Last week brought some hope that this year’s election would have a stronger policy focus. The OECD released its report on the state of the New Zealand, and the moves necessary to improve outcomes in education, productivity and economic growth. Read more
Some things just sound odd when delivered with an accent. Imagine a French exposition on the virtues of Marlborough sauvignon blanc or an Australian singing the praises of New Zealand’s weather. Read more
We may not often hear about Niue, that small Pacific island state. But within the past week, we heard about it twice. Read more
On Sunday's Q+A programme, the panel discussed the new OECD report and give their take on how you, and the economy are really doing. The Initiative's Executive Director Dr Oliver Hartwich was on the panel with researcher and author, Max Rashbrooke and Kiwibank's Chief Economist Zoe Wallis. Read more
Sometimes the biggest obstacle to reform is neither a lack of money nor a lack of problem awareness. It may simply be a dearth of imagination. Read more
Unless you are closely following New Zealand monetary policy, you might have missed a BusinessDesk story last week. The newspaper revealed an astonishing correspondence between Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler and BNZ’s chief executive Anthony Healy. Read more
Over the past week, TVNZ aired a series of interactive programmes exploring the future of society and work. It is an appealing idea: that in the future, life and work will look dramatically different. Read more
Tenacity is normally a virtue. But when that tenacity is in pursuit of the kind of thing that has gotten you in trouble before, it is just a bit less virtuous. Read more
Wellington (15 June 2017): The OECD’s 2017 report on New Zealand endorses The New Zealand Initiative’s policy recommendations for New Zealand. The report, released today, stresses the importance of improving numeracy in our country’s schools; of reducing net public debt; of opening the country to foreign investment; of encouraging better local council decision-making by letting them share in the proceeds of economic growth; of bringing forward changes and, of better financing infrastructure. Read more
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The accommodation supplement is supposed to make housing more affordable for low income tenants. But whether it can really do that job depends a lot on market conditions. Read more
The past few months have seen a series of tweaks to New Zealand’s immigration settings. While criticised by opposition parties as election year tinkering, the changes have introduced greater flexibility for entry by highly skilled migrants. Read more
You do not need prices in a land of plenty. Prices are a wonderful way of coordinating competing demands on scarce resources. Read more
The 2017 Budget brought a boost to fisheries management intended to enhance New Zealand’s much-touted world-leading Quota Management System. The Minister for Primary Industries announced $30.5 million towards a world-leading Integrated Electronic Monitoring and Reporting System (IEMRS). Read more
You won’t normally find this column defending nanny-state initiatives around healthy eating. Personal responsibility matters, and the simple fact that somebody chooses food you would not choose for yourself hardly means they are irrational, or that force-feeding them things they do not like would make them better off. Read more