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Bubbles are beautiful but fragile things. Not letting the new one break matters. Read more
In this week's Initiative podcast, and ahead of the trans Tasman bubble opening up on 19 April 2021, Chief Economist Dr Eric Crampton discusses the safety measures that should already be in place to make this a success and, hopefully, put New Zealand on track to open up bubbles with other low-risk countries.
The New Zealand Initiative · PODCAST: Dr Eric Crampton discusses safety measures around the opening of the Trans Tasman bubble Read more
In this short podcast, Senior Fellow Dr Bryce Wilkinson outlines the Government's review into Pharmac. He says the review will focus on how Pharmac performs against its current objectives (and if there could be any improvements), and whether Pharmac's objectives maximise its potential to help improve health outcomes for all New Zealanders. Read more
It’s a good thing I don’t vape. If I did, I’d be depressed about the Ministry of Health’s proposed vaping regulations. Read more
During the pilot episode of M*A*S*H, surgeon ‘Hawkeye’ Pierce wrote a letter home explaining the difference between surgery at a Korean War mobile surgical hospital, and the surgery back home. In normal surgery, you have time to get everything right. Read more
The Government’s announcement of a review into Pharmac declares that its budget, and the total amount allocated to pharmaceuticals, will be out of scope. This ignores the most serious weakness with current arrangements: that no one really knows whether they are improving health outcomes, let alone the well-being of New Zealanders, according to a substantial report, Pharmac: The right prescription? Read more
The New Zealand Initiative welcomes today’s call from business leaders for greater clarity about the border. The Initiative also urges the government to further strengthen the testing regime at the border. Read more
Daily testing for everyone involved in the border system was always ideal, though it took rather some time for the government to come around to that view. It looks like daily Covid testing will soon be part of the border regimen. Read more
New, accurate, and rapid saliva-based PCR testing for Covid-19 has started to be used in New Zealand, after being validated by the University of Illinois in 2020. The New Zealand Initiative Chief Economist, Dr Eric Crampton, and Rako Science Executive Director, Leon Grice, discuss the benefits of this test and how it makes daily testing possible for those who work at the New Zealand border. Read more
UK political commentator Jeremy Driver put his finger on something important about his country’s failure to deal sensibly with Covid. It’s something that has also been rather easy to see from half-way around the world. Read more