Benno with background 2

Dr Benno Blaschke

Research Fellow

Benno is a Research Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative with a wide range of policy interests. He has worked on several ‘once in a lifetime’, ‘generational opportunity’ type reform programs across central and local government, covering the Urban Growth Agenda, the Infrastructure Funding and Financing Act 2020, Three Waters reform, Resource Management reform, and Science, Innovation and Technology system reform.

Benno’s interest in policy was born after initially studying religion (BAHon), philosophy (MA) and psychology (GradDipSci) with a focus on consciousness, which culminated in a PhD from Victoria University of Wellington.

His subsequent policy career traced the problem definition of housing unaffordability to its roots, covering positions at The Treasury (urban planning and land markets), The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (infrastructure funding and financing) and Local Government New Zealand (three waters and constitutional underpinnings of alternative urban planning paradigms).

Most recently, he worked on how science, innovation and technology system reform could contribute to our global economic competitiveness and help turn around New Zealand’s long lasting productivity challenge.

Email: benno.blaschke@nzinitiative.org.nz

Recent Work

Podcast: Breaking down barriers not breaking up supermarkets

In this episode, Oliver talks to Eric Crampton and Benno Blaschke about the New Zealand government’s supermarket competition reforms, which closely reflect The New Zealand Initiative’s policy framework—a major policy win that saw their research inform the Minister of Finance’s approach. They explain how their practical policy document shifted government thinking away from heavy-handed breakups and toward tackling the real structural barriers in planning and regulation. Read more

Dr Oliver Hartwich
Dr Eric Crampton
28 August, 2025

Press Statement: Government fast‑tracks supermarket entry in line with NZI blueprint

Wellington (Wednesday, 27 August 2025) – The Government’s supermarket package adopts the right strategy for competition – remove barriers to entry and open the door to investment. That is the core approach The New Zealand Initiative has championed for years, including in a May 2025 research note, A Fast-Track Supermarket Entry and Expansion Omnibus Bill, setting out a rules‑based alternative focused on planning, consenting and overseas investment. Read more

Dr Eric Crampton
Press Statement
27 August, 2025

Podcast: How Trump lost ground to Putin in Anchorage

In this episode, Benno Blaschke talks to Oliver Hartwich about the recent Trump-Putin meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, where Trump appeared to abandon the Western position of seeking a ceasefire first in favour of Putin's demand for an immediate "peace deal" that would cement Russian territorial gains. They discuss the troubling implications of Trump applauding Putin on arrival, the bizarre shared ride in the presidential limousine, and how this summit signals a dangerous shift from rules-based international order to great power politics that could embolden other territorial aggressors, particularly China. Read more

Dr Oliver Hartwich
20 August, 2025
2025 08 15 Going for Housing Growth

Submission: Going for Housing Growth Pillar 1: Freeing up Land for Urban Development

The New Zealand Initiative is pleased to submit our comprehensive response to the Government’s Going for Housing Growth Discussion Document focusing on Pillar 1 proposals. This submission represents our analysis of how the proposed reforms can best achieve the stated objective of enabling competitive urban land markets to restore housing affordability in New Zealand. Read more

Submission
15 August, 2025

Podcast: Going for Housing Growth (Part 3): The Government’s proposals - Transformation or incremental change?

In this final episode of their three-part series, Dr Eric Crampton, Dr Benno Blaschke and Dr Stuart Donovan critically examine the government's housing discussion document, assessing its potential to create more competitive urban land markets. They explore whether the proposed reforms genuinely move towards a more responsive and dynamic urban development system or remain trapped in existing planning paradigms. You can also listen to Part 1 and 2 here: Going for Housing Growth (Part 1): How we got into this mess - Struggling with uncompetitive urban land markets Going for Housing Growth (Part 2): The way out - The benefits of competitive urban land markets To listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more

Dr Eric Crampton
Dr Stu Donovan
18 July, 2025

Podcast: Going for Housing Growth (Part 2): The way out - The benefits of competitive urban land markets

In this second episode of their three-part series on New Zealand's housing crisis, Eric Crampton continues the discussion with Stu Donovan and Benno Blaschke, exploring what competitive urban land markets could look like. Building on their previous exploration of how New Zealand's housing became dysfunctional, they now examine the ideal alternative to the current system, detailing how a more responsive urban environment could address the structural issues discussed in Part 1. Read more

Dr Eric Crampton
Dr Stu Donovan
11 July, 2025

Podcast: Going for Housing Growth (Part 1): How we got into this mess - Struggling with uncompetitive urban land markets

In this episode, Eric Crampton talks to Benno Blaschke and Stu Donovan (Senior Fellow at Motu) about the complex history of New Zealand's housing crisis, exploring the first part of a three-part series on housing dysfunction. They delve into the underlying causes of housing unaffordability, exploring how urban planning policies, council incentives, and infrastructure constraints have contributed to limited housing supply in major cities like Auckland. Read more

Dr Eric Crampton
Dr Stu Donovan
4 July, 2025

Press Statement: The New Zealand Initiative supports resource management reform package as important interim step

Wellington (Thursday, 29 May 2025) - The Government's announcement of sweeping reforms to national direction under the Resource Management Act represents an important interim step toward fixing New Zealand's broken planning system. The reforms include proposed amendments to a suite of existing national direction instruments and several new instruments across three key areas: infrastructure and development, primary sector regulation, and freshwater management. Read more

Press Statement
29 May, 2025

Podcast: A Fast-Track to stronger grocery competition

In this episode, Eric talks to Benno Blaschke about his groundbreaking report proposing a fast-track supermarket entry and expansion omnibus bill that could revolutionise New Zealand's grocery market. They discuss the regulatory barriers preventing new supermarket chains from entering the market and explore a legislative framework that would streamline planning and consenting processes to enable new grocery retailers to establish multiple stores across the country. Read more

Dr Eric Crampton
29 May, 2025

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