In Franz Kafka’s The Trial the chief cashier of a bank, Josef K, is unexpectedly arrested by two unidentified agents from an unspecified agency for an unspecified crime. At one level, The Trial is a satire of bureaucracy. Read more
The biggest lesson of 20th Century economics is that it is hard to get anything right if prices are wrong. It is high time that lesson were applied to transport. Read more
Could changes in 1989 to New Zealand’s tax treatment of retirement savings plausibly explain a significant portion of the subsequent sharp rise in New Zealand house prices? Andrew Coleman made the case that it could to a LEANZ audience in Wellington this week. Read more
Memo to: FSB Spy Class 2018, Moscow (New Zealand posting) From: Chief Instructor Disguise Subject: Discoverability Comrades, For spies it is best not to be discovered. Discovery is never helpful. Read more
Sam Warburton talks to The Panel about what he thinks of previous road safety campaigns and whether the change in transport policy will really save 160 lives. Read more
This submission on the Commerce (Criminalisation of Cartels) Amendment Bill (the Bill) is made by The New Zealand Initiative, a think tank supported primarily by chief executives of major New Zealand businesses. In combination, our members’ revenues account for one third of New Zealand’s economy and provide employment to more than 150,000 people in New Zealand. Read more
Read The New Zealand Initiative's submission to the Social Services and Community select Committee on the Child Poverty Reduction Bill. Read more
Humpty Dumpty would have fun with the Policy Targets Agreement (PTA) between Finance Minister Grant Robertson and the new governor of the Reserve Bank, Adrian Orr: “When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.” “The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master – that’s all.” The world of monetary economics is not quite as colourful as the characters in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. However, the governor may find himself in the role of Humpty Dumpty when interpreting his political directives. Read more
The government's 10-year transport plan proposes a fuel tax increase of between nine and 12 cents per litre. Aucklanders face fuel tax hikes of about 20 cents a litre if the Government's increases and a regional fuel tax are brought in. Read more
There is an old saying that when you are in a battle with yourself and you win, you still lose. Perhaps the same thing can be said of our housing shortage. Read more
This week, the Reserve Bank finally got a new Governor. Adrian Orr, formerly chief executive of the Super Fund, replaced caretaker-governor Grant Spencer. Read more
If you are as lucky as me and found yourself watching Parliament at 9pm on Tuesday night, you would have seen the debate on the Government’s proposed regional fuel tax legislation. The legislation will allow Auckland initially, and other regions later, to tax petrol and diesel up to 10 cents per litre for transport projects. Read more
New Zealand’s republicans have a point. There is a nefarious foreign influence dictating too much in New Zealand. Read more
The Auckland venue for New Zealand's America's Cup defence was agreed this week and will go to Auckland Council for sign off. Sam Warburton responds in Morning Report to Economic Development Minister David Parker’s claim the America's Cup could generate up to $1 billion in gains for New Zealand. Read more
Few countries run as much on informal relationships as New Zealand. It is both due to our small size and our aversion to hierarchies. Read more