Once upon a time, “Yes Minister” gave us Sir Humphrey Appleby, scheming, obstructive, magnificently verbose, but above all, competent. He could bury a reform in procedure without breaking a sweat. Read more
Grades have been inflating at universities across the English-speaking world, including in New Zealand. That was the message of my first two columns in this series. Read more
Who is responsible for defending liberal democracy when its norms come under attack? Karl Popper, writing as fascist armies swept Europe, understood this was not an abstract question. Read more
The Local Government Business Forum has today released a report calling for binding referendums on major council spending projects, giving ratepayers a way of saying yes to projects that they support. “Council rates increased an average of 12% last year and are estimated to rise another 9% this year. Read more
1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 This submission on the Electoral Amendment Bill (the Bill) is made by The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative). Read more
Every day, New Zealand workers clock longer hours than their peers in most developed nations yet produce far less value per hour worked. This productivity paradox has haunted our economy for decades, condemning workers to lower wages and longer working days. Read more
In this episode, Oliver talks to Stephen Crosswell, a partner at Baker McKenzie in Hong Kong, the world’s strongest law firm brand. He is chair of the firm’s Asia-Pacific Antitrust & Competition Group and one of Hong Kong’s leading trial lawyers, admitted to practise in five countries. Read more
The United Nations Environmental Programme’s latest Emissions Gap Report was called “No more hot air … please!” Yesterday, I joined a panel at the Climate Change & Business Conference to talk about New Zealand’s Nationally Determined Contribution – our NDC. Under the Paris Agreement, countries must produce targets for emission reductions, set policies consistent with their targets, and report on their progress. Read more
In November 2023, National, Act, and New Zealand First announced the coalition agreements that formed their government. One item stood out, at least for me. Read more
Tell someone in an Auckland café that the economy is booming and they will laugh. Unemployment in the city is 6.1 per cent. Read more
When housing policy is split among more than six ministers, who is responsible when the affordability crisis drags on year after year? The Minister of Housing? Read more
Douglas Adams, despite being very highly rated, remains underrated. His Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a masterpiece. Read more
When Woolworths wanted to build a new supermarket in Christchurch, it took them four years and $3 million just to get permission. Did you know it takes an average of 18 months and costs $1 million to get permission to build a supermarket? Read more
Roger Partridge talked to Sean Plunket on The Platform about The New Zealand Initiative's report proposing consolidating New Zealand's fragmented public service structure. Partridge outlined a three-step plan to streamline government by reducing ministerial portfolios from 81 to 15-20, creating junior minister roles, and consolidating departments from 43 to around 20, similar to peer nations like Ireland and Norway. Read more
New Zealand has built one of the most complex executive governments in the developed world. With 81 ministerial portfolios spread across 28 ministers and 43 departments, we operate with more than three times as many ministerial portfolios and nearly twice as many departments as peer nations like Ireland, Norway and Singapore. Read more