Reports & Media

Dr Oliver Hartwich talked to Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB about New Zealand's excessive government structure, drawing on The New Zealand Initiative's report that criticises the country's 82 ministerial portfolios, 28 ministers, and 41 departments as inefficient compared to countries like Norway and Ireland. He recommended reducing the number of ministers to 15-20 rather than the current 30, supporting David Seymour's proposal to slash cabinet and government departments. Read more

On his show Canterbury Mornings on Newstalk ZB, John MacDonald discussed David Seymour's criticism of New Zealand's government bureaucracy and Dr Oliver Hartwich's insights on streamlining the current system of 28 ministers to as few as 15-20. MacDonald agreed with both Seymour's description of the system as "a big, complicated bureaucratic beast" and Dr Hartwich's assessment that many portfolios are unnecessarily split, creating inefficient silos among the country's 82 portfolios and 41 government departments. Read more

Dr Eric Crampton spoke to Heather du Plessis-Allan on Newstalk ZB about New Zealand's structural deficit, citing IMF figures that show it as "about the worst in the OECD" compared to GDP. He identified government spending growth to "well north of 30% of GDP" as the main issue and suggested potential cuts to pension programmes, health spending, and student loan subsidies. Read more

In this episode, Oliver interviews Scott Scoullar, Chief Executive of Summerset, about New Zealand's looming aged care crisis with a projected shortfall of 7,000-8,000 beds by 2030 despite increasing elderly demographics. They discuss how retirement villages provide cost-effective care solutions, the regulatory hurdles of building new facilities, and the urgent need for better dialogue between the aged care sector and government policymakers. Read more

Dr Eric Crampton spoke to RNZ about reforming New Zealand's emissions credit system, arguing that payouts should be tied to international competitors' emissions rather than penalising local companies for reducing their carbon footprint. Listen below. Read more

Dr Michael Johnston spoke to Newstalk ZB supporting the new teaching mandates as "a good move" given New Zealand's longstanding literacy and numeracy challenges. Listen below. Read more

In this episode, Oliver talks to Nick about his submission regarding New Zealand's proposed parliamentary term extension from three to four years. Nick supports the concept of longer terms but criticises the current proposal's complicated conditional approach, arguing instead for a straightforward extension that should also apply to local government. Read more

Wellington (Thursday, 24 April 2025) - The New Zealand Initiative strongly supports the Government's move to give industries more control over apprenticeships and training. "Minister Simmonds' announcement today addresses a key issue in our vocational education system," says Dr Michael Johnston, Senior Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative. Read more