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New Zealand’s leaky building saga has shaken public confidence in both the building industry and the regulatory competence of government. The growth of the Certified Builders Association of New Zealand (CBANZ) is an example of a market response to the problem. Read more
The National Party has announced it will reduce the number of long-term beneficiaries by 30 per cent in five years. Ambitious stuff, but notably absent from the government’s Better Public Services programme is a commitment to ignore industry requests for state lifelines that may arise. Read more
As the Olympics begin to wind up, and countries reflect on their performance, the inevitable calls for reviewing funding arrangements are beginning to pour in. So far, these calls in New Zealand have been muted, mainly because we have done well – with the added bonus of winning more gold medals than Australia for much of the games. Read more
Prime minister John Key observed that the 2011 election was about the economy. Business people are looking to the incoming government to address critical weaknesses in our economy and implement policies to boost economic growth. Read more
The select committee considering the bill to set up the referendum on the electoral system is due to report back to parliament next month. It is important that parliament provides voters with the best possible process for deciding on this important issue. Read more
Next month the 2025 Taskforce will be delivering its second report to the government. It is the most important taskforce reporting this year. Read more
Here’s a quick quiz. First question: Name a wealthy country where either party to an employment contract is free to terminate it at any time, provided they give notice. Read more
Last month Rebecca Macfie wrote an article in the Listener entitled “Our slack bosses”. In it she argued that “one of New Zealand’s dirtiest little secrets is that our businesses are not very well managed” and that “the poor quality of New Zealand managers is holding the country back”. Read more
The savings debate has not always been well-informed, and it’s good that the government has put together a well qualified group to advise it. The last official inquiry was part of the 2001 McLeod Tax Review. Read more
John Maynard Keynes once wrote: “There is no harm in being sometimes wrong – especially if one is promptly found out.” Unfortunately for the world, the problems with Keynes’ ideas were not discovered promptly, and the lessons were too soon forgotten as Keynesian thinking enjoyed a revival with the recent global financial crisis and subsequent recession. At the time of the Great Depression in the 1930s, Keynes advocated fiscal stimulus – higher government spending or tax reductions – to boost total spending in the economy and put the unemployed back into jobs. Read more