If you are an Australian struggling to afford a home, I have good news from across the ditch: New Zealand is building its way out of its housing crisis. And the solutions being pioneered here also offer a roadmap for solving Australia’s housing woes. Read more
The way the government tries to protect us against earthquake risks, and to protect heritage buildings against change, share a common problem. Government agencies have a very difficult time generating the information necessary for making good decisions in both cases. Read more
American supply-side conservatives got one big thing right two decades ago, but they got a bigger thing wrong. And it’s relevant to current debates about our Coalition Government’s proposed tax cuts. Read more
Dr Eric Crampt on talks to Corin Dann on RNZ about the need for state spending to reduce to pre-Covid levels. Listen below. Read more
Oliver Hartwich joins Mike Hosking to discuss the adverse impact of new EU regulations on New Zealand beef exports. Listen here. Read more
It was a picture worth a thousand words. Four or five stooped, scared-looking figures on an aeroplane, black hoods over their heads. Read more
New Zealand is facing enormous challenges. We’re mired in recession. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich talks to Nick Cater's show on ADH TV. Watch here. Read more
1.1 This submission in response to the Draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport is made by The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative), a Wellington-based think tank supported primarily by major New Zealand businesses. In combination, our members employ more than 150,000 people. Read more
New Zealand has finally achieved a free trade agreement with the EU. It was years in the making. Read more
It has been reported that the Minister is considering public-private partnerships to build schools. In fact, though, all school builds are effectively public-private partnerships. Read more
The cancellation of KiwiRail’s $3 billion upgrade of the decrepit fleet of Cook Strait ferries provides an opportunity to finally build what New Zealand really needs: the Cook Strait Bridge. This 27-kilometre monument to Kiwi ingenuity would show the world that we’re serious about infrastructure – and provide a handy escape hatch for those fleeing Wellington. Read more
“All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics and of human affairs.” At least according to Enoch Powell, and Powell certainly knew what he was writing about. Former New Zealand Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern may be a rare exception. Read more
We all have our strange little hobbies. I keep an eye out for mentions of a shonky old estimate on the social cost of alcohol. Read more
How complex is too complex? My new report for the New Zealand Initiative, Cabinet Congestion: The Growth of a Ministerial Maze, poses this question with respect to the executive branch of New Zealand’s Government. Read more