Localism is a wonderful thing. I recommend it to any politician in opposition. Read more
The Herald's 'Mood of the Boardroom' survey has become a fixture in New Zealand's media calendar. Once a year, the chief executives and chairs of the country's largest companies deliver their verdict on political leaders. Read more
The Reserve Bank adjusts interest rates to keep inflation under control. This does not work with perfect precision, but it works. Read more
Christopher Luxon is struggling to impress his former business peers, with this year’s Mood of the Boardroom survey giving him poor marks for political management and uniting the country. Oliver and Damien discuss the business community’s dissatisfaction with Luxon and Nicola Willis, along with the survey’s findings on AI adoption and whether businesses are turning their enthusiasm for the technology into real productivity gains. Read more
Voters are rightly worried about the cost of living. How can they balance the household budget? Read more
In this episode, Eric talks to Nick Clark and Paul Melville about the illustrative national policy direction, the draft document that will put the detail into the two acts replacing the Resource Management Act. They go through what the draft gets right, including a presumption that people can use their land without unnecessary constraints, and where it falls short, from the exceptions that could undercut that presumption to the detail pushed down again into standards yet to be written. Read more
When I first visited Sydney in 1999, what struck me most were the cranes. They stood over the city in every direction, building towers, stadiums and rail lines for the Olympic Games. Read more
In this episode, Oliver talks with Major General (Ret) John Howard about the White House reversing its own sanctions to import Russian diesel and pressuring Ukraine to replace its president, even as Russia continues striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure. They discuss the protests and debt pressure destabilising France, and what a weakening Europe would mean for New Zealand's trade and energy. Read more
Last week, we co-hosted a dinner with the Selwyn Foundation. Its chair, former Labour health minister David Cunliffe, led the Government's aged care advisory group and presented their report, A place to grow old. Read more
Chris Bishop passed the new Planning Act with one working day to spare, and may not be in the next Parliament to see it work. Damien accused him of regulatory capture earlier this year and now says he has achieved more in three years than most politicians manage in a career. Read more
1. INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY 1.1 The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the illustrative National Policy Direction (NPD) for the new planning system. Read more
Greater Manchester's 2014 devolution agreement included powers over transport, housing and skills, with matching funding. That was my model for New Zealand two years ago, in a research note for The New Zealand Initiative. Read more
We hear a great deal about the Bank of Mum and Dad. The Bank of the children gets rather less attention, although we have been drawing on it for years. Read more
Here is a paradox that ought to trouble ministers more than any single threat named in the NZSIS’s 2026 Security Threat Environment report, released in August. The New Zealand Government has never had more useful intelligence available to it than it does today. Read more
It is election time in New Zealand and as such, political tragics like myself cannot have any meetings without the conversation turning to the question “And, who will win on 7 November?” But something is different this year. Not just because the election is so tight with both the centre-left and the centre-right bloc neck and neck in the polls. Read more