The paint was still drying on the Auckland convention centre when Christopher Luxon delivered his State of the Nation speech on Monday. Some of the furniture had not arrived. Read more
This concluding episode examines what it takes for housing reform to endure. Minister Chris Bishop reflects on his journey to Competitive Urban Land Markets (CLM) and why housing affordability is best understood as a problem of land supply. Read more
The domestic political year has started with housing density back on the agenda. Is Christopher Luxon walking away from the bipartisan housing accord? Read more
Last week's headlines suggested another wobble in housing reform. Signals from the Prime Minister about easing Auckland's intensification settings appeared to undercut Housing Minister Chris Bishop. Read more
If not military intervention, then what? And when is intervention justified?” Those were the challenges from readers of my recent essay arguing conservatives should not be too quick to praise President Trump’s removal of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. Read more
Headlines this week suggest a retreat. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has signalled a softening of Auckland's housing intensification. Read more
I do not get to Münster often these days, but whenever I am there, I feel drawn to its town hall. This is where, in 1648, diplomats signed the Peace of Westphalia. Read more
To many on the political left, the Mont Pelerin Society represents something akin to a spectre. It is frequently portrayed as a secretive cabal of market fundamentalists operating in the shadows to dismantle the state and privatise the public sphere. Read more
Some ideas cost nothing to believe but a great deal to implement. Political commentator Rob Henderson calls them “luxury beliefs” – convictions that signal virtue among the comfortable while imposing very real costs on those with much less room to manoeuvre. Read more
There is something deeply satisfying about watching Nicolás Maduro being hauled from his palace and deposited in a Brooklyn jail cell. The man was a monster. Read more
INTRODUCTION 1.1 The New Zealand Initiative welcomes the opportunity to submit on the Land Transport (Revenue) Amendment Bill. 1.2 The Initiative is a Wellington-based think tank supported primarily by major New Zealand businesses. Read more
Across the democratic world, voters are losing patience with the machinery that stands between a vote and its result – the courts, parliamentary procedures and constitutional limits that do not care who won. The usual explanations – economic anxiety, cultural backlash, social media – capture something real, but they miss a deeper problem. Read more
After many difficult years, 2025 felt different. It was not easier. Read more
Last week, boxes of fudge arrived at New Zealand’s Parliament. Not as a festive treat, but as a political weapon. Read more
INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY 1.1 This submission on the Racing Industry (Closure of Greyhound Racing Industry) Amendment Bill is made by The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative), a Wellington-based think tank supported primarily by major New Zealand businesses. In combination, our members employ more than 150,000 people. Read more