My research note last week highlighted a massive mystery. Between 31 March 2009 and 30 September 2023, New Zealanders spent $158 billion more overseas than we earned on current account. Read more
Dr. Oliver Hartwich appeared on Newstalk ZB this morning to discuss whether New Zealand is at risk of entering a technical recession. You can listen below: Read more
My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. Read more
WATCH: NZ Initiative senior fellow Nick Clark speaks with Brent Edwards here. Read more
New Zealanders have been spending a lot more overseas than we have been earning overseas, yet our balance does not move in the same direction nearly as much. Oliver talks to Bryce about his latest research note "The mystery of the $52 billion gift: Does New Zealand have a fairy godmother?". Read more
The European Parliament elections in June 2024 will be more than an ordinary political contest. They will be a battle for the soul of Europe in a time of war, economic upheaval and democratic turbulence. Read more
Our esteemed Pontiff, Pope Francis, has once again had a brilliant epiphany. His solution to the Ukraine conflict is so obvious that one wonders why nobody thought of it earlier: Ukrainians just need to raise the white flag, and there will be peace on Earth. Read more
The Coalition Government has introduced the Fast-Track Approvals Bill as part of its broader efforts to reform the Resource Management Act (RMA). The Bill aims to speed up decision-making for infrastructure and development projects with potential for substantial regional and national economic benefits. Read more
New Zealanders and Germans have a lot in common. They share a socially liberal ethos, a liking for beer and the MMP electoral system. Read more
Dr James Kierstead was interviewed by Michael Laws on The Platform about trade between China and the West, which was the subject of his latest piece in the NZ Herald. Listen below. Read more
In this episode, Oliver talks to our new Senior Fellow, Economics and Advocacy, Nick Clark. This week he has released a new policy point called Fast-Track Approvals Bill which they talk about in this episode. Read more
Wellington (Thursday, 14 March 2024) - A new research note by The New Zealand Initiative is questioning 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). The research note, “The Mystery of the $52 Billion Gift: Does New Zealand have a fairy godmother?” 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
In a column that appeared in The Post on 23 February, Victoria University of Wellington Vice-Chancellor Nic Smith criticizes the coalition's commitment to have universities adopt a free speech policy. Smith notes that ACT Party leader david seymour ‘has previously criticised universities for declining to host certain speakers and argued the institutions should lose funding if they don't “protect free speech.”' The vice-chancellor then states that ‘one inference of all this is that anyone who wants to speak on campus should be able to do so.' But it wouldn't actually be valid to infer from Seymour's criticisms of recent deplatformings at New Zealand universities that he thinks that ‘anyone who wants to speak on campus should be able to do so.' You can, of course, think that Vice-Chancellor Jan Thomas was wrong to prevent Don Brash from speaking to a student politics club in August 2018 (for example) and at the same time recognize that random people can't simply turn up at a university without an invitation and expect to get a hearing. Read more
2015 was almost a decade ago. But it seems like a century. 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