If punters at Australia’s Betfair are right, there’s an eighty-nine percent chance any government formed after Saturday’s election will have a National Party Prime Minister. But the things Betfair can’t tell us makes me miss our missing election stock market. Read more
It's the final week before the election. So, to cap it off, Dr Oliver Hartwich talks to Dr Matthew Birchall about the 2023 NZ general election. Read more
In Amusing Ourselves to Death, the American cultural critic and media commentator Neil Postman argued that television had debased public discourse. His central thesis rested on the idea that television, with its emphasis on soundbites and sensationalism, reduced even the weightiest of matters to mere trivialities. Read more
With only a few days left until New Zealand’s general election, you might think the outcome should be easy to predict. Many polls have shown that New Zealanders think the country is on the wrong path. Read more
Winston Churchill is often wrongly credited with saying that the best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter. If a modern-day Churchill sought an argument against democracy, he could easily find one in New Zealand’s election campaigns. Read more
Pro-housing policy generally tries to find ways of outflanking NIMBYs – the Not In My BackYard objectors to new development. It’s an approach well-supported in academic research and reflected in New Zealand policy. Read more
In his Leaders Breakfast interview with Chris Hipkins, Mike Hosking mentions The New Zealand Initiative during their discussion about solar power. Listen to part of their discussion below. Read more
October 15 cannot come soon enough, and not just because of a potential Rugby World Cup showdown between the All Blacks and Ireland. Like many, I have found Election 2023 a tedious affair. Read more
Dr Michael Johnston talks to Maryanne Spurdle, Researcher at the Maxim Institute, and Stephanie Martin, Adjunct Fellow at NZ Initiative, about teacher education. To listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more
As a proud Canadian, I am occasionally compelled to draw Kiwis’ attention to the wonderful service that my homeland provides to the world. The election here has been tedious. Read more
In 1981, the German electronic band Kraftwerk released a song called Pocket Calculator. At the time, affordable calculators were a recent phenomenon. Read more
Wellington (Thursday, 5 October 2023) - As New Zealand has already begun to vote in the 2023 election, The New Zealand Initiative releases this timely research note which takes a deep examination of our country’s government spending patterns over the last century. This research note, written by Dr Bryce Wilkinson, analyses the six-year spending spree of the current Labour government in the context of historical precedents. Read more
In this research note, we analyse the six-year spending spree of the Sixth Labour government in the context of historical precedents. Elected on the back of an ambitious policy agenda, the Ardern government quickly found itself struggling to balance the books. Read more
What is the purpose of televised leaders’ debates? Ideally, these staples of the political calendar should inform, educate and entertain. Read more
On his breakfast show on Newstalk ZB, Mike Hosking discusses Dr Oliver Hartwich's latest Newsroom column comparing Germany's MMP system to New Zealand's. Listen to the audio below. Read more