New Zealand's health system is judged by how much money goes in rather than what comes out, and it shows. Waiting lists lengthen, general practice cannot recruit fast enough to replace the doctors retiring from it and each reorganisation of the bureaucracy is followed in due course by another.
Part of the trouble is the financial horizon. Health budgets are set a year at a time, which makes prevention, early diagnosis and rehabilitation look like costs rather than investments. ACC, whatever its faults, has to live with the long-run consequences of its own decisions, and it behaves differently as a result.
The Initiative argues for stronger primary care, because it is the cheapest place to treat most illness and the most expensive place to run short of staff. Funding models should reward keeping people well rather than counting appointments. Medicines and clinicians already approved by comparable countries should not wait years for a second opinion here. And the data should be good enough to show whether any of it is working.
A system that cannot measure its results cannot improve them.
Is New Zealand a country in decline or a quiet success story? A new report from The New Zealand Initiative argues it is neither. Read more
The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), which funds injured New Zealanders’ care and recovery, has halted a decade of decline. But a New Zealand Initiative report warns its recovery rests on tighter decisions and exits, not proven rehabilitation. Read more
This is The New Zealand Initiative’s 2026 Prescription for Prosperity. Since 2017, the Initiative has prepared a briefing for the incoming government. 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
1. INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY 1.1 This submission on the Medicines Amendment Bill is made by The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative), a Wellington-based think tank supported primarily by major New Zealand businesses. Read more
In this episode, Michael talks with Oliver Hartwich, Executive Director of the New Zealand Initiative, about two new reports, New Zealand by Comparison and New Zealand by Numbers, which chart how New Zealand measures up against 28 other countries and how it has changed over recent decades. They discuss why a country that attracts migrants from around the world keeps losing so many of its own people, how Australia matches New Zealand on almost everything but the economy, the Eastern European economies closing in, and wellbeing rankings that still sit near the top of the world but are slipping. Read more
Wellington (Wednesday, 22 July 2026) – Two weeks ago, New Zealand by Numbers asked whether New Zealand was improving. A new report from The New Zealand Initiative asks a harder question: is it keeping up? Read more
Wellington (Wednesday, 8 July 2026) – Is New Zealand a country in decline or a quiet success story? A new report from The New Zealand Initiative argues it is neither. Read more
Small countries in a big world can choose to be nimble or they can choose to be stupid. When it comes to medicines, New Zealand has chosen the second path. Read more
The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) exists to mend people. If you are hurt in an accident, the scheme pays for your care and some of your lost wages. Read more