Search

Bryce Wilkinson examines the effects of poor quality laws and regulations on New Zealand society and outlines the case for regulatory reform. His proposals include a governmental review of major regulations and better regulatory analysis and, in the future, a Regulatory Responsibility Act to achieve principled scrutiny of new regulations. Read more

Australia is by far the most important destination for direct investment by New Zealanders. Balance of Payments statistics indicate that Australia accounted for 64 percent of total direct investment abroad by New Zealanders over the last five years (see the attached Appendix). Read more

We have publicly commended the minister for his handling of the winter electricity shortage. Although the government inherited an imperfect market, it was wise to reject calls for further ill-conceived interventions at a time of market disruption. Read more

The NZBR has taken a close interest in Commerce Act issues because of the Commerce Act's pervasive influence on commercial decision making in New Zealand. We presented a submission on the Commerce Amendment Bill to the Commerce Select Committee in July 1999 and this submission should be read in conjunction with the earlier one. Read more

By comparison with some other countries, New Zealand relies heavily on education and health services and retirement income support provided by governments and financed through taxation. Much government education and health expenditure benefits families with moderate to high current incomes. Read more

The serious deficiencies of the Local Government Act 1974 (the Act) are widely recognised. A thorough revision of the Act is warranted. Read more

Why should we care about the size of government? There are many reasons to be concerned, but the most obvious answer is that high levels of government spending and taxation suppress economic performance, which is the basis of material living standards. Read more

David Green explains why poverty studies based on expenditure or consumption are superior to those based on income. He argues that a more fundamental objection to many studies of poverty is that they divert attention from the more serious problems of welfare dependency and diminished personal responsibility. Read more

The NZBR welcomes the opportunity to make this submission on the Issues Paper released by the Tax Review in June 2001. We consider the Issues Paper is a high quality document that sets out the principles that should guide tax policy development in a sound manner, clearly identifies the implications of applying those principles to the reform of the tax base, eco-taxation, tax rates, entity taxation, international tax and the tax treatment of savings and provides interested parties with an opportunity to comment on the Review's preliminary thoughts on options for reform. Read more

In our view the measures proposed in the Draft Report represent a major potential setback for the telecommunications industry in New Zealand. They could seriously deter further investment in facilities by those who have made the greatest investments in New Zealand. Read more