Closing his 2020 Budget speech, Finance Minister Grant Robertson looked back to the First and Fourth Labour governments for lessons on how to tackle New Zealand’s current economic challenges. His first history lesson was that the way forward today lay in the “great traditions of the First Labour Government” (1935–49) that “rebuilt New Zealand after the Great Depression” under Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage. Read more

This submission in response to the Commerce Commission’s (Commission) Market study into the retail grocery sector draft report, is made by The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative), a think tank supported primarily by major New Zealand businesses. In combination, our members employ more than 150,000 people. Read more

The personal grievance provisions of the Employment Relations Act 2000 (ERA) prevent an employer from firing an employee without good cause. Instead, dismissals must be justified. Read more

Read our submission to the Ministry for the Environment on phasing out fossil fuels in process heat. The New Zealand Initiative fully supports New Zealand’s emissions targets. Read more

The Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) uses prices to lower emissions. The scheme launched in New Zealand in 2008 and it is now one of the best-designed schemes in the world. Read more