Two weeks ago, some of the contributors to the substantial Economic Forum run by the University of Waikato unintentionally took me back to the days of New Zealand’s National Development Conferences in 1968 and 1972. They did so by calling on central government to lead and set a clear vision and action plan. Read more

Last Friday, Treasury “pro-actively” published its November 2023 Briefings for the Incoming Government. One was on the economic and fiscal context. Read more

New Zealand’s welfare system is a problem for beneficiaries, taxpayers and others. Think of those affected by the reported problems in Rotorua from emergency housing in motels. Read more

Wellington City Council’s current leaking water woes epitomise the misplaced spending priorities of successive councils. Wellingtonians now face water rationing in their homes while they see vast quantities of leaked piped water escaping down streets and across pavements. Read more

Thank goodness New Zealand has an Auditor-General who takes his official responsibilities seriously. Last week, he released a damning assessment of recent ministerial processes for making funding decisions on two major infrastructure investment programmes. Read more

The Coalition Agreement between National and ACT includes a commitment to pass the “Regulatory Standards Act as soon as practicable”. How fast is that? Read more

The incoming Government needs to make improving education a major priority. Achieving that will take decisive action, and many years of effort. Read more

How big is the fiscal deficit problem and how long will it take for our governments to turn it around? Do not be fooled by rosy scenarios of painless correction. Read more

History does rhyme, and apocalyptic plays can make a sobering point or two. This government is borrowing heavily to fund current spending. Read more