REPORTS

This report, "City and regional deals", draws on the Initiative's extensive work on localism and international best practices to explore how partnerships between central and local government can empower communities to tackle their unique challenges and seize opportunities for growth. "For too long, our councils have borne the costs of growth while the benefits flow almost entirely to central government in Wellington," says Dr Oliver Hartwich, Executive Director of the New Zealand Initiative. Read more

The New Zealand Initiative today released a research note highlighting the potential pitfalls of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its implications for New Zealand's foreign policy independence and infrastructure development. In the report, Belt and Road Initiative - Implications for New Zealand, authors Nick Clark and Dr Oliver Hartwich explore the BRI's origins, objectives, and recent developments. Read more

2023 was a great year for the Initiative. Have a look through our annual report to see what we achieved and what others are saying about what we do. Read more

New Zealand’s Executive Branch has grown to an abnormal size. The number of departments, portfolios, and ministers likely causes a suite of coordination, policy drift and resource management problems. New Zealand relies on the Executive for everything from education to roads. Read more

This research note questions how New Zealand has managed to sustain its large and growing current account deficits with the rest of the world without seeing a corresponding deterioration in its net international investment position (NIIP). It highlights that while New Zealand has been spending more overseas than it earns, the country’s liabilities to the rest of the world have not increased nearly as much as one would expect. Read more

On 7 March 2024, the Coalition Government introduced a Fast-Track Approvals Bill. Its purpose is to ‘provide a streamlined decision-making process to facilitate the delivery of infrastructure and development projects with significant regional or national benefits’.1 The Bill is a key aspect of the Government’s programme for Resource Management Act (RMA) Reform.2 It is part of the National and New Zealand First coalition agreement and a key component of the Government’s 100-Day Plan. Read more

This new research note, When the Bloat Began: Non-Academic Staffing at New Zealand Universities over the Long Run, 1961-1997, reveals the year in which non-academic employees started to outnumber academics at our universities. Building on the findings of our earlier research report, Blessing or Bloat? Read more

From 2026, students will have to pass new assessments in reading, writing and numeracy to attain any level of NCEA. However, pilots of the new assessments in 2022 and the first full-scale assessment round for these new standards in 2023 indicate that if they are adopted as a corequisite for NCEA as planned, completion rates for the qualification will fall precipitously. Read more

Classroom streaming – the separation of students into classes based on their prior attainment – is currently a topic of debate in New Zealand. Some commentators have called for the practice to be banned. Read more

Requiring Medsafe approval for pharmaceuticals already approved by at least two trustworthy overseas regulators makes little sense. Foreign pharmaceutical approval agencies are well-resourced. Read more

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