In this podcast episode, Oliver interviews Max Salmon about the findings of a recent survey of New Zealand local government officials, detailed in his latest research note called "The Pulse of Local Government." The survey reveals that local councils generally desire more autonomy from central government, feel financial pressures from population growth, and support localism, but also highlights some contradictions in their views on amalgamation and their relationship with ratepayers. Read Max Salmon's research note "The Pulse of Local Government" here. Read more

Dr James Kierstead discusses his new report Unpopular Opinions: Academic Freedom in New Zealand with Prof Grant Schofield. Dr Oliver Hartwich moderates this discussion. Read more

Wellington (Thursday, 22 August 2024) - The New Zealand Initiative welcomes the government's newly released Regional Deals Strategic Framework, seeing it as a positive step towards empowering local communities and fostering economic growth. Nick Clark, Senior Fellow at The New Zealand Initiative, says the framework aligns with many of the recommendations the think tank has been advocating for years. Read more

Dr Oliver Hartwich appeared on The Platform to talk to Sean Plunket about the recent cut to New Zealand's Official Cash Rate (OCR) by the Reserve Bank. Oliver explains that while the decision was economically justified given the country's economic struggles, he criticises the Reserve Bank's communication, arguing they should have been more transparent about changing their previous stance. Read more

In this episode, Nick discusses his latest research note on revenue sharing between central and local government. The main idea is to provide financial incentives for local councils to be more supportive of housing development, potentially addressing New Zealand's housing crisis by aligning the interests of central and local governments. Read more

This episode features Michael, with Oliver, responding to and critiquing statements made by Prof Peter O'Connor on RNZ about education policy. Michael systematically disagrees with O'Connor's views on the government's proposed education reforms, arguing that O'Connor misrepresents the reforms and presents false dichotomies between knowledge acquisition and creativity in education To listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more

Dr Oliver Hartwich was interviewed by Sean Plunket on The Platform about tax cuts coming into play. Watch below. Read more

On July 15, Foodstuffs North Island welcomed us to their Auckland headquarters for a high-profile event unveiling GDPLive's latest iteration - the world's first real-time GDP and inflation tracker. Acting Prime Minister Hon David Seymour, Foodstuffs North Island CEO Chris Quin, and Massey University's Professor Christoph Schumacher and Dr Teo Susnjak delivered compelling presentations on the platform's advancements. Read more