In the new cabinet, Phil Twyford stands out as the minister with the most challenging mandate. Combining housing and transport in one person has created a superminister in charge of all aspects of urban development. Read more
Signing the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the new government passed its first test on the international stage. If only all policy issues could be solved by just adding the words ‘comprehensive and progressive’ to their names. Read more
New Zealanders do not have a welfare system we can be proud of. Wellbeing research shows that involuntary unemployment is the pits for wellbeing. Read more
On 3 November I wrote about the Manukau DHB’s refusal to entertain the idea of a Ronald McDonald house at Middlemore Hospital. On further enquiry this decision becomes even more risible. Read more
What is New Zealand's track record with regulation keeping up with technology and are we getting it right? Radio New Zealand's Nine To Noon profiles Dr Eric Crampton's latest report, Analog Regulation, Digital World. Read more
Wellington (14 November 2017): The New Zealand Initiative today announced that Barbara Chapman, Chief Executive and Managing Director of ASB Bank, has joined the think tank’s Board of Directors. “We are delighted Barbara has agreed to join our board,” said Roger Partridge, The New Zealand Initiative’s Chairman. Read more
With a new government comes opportunities to shake up a long-entrenched status quo. Nowhere is this more warranted than in our schooling sector where fundamental aspects need urgent reform. Read more
I’ve been encouraged by several signals from the new Government around transport. Ministers appear to have given transport much thought in opposition and are, in many ways, ahead of their agencies. Read more
New Zealand has always had to run a little faster than everyone else just to keep up. Too small to rely on its own internal markets, and too distant to profit from tight integration with larger neighbours, New Zealand has had to compete by being nimble. Read more
Which moves faster: technology, or the regulation that tries to keep up with it? New Zealand’s ability to adapt to new technology depends on whether our regulations can keep pace. Read more
My dad just refitted his small cottage kitchen. He is over 6ft tall, so wanted the worktops raised 6 inches, precluding his need to bend. Read more
As House of Cards is ending in sad circumstances, the TV series has a real-life successor. It is the New Zealand House of Representatives. Read more
Wellington (10 November 2017): “The TPP APEC talks in Vietnam today are reportedly 'down to the wire.' Yet while the TPP commentary focuses on trade, we should also learn about foreign direct investment from APEC host Vietnam,” says The New Zealand Initiative’s Senior Fellow Dr Bryce Wilkinson. “In 1997, Vietnam had the most restrictive FDI regime of all 45 countries measured by the OECD. Read more
The Challenge. Which moves faster: technology, or the regulation that tries to keep up with it? Read more