Submission: Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill
Read our submission to the Environment Committee on the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill. Read more
16 July, 2019
Antonio Hall fire puts heritage buildings back in the spotlight
Heritage buildings are in the spotlight after a devastating fire at Christchurch's 110-year-old Antonio Hall. The owners had not done any maintenance to it for more than 20 years and this led to calls for tougher rules for owners of heritage properties to take more care of their buildings. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton
15 July, 2019
Fair pay agreements would be bad for labour
A fair pay agreement sounds like something everyone should want. After all, no one wants to work for unfair pay. Read more
Roger Partridge
14 July, 2019
Fair Pay Working Group fit to be forgotten
Former Prime Minister Jim Bolger burst back into public life in mid-2018 to lead the government’s Fair Pay Agreement Working Group. The working group’s report was made public on 31 January. Read more
Roger Partridge
12 July, 2019
Allowing growth to pay for itself
Can local community growth pay for itself? In other words, can economic growth itself pay for the community’s required infrastructure expansion (e.g. Read more
Dr Patrick Carvalho
12 July, 2019
The curse of getting what you wish for
Parables, biblical or otherwise, are excellent instruction. They warn of the dangers of getting what you wish for. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton
12 July, 2019
Unanswered questions on RBNZ capital proposals
Three unanswered questions hang over the Reserve Bank capital proposals. First, do the benefits of the proposals exceed the costs? Read more
Roger Partridge
10 July, 2019
Work in Progress: Why Fair Pay Agreements would be bad for labour
The government’s goal of a highly skilled and innovative workforce and an economy that delivers well-paid, decent jobs and broad-based gains from economic growth and productivity, is a laudable aim. It is what governments should strive for. Read more
Roger Partridge
Dr Bryce Wilkinson ONZM
9 July, 2019
Media Release: Back to the drawing board for Bolger’s Fair Pay proposals
The Government must reject the recommendations made by former Prime Minister Jim Bolger’s Fair Pay Agreements Working Group (FPAWG) or face harming economic growth and productivity and the interests of workers, the unemployed and consumers, says public policy think tank The New Zealand Initiative. The Initiative’s new report Work in Progress: Why Fair Pay Agreements would be bad for labour, reveals that the Bolger report misrepresents New Zealand’s labour market record. Read more
9 July, 2019
Media Release: Back to the drawing board for Bolger’s Fair Pay proposals
The Government must reject the recommendations made by former Prime Minister Jim Bolger’s Fair Pay Agreements Working Group (FPAWG) or face harming economic growth and productivity and the interests of workers, the unemployed and consumers, says public policy think tank The New Zealand Initiative. The Initiative’s new report Work in Progress: Why Fair Pay Agreements would be bad for labour, reveals that the Bolger report misrepresents New Zealand’s labour market record. Read more
9 July, 2019
Fair pay agreements will undermine the Government's goals
Former Prime Minister Jim Bolger came charging back into public sight when the Government released his Fair Pay Agreement Working Group's report in January. The Bolger-led working group recommended the Government introduce a new system for setting wages and other terms and conditions of employment. Read more
Roger Partridge
9 July, 2019
Why Fair Pay Agreements would be bad for labour
Our report, Work in Progress: Why Fair Pay Agreements would be bad for labour, was released on Tuesday, 9 July. Chairman, and co-author of the report Roger Partridge spoke on TVNZ Breakfast to discuss how our research has found that the case for the recommendations of the Fair Pay Agreement Working Group (FPAWG) in pursuit of the government's goal of a highly-skilled and innovative workforce and an economy that delivers well-paid, decent jobs and broad-based gains from economic growth and productivity, does not stack up. Read more
9 July, 2019
Media release: Continuing the localism debate
Wellington (7 July 2019): The New Zealand Initiative is proud to support the release of Local Government New Zealand’s (LGNZ) localism discussion paper, Reinvigorating local democracy, which was launched today at the 2019 LGNZ Conference in Wellington. The discussion paper outlines a gradual process for New Zealand to move from being one of the world’s most centralised countries in the developed world to one that is prepared to trust its communities to play a meaningful role in our social, economic and cultural development. Read more
7 July, 2019
Health, the IDI and evidence-based policy
Many New Zealanders are living longer and healthier lives than at any point in history. In the last quarter century, health outcomes in New Zealand have improved across the board. Read more
5 July, 2019
A conversation in Hades
We cannot vouch for the authenticity of the following conversation that mysteriously arrived in my Inbox. The sender’s name was Dante, surely a fake. Read more
Dr Bryce Wilkinson ONZM
5 July, 2019