Reports & Media

On the same day the police watchdog's report into the force's handling of last year's protest and three-week occupation of parliament is being released, a think tank's report into the government's Covid-19 response has found it overly political, lacking adaptability and agility, and needing more transparency. The study called Lifting the Lid: A Critical Analysis of the Covid-19 Pandemic Management in New Zealand and it has been published by The New Zealand Initiative, a pro-free-market think tank. Read more

Scathing criticism of the role politics played in our COVID-19 response. A review co-authored by Emeritus Professor Des Gorman and published by The New Zealand Initiative, says while they don't disagree with the overall strategy or the public health measures, the governing left a lot to be desired. Read more

A new report from The New Zealand Initiative is hitting out at the politicisation of our COVID-19 pandemic management. Co-author Emeritus Professor Des Gorman says that while they couldn't disagree with the overall strategy or the public health measures, the way it was governed left a lot to be desired. Read more

Wellington (Thursday, 20 April 2023) – A new report, authored by Emeritus Professor Des Gorman and Dr Murray Horn, reveals that New Zealand's COVID-19 pandemic management was highly politicised and resulted in poor performance during the outbreak. Lifting the Lid: A Critical Analysis of the Covid-19 Pandemic Management in New Zealand offers recommendations on how to improve future responses. Read more

In this podcast episode, the Initiative’s chief economist Eric Crampton is joined by OliverShaw Principal, Robin Oliver, to discuss new independent research which shows that high-wealth individuals pay more tax on average and represent a higher proportion of the total tax take than may previously have been thought. It has been strongly suggested that, in practice, New Zealand’s income tax regime is not as fair as statutory tax rates would suggest. Read more

In this podcast episode, we explore the state of education in New Zealand, both at the school and university levels. Drawing from our own experiences, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the current education system and the challenges that students face in their pursuit of higher education. Read more

In this episode, Dr Oliver Hartwich and Dr James Kierstead discuss administrative bloat in New Zealand universities, focusing on the rise of non-academic staff and its potential consequences. Dr Kierstead shares some figures on the large number of non-academic employees compared to academic staff and compares the situation to other countries. Read more