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When land is subdivided and new roads are created, every holder of a registered covenant or easement over that land must individually consent before the road can vest as public road. In practice, this can mean obtaining written consent from hundreds of parties and their banks, at significant cost in legal fees and delays that are ultimately passed through to the price of new homes, even though courts have never found that any of these parties has a material interest. Read more

1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 This submission on the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Amendment Bill 2025 (the Bill) is made by The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative), a Wellington-based think tank supported primarily by major New Zealand businesses. Read more

1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 This submission on the Department of Internal Affairs’ draft proposal ‘Simplifying Local Government’ is made by The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative). Read more

The Planning Bill 2025, introduced to Parliament on 9 December 2025, represents the most significant reform of New Zealand’s resource management framework since the Resource Management Act 1991. Among its stated objectives is the enablement of “competitive urban land markets”, which signals a conceptual shift in how the planning system conceives of its relationship to housing supply and affordability. Read more

PART 1 – HIGH-LEVEL VIEWS ON THE OVERALL REFORM PACKAGE 1. Introduction and support for reform intent 1.1 The New Zealand Initiative welcomes the opportunity to submit on the Planning Bill and the Natural Environment Bill. Read more

Why does the government need to continue owning or managing more than 77,000 housing units, given its poor track record in this area, especially when state assistance can be provided without extensive government ownership? And why does it not release more land for housing? Read more

Canadian First Nations are helping tackle Canada’s housing crisis through council-like authority over their own land. Our new report highlights this proven Canadian turnaround success story and draws lessons for New Zealand. Read more

1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 This submission on the draft Standardised Code of Conduct for Local Authorities (“the draft Code”) is made by The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative). Read more

1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 This submission on the Local Government (Systems Improvements) Amendment Bill (the Bill) is made by The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative). Read more

Picture this: a part-time councillor rushes home from their day job, grabs dinner, then sits down to wade through 600 pages of technical reports two days before a crucial council meeting. Sound familiar? Read more