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UPCOMING REPORT: No Minister: A free and frank analysis of the public service

Our upcoming report will be released Monday 16 November 2026 Register for the launch webinar Monday 16 November 2026, 2pm Is New Zealand’s public service still politically neutral, and does it give ministers free and frank advice? Our upcoming report asks those questions, and the answers matter for whoever forms the next government. Read more

Dr Benno Blaschke

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Dr Michael Johnston

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Henry Olsen

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Upcoming research report
16 November, 2026

Walking the tightrope

China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) dates its origins to 1 August 1927, when Communist troops rose against Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists in the city of Nanchang. The uprising failed, but the Communists went on to win the civil war on the mainland, a war that never formally ended. Read more

Dr Nathan Peres

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Insights Newsletter
13 November, 2026

Newstalk ZB: Benno Blaschke on who really runs the public service?

Senior Research Fellow Benno Blaschke joined Heather du Plessis-Allan on Newstalk ZB to preview the New Zealand Initiative’s upcoming report, No Minister: A free and frank analysis of the public service. Drawing on a survey of current and former public servants and 40 interviews with officials, Benno said 71% of public servants believe they serve the public rather than the elected government. Read more

Dr Benno Blaschke

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Heather du Plessis-Allan
Newstalk ZB
10 November, 2026

Newstalk ZB: Oliver Hartwich on overhangs: “It should be done in this term”

Dr Oliver Hartwich joined Kerry Woodham on Newstalk ZB to discuss Saturday’s election result, which played out much as he predicted in his August research note Unravelling MMP: How the 2026 election could break the voting system from two sides. With overhangs engineered on both the left and the right, Oliver said the result shows MMP is still poorly understood and too easily gamed. Read more

Dr Oliver Hartwich

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Kerry Woodham
Newstalk ZB
9 November, 2026

Knife-edge Kiwi election shows National forgetting John Key’s lessons

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s centre-right coalition leads on Saturday’s election-night count, though special votes could yet unseat it. In a bruising night for Luxon’s National Party, Finance Minister Nicola Willis is out, along with Justice and Defence Minister Paul Goldsmith; Attorney-General and Housing and Transport Minister Chris Bishop; and Speaker Gerry Brownlee. Read more

Roger Partridge

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Australian Financial Review
8 November, 2026

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