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The government has viewed stronger retail grocery competition as a national priority. But zoning, consenting, and overseas investment approval processes make new entry far too difficult. Read more
Wellington (Thursday, 29 May 2025) - The Government's announcement of sweeping reforms to national direction under the Resource Management Act represents an important interim step toward fixing New Zealand's broken planning system. The reforms include proposed amendments to a suite of existing national direction instruments and several new instruments across three key areas: infrastructure and development, primary sector regulation, and freshwater management. Read more
Dr Bryce Wilkinson talked to Sean Plunket on The Platform about the Regulatory Standards Bill, explaining why the legislation is necessary despite seeming redundant. Dr Wilkinson argued that the bill elevates essential regulatory principles to a higher statutory status, ensuring government accountability and protecting individual rights by providing a check against potentially oppressive legislation. Read more
On Tuesday morning, I attended a breakfast in New Zealand’s Parliament. The latest report from NZIER, the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research, to Xero, the online accounting software company, “Going Digital in 2025,” was unveiled. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton talked to Wallace Chapman on RNZ's show The Panel about Treasury's initial decision to ban civil society groups like the New Zealand Initiative from the 2025 budget lockup. Dr Crampton explained how Treasury had reversed their decision following legal threats and media backlash, highlighting the importance of maintaining access for organisations that provide independent analysis of budget announcements. Read more
Prime Minister Luxon has declared 2025 ‘the year of growth’, making economic expansion his government’s top priority. This ambition is laudable, and the government has initiated many important reforms that will help. Read more
Heather Du Plessis-Allan discussed how Finance Minister Nicola Willis excluded several organisations, including The New Zealand Initiative, from the budget lock-up on Newstalk ZB. She expressed disappointment with this decision, noting that the people at the New Zealand Initiative are "incredibly bright" and their scrutiny would benefit the country. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich talked to Ryan Bridge on Newstalk ZB about the government's increased capital spending, describing it as "a relatively minor announcement" and "a drop in the government's ocean."
Dr Hartwich also discussed the potential for asset recycling, suggesting the government could sell state-owned companies in the energy sector and its Air New Zealand stake, and noted that the retention of the R&D tax credit provides certainty for businesses already using the scheme. Listen below Read more
In Greek mythology, Sisyphus is condemned to spend eternity rolling a massive boulder uphill, time after time, for no lasting gain. Every time he gets it uphill, it escapes his grasp and rolls back to the bottom. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton talked to Sean Plunket on The Platform about the proposed social media ban for under-16s in Australia and similar potential legislation in New Zealand. Dr Crampton discussed the practical challenges of implementing such bans, explaining the "trilemma" of any potential implementation system having at least one undesirable property: either being easy for kids to circumvent, burdensome for adult users, or ending internet privacy. Read more