A new report from the Education Review Office says attendance in schools is worse here than other countries. New Zealand Institute executive director of the Oliver Hartwich says this shouldn't come as a surprise, with achievment among students also dropping year-on-year. Read more
Victoria University's Associate Professor Martien Lubberink specialises in banking regulation. In Newsroom, Prof Lubberink warns of unintended consequences of setting extra taxes on current bank profits. Read more
Some crises occur suddenly. Natural disasters, wars and pandemics can break out almost overnight. Read more
Rachely Smalley interviews Dr Oliver Hartwich, Executive Director of the NZ Initiative about Adrian Orr's reappointment as Reserve Bank Governor for another five year term.
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Wellington (Wednesday, 9 November 2022) – There are no silver bullets for ending the regulatory mess that makes housing hard to build, but there may be silver buckshot. A Member’s Bill from ACT’s Brooke van Velden proposes sharing half of the GST on new housing with councils where new housing is built. Read more
NZ Initiative Executive Director Oliver Hartwich recently wrote an opinion piece in the New Zealand Herald describing the current education system as a 'disaster'. The piece called for better educational training and more defined career structure for teachers in order to improve our nation's educational rankings in reading and mathematics. Read more
Nowhere in New Zealand is as landlocked as the southern Manitoba farm where I grew up. Reaching the ocean, by road, required at least 24 hours of non-stop driving. Read more
Josie Pagani interviews Oliver Hartwich about the state of the nation in this week's Initiative podcast. To listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. It is often only after time passes that one realises what one should have done differently. Read more
As 2022 draws to a close, it is clear the Government's May 2022 'Immigration reset' is not working. Skills shortages and immigration settings remain at the top of chief executives' list of concerns in the Herald's recent Mood of the Boardroom survey. Read more
In a classic Simpsons episode, the gang went out looking for the Loch Ness Monster. Professor Frink turned on his scanning scope. Read more
Last week, I wrote about why New Zealand’s cities are shrinking – and why that is a cause of concern. Cities have always been engines of prosperity. Read more