how councils deliver services to communities. The think tank’s Executive Director, Dr Oliver Hartwich, said New Zealand has one of the most centralised forms of government among developed countries, with 90 cents in every tax dollar spent by officials in Wellington. Read more

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Only solution is for Greece to leave Eurozone, says New Zealand Initiative's Dr Oliver Hartwich. Read more

Wellington (22 January 2015): The New Zealand Initiative has welcomed the overhaul of the Resource Management Act, in particular the focus on housing affordability and the restoration of property rights, but is still concerned about the ambiguity surrounding Section 5. The latest overhaul of the legislation was announced yesterday by the Hon Nick Smith, Minister for the Environment and Minister for Building and Housing, citing economic research that indicated the RMA had cost the country 40,000 homes and added $30 billion in costs. Read more

Eric Crampton talks to Newstalk ZB's Michael Sergel about private vehicle hire app Uber lodging an IPCA complaint over drivers being pulled over by Police.

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