When you think about who could suffer the most from the sweeping reforms proposed by the Climate Change Commission, the ceramics industry is probably not the first on your list. But the threat from the Commission’s plan is real for the artists, clubs, students, collectors, and employers who use LPG and gas-fired kilns to craft their pottery. Read more
The Climate Change Commission’s draft plan for how New Zealand will reduce emissions is nothing if not ambitious. The commission recommends re-shaping cities to walk and cycle more, less coal and more renewables. Read more
The Climate Change Response Act 2000, the Climate Change response (Zero carbon) Amendment Act and the Climate Change Commission’s draft advice have two things in common. First, their purported primary goal is to reduce global net greenhouse gas emissions. Read more
It’s a good thing I don’t vape. If I did, I’d be depressed about the Ministry of Health’s proposed vaping regulations. Read more
Once upon a time, Arthur Miller said, “A good newspaper, I suppose, is a nation talking to itself.” These days, many media outlets are talking only to segments of the population. For the New Zealand media, 2021 has been a year of cancellations. Read more
Read our submission, written by Dr Eric Crampton to The Ministry of Health. This submission is in response to the public consultation document, Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990: Proposals for regulation. Read more
In this week's Initiative podcast, Executive Director Oliver Hartwich and Operations Director Chelsy Killick discuss who will succeed Angela Merkel as the next German Chancellor? He says Merkel won't be running for another term, but that is about the only certainty in this year's election. Read more
As a commentator on European affairs, there is no question I have heard more often in recent months than who will replace Angela Merkel. Two years ago, Germany’s long-serving Chancellor announced she would not be running for a fifth term in the 2021 election. Read more
Research Assistant Leonard Hong joined Bernard Hickey for an interview to discuss his latest report, The Need to Build: Demographic drivers of the housing market. In the report, Leonard Hong modelled 36 scenarios and found that New Zealand's population gets older and larger by 2038. Read more
Amid all of the discussions of the Climate Commission’s draft report on New Zealand’s climate change response, it is too easy to lose track of the target. The goal isn’t to reach specific electric vehicle targets, though we would expect more people to shift away from petrol as petrol costs increase and as electric vehicles become more competitive. Read more
During the pilot episode of M*A*S*H, surgeon ‘Hawkeye’ Pierce wrote a letter home explaining the difference between surgery at a Korean War mobile surgical hospital, and the surgery back home. In normal surgery, you have time to get everything right. Read more
Humans are complicated. We are intelligent species that dominated the world with our knowledge and brilliance. Read more
At the New Zealand Economics Forum 2021, held at the University of Waikato, Matt Burgess participated in a panel discussion on Economic policy and the environment - challenges and opportunities. You can read Matt's full speech below. Read more
In the last twelve months, there have been a growing number of stories about New Zealand’s educational decline. Stories of falling mathematics performance and illiterate teenagers in the media make for grim reading. Read more
Following the release of our latest report, Educational Performance and Funding in New Zealand: Are our children getting the education they deserve? Senior Fellow and co-author of the report Dr David Law delves into the results and explains that a high level of education spending doesn't always equate to a high level of performance in our schools. Read more