MEDIA

Wellington, 3 December 2020 - Calls to lift the minimum wage will not fix inequality and could end up hurting the most vulnerable – particularly during a recession, according to a new report by the New Zealand Initiative. The report is a response to a joint paper released last week by the Helen Clark Foundation and the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research which suggested lifting the minimum wage (presently set at $18.90) to a “living wage” of $22.10, among other proposals. Read more

Oliver Hartwich wrote an open letter to Mike Hosking in the NZ Herald taking aim at some of the radio host’s recent comments on housing. They discuss their different point of views in Mike’s radio show on Newstalk ZB. Read more

Real Estate Institute figures show median house prices across the country rose by nearly 20 percent - and hit a million dollars in Auckland. David Law explains to Andrew Dickens on Newstalk ZB why other factors are more likely to play a part. Read more

In a recent interview on Newstalk ZB, prime minister Jacinda Ardern said New Zealanders coming home after Covid-19 was a major factor in record levels of home lending. Oliver Hartwich explains to Mike Hosking why it is not correct to draw a straight line from high house prices to net migration. Read more

On Newstalk ZB, Mike Hosking talks about excellence and appraises Oliver Hartwich's latest NZ Herald article "In search of kiwi excellence". The full NZ Herald article can be read here. Read more

Mike Hosking comments on the high cost of the Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme and the government's reaction. He refers to our previous work in this area. Read more

Wellington, 12 November 2020 - The prime minister is wrong to just blame returning Kiwis for rising house prices, according to a research note by the New Zealand Initiative. During an interview with Mike Hosking last week, prime minister Jacinda Ardern said New Zealanders coming home after Covid-19 was a major factor in record levels of home lending. Read more

There is a real chance that Kiwis will miss out on celebrating Christmas at home, because spaces in managed isolation are booking out fast. From now on, everyone traveling back to New Zealand needs a voucher for their two-week quarantine. Read more

In an opinion piece in the NZ Herald, Oliver Hartwich argued that New Zealanders are actually quite unlucky right now. He discusses this column with Jesse Mulligan on Radio NZ and explains why he thinks we are going wrong and why we don't appear to know it. Read more

Oliver Hartwich talks to Tom Swtizer on ABC radio about the NZ election and why voters chose health over wealth.

 

The New Zealand Initiative · Oliver Hartwich on the NZ election and why voters chose health over wealth Read more

Eric Crampton talks to Bryan Crump on Radio NZ Nights about the problem with climate policy and how this can be utilised for an effective Covid recovery.

The New Zealand Initiative · Eric Crampton the problem with climate policy Read more

Our Chief Economist Eric Crampton and Max Rashbrooke joined TVNZ Breakfast to discuss the political parties' economic policies in the lead up to the election. Read more

Wellington, 7 October 2020 – Over the next few years, New Zealand will face an immense challenge to keep Kiwi’s employed, get the economy growing again and rein in debt. According to a report by The New Zealand Initiative, there is also an important opportunity to fix the worst social and economic ills that have plagued this country for decades. Read more

Wellington, 6 October 2020 – New Zealand’s education system is a mess, riddled with unscientific ideas and seduced by child-centred orthodoxy, according to a new report by The New Zealand Initiative. Falling from its height as the envy of the world just twenty years ago, the Ministry of Education has let New Zealand’s education system unravel by turning the focus away from teaching knowledge and on to 21st-century “competencies.” In a comprehensive new report, New Zealand’s Education Delusion: How bad ideas ruined a once world-leading school system, author Briar Lipson traces how the country’s schooling system lost its way and provides solutions for correcting the dangerous path. Read more

Briar Lipson's new book New Zealand’s Education Delusion: How bad ideas ruined a once world-leading school system explains why there is a rot at the core of schooling in New Zealand. The report found that educational standards have plummeted over the past two decades. Read more