Government is present in most aspects of our lives. It taxes and spends more than a third of our economic output. It employs hundreds of thousands of people. It regulates the way New Zealanders can work, travel, do business, and interact with one another.
Our research focuses on how the will of Parliament interacts with society, whether legislation is fit for purpose, and whether certain policy settings can be improved.
The actions of previous political administrations can inspire current and future governments. But if they are based more on myth than reality, the risk creating false impressions that can lead to poor public policy.
1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 This submission on the Electoral Amendment Bill (the Bill) is made by The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative). Read more
New Zealand has one of the most complex systems of executive government in the developed world. With 81 ministerial portfolios, 28 ministers and 43 departments, we have three times as many portfolios and nearly twice as many departments as comparable countries. Read more
1. INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY 1.1 This submission on the Employment Relations Amendment Bill (the Bill) is made by The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative), a Wellington-based think tank supported primarily by major New Zealand businesses. Read more
The New Zealand Initiative is pleased to submit our comprehensive response to the Government’s Going for Housing Growth Discussion Document focusing on Pillar 1 proposals. This submission represents our analysis of how the proposed reforms can best achieve the stated objective of enabling competitive urban land markets to restore housing affordability in New Zealand. Read more
1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 This submission to the Inquiry into online harms is made by The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative), a Wellington-based think tank supported primarily by major New Zealand businesses. Read more
Wellington (Tuesday, 16 September 2025) – The New Zealand Initiative welcomes the Government’s decision to strengthen the governance of the Commerce Commission, describing it as an important step towards world-class regulatory practice. The Initiative’s 2018 report Who Guards the Guards? Read more
Roger Partridge talked to Wallace Chapman on RNZ's "The Panel" about his report "Unscrambling Government" which calls for reducing New Zealand's 81 ministerial portfolios to improve government efficiency. He argued that New Zealand's fragmented structure, with three times as many portfolios as comparable countries like Norway, creates accountability issues and inefficient decision-making compared to more streamlined international models. Read more
More than half of New Zealanders think the country is going in the wrong direction. Trust in Parliament, the courts and the Reserve Bank has fallen sharply since 2021. 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
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