Government is present in most aspects of our lives. It taxes and spends more than a third of our economic output. It employs hundreds of thousands of people. It regulates the way New Zealanders can work, travel, do business, and interact with one another.
Our research focuses on how the will of Parliament interacts with society, whether legislation is fit for purpose, and whether certain policy settings can be improved.
The actions of previous political administrations can inspire current and future governments. But if they are based more on myth than reality, the risk creating false impressions that can lead to poor public policy.
1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 The New Zealand Initiative welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Fast-track Approvals Amendment Bill (FTAAB). Read more
New Zealand can learn from Dutch pragmatism, competence and cooperation. Go Dutch: Learnings from The New Zealand Initiative's visit to the Netherlands follows the Initiative’s 2025 study tour of 42 business and civic leaders. Read more
This research note reveals how adding GP clinic data to government databases could transform healthcare outcomes while cutting costs. The research note, “Better health through better data” by Adjunct Fellow Dr Prabani Wood, shows that while government can track hospital visits, prescriptions and even school attendance, it cannot see clearly what happens in GP clinics – where most healthcare occurs. Read more
New Zealand's three-year parliamentary term is too short for effective government and the country needs more MPs to keep politicians accessible to voters. “MMP has delivered fairer and more representative parliaments, but it’s time for an upgrade,” says Nick Clark, Senior Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative and author of our report examining 30 years of MMP in New Zealand. Read more
1. SUMMARY 1.1 The Initiative welcomes and supports this inquiry. Read more
Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that Uber did not merely facilitate connections between four drivers and their various passengers – as Uber has maintained. And that the four drivers were not contractors for Uber either. Read more
Announcements earlier this month make the Emissions Trading Scheme a bit less credible over the longer term. The problem can be fixed – and relatively easily. Read more
Now that we’re getting towards the end of the year, and I’m getting towards the end of my time as a contributor to this newsletter, I’ve been thinking about the news story that most stood out for me this year and that best encapsulates my experience of this country. The obvious answer is the story of Ned the snail. Read more
The Government deserves credit for wanting to make it easier for new supermarkets and other large projects to get off the ground. The Government’s broad approach is sound. Read more
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon this week opened the door to asset recycling. He suggested that the government could sell state-owned enterprises and commercial assets it no longer has any reason to own, to fund new infrastructure. Read more