New Zealand has blazed a trail in many areas – not least in opening up its economy to the rest of the world. In the 1980s reforming Labour governments axed the thicket of protectionist tariffs and subsidies that penalised consumers and cossetted – but ultimately held back – Kiwi farmers. Read more
Back in 1986 the Beastie Boys released what would become one of their most well-known songs. While (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!) captured the imagination of young people, parents, politicians and society at large began hand-wringing about all the partying, drunken antics and teenage rebellion. Read more
Last year, the Treasury received the Deloitte IPANZ Public Sector Excellence Award for its revised blinded graduate recruitment programme. Under the programme, Treasury’s recruiters did not know whether their potential hires held a degree in critical theory or in economics. Read more
It is not clear whether the increased visibility of vocational education and training in New Zealand is due to worsening skill shortages and/or to a change in government, but either way it is a discussion worth having. The focus has been on what’s in it for students, and fairly so, given years of praising university education while belittling vocational education. Read more
For six years, the Initiative has been arguing the case for localism. Pointing out that New Zealand is one of the most centralised countries in the world, we have called for a radical shift of political and fiscal power from the centre to communities. Read more
It’s astounding. Time seems to be repeating. Read more
People have always said, we are creatures of habit. Every day we wake up at the same time, have the same breakfast, go to the same workplace, eat out at the same restaurants and order the same meals. Read more
This week saw the beginning of not one but two separate studies into local government. Speaking at Local Government New Zealand’s annual conference in Christchurch, Finance Minister Grant Robertson announced a Productivity Commission inquiry into local government funding and finance. Read more
This year’s football World Cup held a big surprise: England can win a penalty shootout (oh, and please don't mention the German performance - I know). If you are not into football, you might wonder what is so hard about kicking a ball into the goal from short distance. Read more
You should not compare apples with oranges. But what about schools? Read more
Game shows are nothing new. They’re a dime a dozen. Read more
New Zealanders love to grumble about the state of politics. We hold our politicians in roughly the same regard as real estate agents and used car salespeople. Read more
Auckland’s regional fuel tax has been in place for a week. It was in the Labour party’s election manifesto. Read more
Two high-profile cabinet members of the UK’s governing party have resigned in protest at prime minister Theresa May’s position on Brexit. David Davis, the UK’s Brexit Secretary, and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson stepped away from their roles, saying their government made too many concessions to the EU in the two-year-old Brexit negotiations Theresa May’s government presented a Brexit plan that in a nutshell equates to free trade with the EU in goods, not in services, using technology to determine which products went where and what tariffs they were subject to. Read more
We are lucky that, last year, economist Aaron Schiff provided us with an excellent collective noun for a grouping of economists. Owls, in concert, form a parliament. Read more