REPORTS

We are pleased to announce the release of our groundbreaking report, Irish Secrets - An Irish lesson in prosperity. Written by Dr Oliver Hartwich, Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative, and featuring a foreword by Fraser Whineray, head of the delegation to Ireland, this report summarises what New Zealand can learn from Ireland. Read more

In this research note, we analyse the six-year spending spree of the Sixth Labour government in the context of historical precedents. Elected on the back of an ambitious policy agenda, the Ardern government quickly found itself struggling to balance the books. Read more

In this short research note, we have focused on the fiscal performance of the Sixth Labour-led Government. We have pointed out that much of our current predicament comes down to unrealistic plans, lack of commitment to stated intentions, and not enough rigour in fiscal management. Read more

The most important component of any system of school education is its teachers. But, New Zealand’s teacher education programmes do not ensure that new teachers are well prepared for the classroom. Read more

As the nation prepares to vote on 14 October, the sentiment across New Zealand is one of frustration and concern. Skyrocketing living costs, unaffordable housing, strained healthcare, and a growing educational gap are the voices of a country looking for change. Read more

New Zealanders should not be too proud to learn from others. In 2017, The New Zealand Initiative led 36 senior business leaders to visit Switzerland for this purpose. Read more

New Zealand's general medical practitioners (GPs) are facing a crisis, with a workforce shortage set to worsen over the next decade unless immediate action is taken to support workforce expansion and development. The health of all New Zealanders and the delivery of top-tier healthcare heavily relies on community-based medical care, mainly provided by Specialist GPs and multi-disciplinary health care teams. The introduction of an "accountability-free capitation" has seemingly driven a decline in the hours GPs work by creating a financial incentive to minimize patient service costs, and analyses indicate a significant decrease in the GP to population ratio, and a decline in GP work hours. Read more

Pharmac is often criticised for not funding enough new medicines and for being too slow to determine which ones it will fund. However, being slow and focused is not proof of being too slow or too focused. Read more

‘Administrative bloat’ – the idea that universities have too many administrators – is hot topic in debates around higher education in the US and elsewhere. Is there a similar problem in New Zealand universities? Read more

There are no silver bullets in housing and infrastructure policy. Too many separate problems compound, resulting in a severe housing shortage and some of the world’s least affordable housing. Read more

New Zealanders need a competent, productive, merit-based public service. Those attributes matter for effective government and, thereby, community wellbeing. Read more

New Zealand’s universities are in crisis. AUT announced 170 academic redundancies last year. Read more

The primary point of collecting blood plasma is to meet the medical and therapeutic needs of patients. We collect blood and plasma in order to ensure that we can preserve and promote the health of current and future patients. Read more

Good infrastructure is essential for modern life. Just think about your day. Read more

This manifesto draws on the body of research compiled at The New Zealand Initiative over the past decade to bring together a coherent plan to improve our education system, and to restore it to a place of international pre-eminence. New Zealand’s once world-leading school education system is in a state of deep malaise. Read more