Media release: Poverty poorly understood despite the talk

Wellington (25 February 2016): New Zealand’s abundant poverty statistics should not be reduced to a single headline-grabbing number, a new report from The New Zealand Initiative argues. Poorly Understood: The state of poverty in New Zealand shows that poverty is a complex and multi-faceted issue and choosing attention-getting figures too often oversimplifies what is a very real problem. Read more

25 February, 2016

Media release: Government on right track with housing moves

Wellington (27 January 2016): Public policy think tank The New Zealand Initiative commends Prime Minister John Key’s statements on housing in his State of the Nation speech delivered today. Dr Oliver Hartwich, executive director of the Initiative said that Key’s stance on Auckland housing is promising, and looks to relieve some of the pressures of the ongoing housing crisis. Read more

27 January, 2016

Media release: NZ Initiative welcomes big thinking on planning

Wellington (9 December 2015): The New Zealand Initiative has welcomed the Productivity Commission’s newest enquiry into what a fit-for-purpose urban planning system would look like. Executive Director of the Initiative, Dr Oliver Hartwich, noted that the regulations governing planning are highly fragmented and complex in New Zealand, adding years or decades to major infrastructure projects, and delaying any economic upside that these investments may produce. Read more

9 December, 2015

Media release: Incentives key to local government challenges

Wellington (2 December 2015): New Zealand urgently needs to find ways to incentivise local authorities to be more open to economic growth if local government is to meet the looming infrastructure and aging population challenges. This is according to The Local Formula: Myths, Facts & Challenges, the latest report from public policy think tank The New Zealand Initiative, written by Research Fellow Jason Krupp and Senior Fellow Dr Bryce Wilkinson. Read more

2 December, 2015

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