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Even so, New Zealand has its share of proponents of fiscal stimulus in the form of $900 cheques that former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd posted to 75% of working-age Australians in 2009. Australian Treasury Secretary Ken Henry said the stimulus of A$10 billion was all about ‘go hard, go early, go households’. Read more
If New Zealand were anywhere other than right next to Australia, our current rates of economic growth, unemployment and proximity to developing global markets would be the envy of the world. As it is, comparisons with Australia are not always useful. Read more
The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union’s ‘jobs crisis’ summit in Auckland will be over in an hour or so after you receive this edition of Insights. The secretary of the EPMU, Bill Newson, claimed before the summit that the decline of manufacturing reflects 30 years of ‘hands-off’ economic management. Read more
The productivity commissions in New Zealand and Australia recently completed a joint study to mark the thirtieth anniversary of Closer Economic Relations (CER) and examine ways to further strengthen economic ties between the two countries. This was a welcome development, as there is a feeling that CER has stalled over the past couple of decades, particularly in capital flows and mutual recognition of franking and imputationcredits. Read more
The new governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Graeme Wheeler, just signed a slightly revised policy target agreement with a greater focus on financial stability, but for some this is not going far enough. A curious coalition of exporters, newspaper commentators, Labour, the Green Party, and New Zealand First wants the RBNZ to relinquish its traditional focus on inflation. Read more
Australia’s economic prosperity has been luring Kiwis across the ditch for years. After a talk this week at The New Zealand Initiative by The Australian newspaper’s economic correspondent, Adam Creighton, it is beginning to become clear why. Read more
It’s almost fifty years since Donald Horne published his book ‘the Lucky Country’ in 1964. For most Australians the phrase has become a reminder of Australia’s natural beauty, its isolation from wars and the country’s substantial wealth as well. Read more
For the past two weeks, I have been attending conferences in Europe. Following the general meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society in Prague, I spoke at the European Resource Bank in Brussels. Read more
New Zealanders often face calls for an Australian-style compulsory superannuation scheme that would expand Kiwisaver by making it compulsory. This is a multi-faceted issue and is worth reflecting on, particularly the political economy aspect. Read more
I am in Prague attending the general meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society, a network of distinguished liberal academics and intellectuals. One of the best speeches at the conference, however, was delivered by a businessman with no academic affiliation – and contained an implicit warning to countries like New Zealand. Read more