Wellington (1 March 2018): Documents released under the Official Information Act reveal a Ministry of Health deeply sceptical about sugar taxes. In October 2017, the Initiative requested all advice provided by the Ministry to then Minister Jonathan Coleman regarding sugar taxes, as well as internal briefing documents and correspondence. Read more
On 31 October 2017, the New Zealand Initiative requested the Ministry’s work on sugar taxes. In terms of the Official Information Act, I am requesting the following information about the Ministry of Health’s work on sugar taxes: All advice provided by the Ministry of Health to Minister of Health Jonathan Coleman regarding sugar taxes; All briefings and correspondence related to Professor John Gibson’s work on sugar taxes; All reviews and summaries of existing research about sugar taxes; Any meeting notes, PowerPoint slides, emails and correspondence regarding sugar taxes for any meeting of ELT. Read more
The Government's flagship policy to deliver low-cost homes to first time buyers could be a fail on the affordability front, according to its own ministry officials. Documents released under the Official Information Act reveal KiwiBuild apartments and houses to be priced up to $600,000 in Auckland could still be well out of reach of their target market. Read more
The housing supply shortage is worse than expected. That makes it even more important that government focuses on the key barriers to getting more houses built. Read more
Imagine buying a house, or choosing a spouse without knowing anything about them. You wouldn’t do it. Read more
When I was a lad, Treasury was a home for bean counters. Many a fine public servant did an accounting degree part-time at evening classes at Vic. Read more
Wellington (23 February 2018): The New Zealand Initiative welcomes the government’s willingness to make necessary changes at the Earthquake Commission. Today, Chair of the EQC Board, Sir Maarten Wevers, announced his resignation. Read more
For cynics, it would be easy to denounce the government’s provincial growth programme as a slush fund. However, I am not cynical about the government’s intentions. Read more
New Zealand is blessed with substantial rainfall. But, the pressure of population and agriculture is pushing some catchments to their limits. Read more
Celine Dion's two Auckland shows have sold out, thanks to ticket scalpers. General release tickets went on sale midday Monday and sold out hours later, with tickets appearing on resale sites immediately at double the price. Read more
Sunday's "Save our charter schools march" was a moving experience. It wasn't just the hundreds of people who turned up in torrential rain to protest. Read more
Almost a century ago, the great sociologist Max Weber defined the ideal politician in his lecture Politics as a Vocation. As Bill English just announced his retirement from politics, we may well measure his record by Weberian standards. Read more
New Zealand exports about 95 percent of its dairy production. The receipts make it a major overseas earner. Read more
Week 1- After years of campaigning, I knew it was only a matter of time before our government ramped up its efforts tackling child obesity. Like my counterparts in Chile, I will be offering the government my technical expertise to crack down on junk food advertising to children. Read more
In the 1940s, a different Lipson (that one an English political scientist) famously remarked that if Wellington or Auckland harbours were ever to have a statue akin to that in New York, it would assuredly be a statue of Equality. The ideal of a fair-go runs deep in the New Zealand psyche, and rightly so. Read more