Reports & Media

As we prepare for another election under the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system, it is worth noting that New Zealand is one of the few nations to have adopted this electoral model. The majority of countries still either opt for First-Past-the-Post or purely proportional systems. Another country that uses MMP is my native Germany. Read more

Elections are the classic zero-sum game. In a zero-sum game, one person’s gains are necessarily another’s losses. Read more

Imagine a typical New Zealand family. Every couple of weeks, the salary arrives in their bank account. Read more

Retirement spending and the size of the public service as two obvious areas for expenditure cuts. Significant savings are available from the reform of retirement income policy. Read more

At the Initiative, we have consistently stood up for the rights of random bureaucrats to stop people making harmless choices in their everyday lives. That’s why we were strong supporters of John Key’s decision to ban pseudoephedrine from pharmacies. Read more

How big is the fiscal deficit problem and how long will it take for our governments to turn it around? Do not be fooled by rosy scenarios of painless correction. Read more

Political campaigns often hinge on promises, and the art of selling a vision for the future is a crucial skill for any politician. But what happens when that vision strays deep into the realm of fantasy? Read more

History does rhyme, and apocalyptic plays can make a sobering point or two. This government is borrowing heavily to fund current spending. Read more

We all know what ‘déjà vu’ is: that eerie sensation that we’ve been here before – that we are reliving a moment — often unpleasant — from the past. Many New Zealanders experienced a sense of déjà vu listening to the government’s recent statements about the economy and fiscal forecasts. Read more

In a recent survey[1], New Zealand voters were asked to nominate the issue of most importance to them in the forthcoming election. Unsurprisingly, hip-pocket matters topped the list, with the cost of living on 28% and the economy on 17%. Read more