Building back better was a common catch-cry as the country looked ahead to the post-Covid economy. And why not, you might think. Read more
When politicians talk nonsense about economics, it often goes unnoticed. This is likely both because nonsense is such a routine occurrence in democratic politics, and because many people cannot distinguish economic sense from nonsense. Read more
Managed retreat from floods and rising sea levels seems like a difficult problem. How to decide who might be allowed to live where, and what risks are acceptable? Read more
Sound decision-making underpins sound businesses and sound organisations. Major changes must be well-considered. Read more
Few people attend business functions because of the speeches. No matter the speaker, these events are usually networking opportunities. Read more
Cyclone Gabrielle has battered New Zealand’s infrastructure. Roads, bridges and powerlines across large swathes of the North Island have been decimated. Read more
Parliament’s Environment Committee is currently considering the Government’s woeful replacement Bills for the Resource Management Act. Eric Crampton and I appeared before the Committee last week to speak to the New Zealand Initiative’s submission on the Natural and Build Environment Bill and the Spatial Planning Bill. Read more
Massive worker shortages across numerous industries have led to calls for more immigration, on other side of the debate there are concerns about infrastructure capacity. This to and fro has long made a immigration a political football kicked between the parties. Read more
Italy’s Prime Minister was scathing. Accusing Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy of causing the destruction of his own country, the Prime Minister swore never to meet with him. Read more
Director of Economics for the Infrastructure Commission, Peter Nunns, talks to Eric Crampton, Chief Economist for The New Zealand Initiative, about his research on the cost to deliver infrastructure in New Zealand and the need to improve the efficiency of our infrastructure sector, rather than only focusing on broadening the funding and financing options available to it. For more, please read the Infrastructure Commission’s report, “The lay of the land: Benchmarking New Zealand’s infrastructure delivery costs.” To listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more
Free Speech Union spokesperson Dane Giraud speaks to James Kierstead, who gives his summary of the failed hate speech laws before they discuss the need for generosity towards your ideological opponents, the woke re-editing of Roald Dahl's books, and the general issue with translations and tampering with texts.
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Roger Openshaw is Emeritus Professor of Education at Massey University. We drew on his rich knowledge of NZ educational history as we discussed the changing relationship between central government and NZ schools over the past century or so; the perils and promises of the new history curriculum; and how solid the evidence is for the common assertion that the NZ education system is racist. Read more
Twelve years ago, an earthquake flattened much of Christchurch’s downtown. Civil defence, as well as those nearby and able to help, responded immediately to rescue those trapped. Read more
In this edition of Taxpayer Talk, the focus is on local government with guests Dr Oliver Hartwich and Callum Purves. A review into the future of local government has been commissioned but it fails to address the main issues affecting the sector, in particular the way it’s funded and what its main functions should be. Read more
You may have heard the term ‘microaggression’. It means a very small act of aggression. Read more