Social policy attracts more good intentions and less evidence than any other part of government. Programmes are funded because they sound compassionate, continued because stopping them looks cruel, and evaluated seldom if at all.
The Initiative's approach rests on two commitments. The first is that claims should be tested. A good deal of what New Zealanders believe about poverty, inequality and welfare does not survive contact with the data, and policy built on a false diagnosis will not work however generously it is funded. The second is that people receiving help are usually the best judges of what they need. Services designed around providers tend to serve providers. Personal budgets and devolved delivery hand control back to the person whose life is at stake, and welfare should be measured by how many people it moves into work and independence.
The same instinct governs how the state regulates private conduct. Taxes and restrictions aimed at alcohol, food, tobacco or gambling should be judged on whether they actually reduce harm, and weighed against the freedom of the large majority harming nobody.
A liberal society treats adults as adults and checks whether its kindness is working.
Is New Zealand a country in decline or a quiet success story? A new report from The New Zealand Initiative argues it is neither. Read more
This is The New Zealand Initiative’s 2026 Prescription for Prosperity. Since 2017, the Initiative has prepared a briefing for the incoming government. Read more
The New Zealand Initiative rebuts the Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety’s claim to a select committee that New Zealand’s labour productivity growth rate since 1991 was 46% below that of Australia. On figures recently supplied by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the correct figure was 30%. Read more
Last month, the Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety, Michael Wood, appeared before Parliament’s Education and Workforce Committee in support of the Government’s Fair Pay Agreement Bill. He was asked for his response to the New Zealand Initiative’s case that the wage rates were not showing a ‘race to the bottom,’ a decline in either employees’ share of income, or labour productivity growth since the Employment Contracts Act in 1991. Read more
Government policies should be judged by the outcomes they deliver for people who need public support. This report has described a fundamentally different funding model for public services which gives control and responsibility to recipients of support services. Read more
In this episode, Michael talks with Oliver Hartwich, Executive Director of the New Zealand Initiative, about two new reports, New Zealand by Comparison and New Zealand by Numbers, which chart how New Zealand measures up against 28 other countries and how it has changed over recent decades. They discuss why a country that attracts migrants from around the world keeps losing so many of its own people, how Australia matches New Zealand on almost everything but the economy, the Eastern European economies closing in, and wellbeing rankings that still sit near the top of the world but are slipping. Read more
Wellington (Wednesday, 27 May 2026) – New Zealand can be a much more prosperous country, and the policy choices needed to get us there are well within reach, says The New Zealand Initiative’s Executive Director, Dr Oliver Hartwich. The Initiative today released Prescription for Prosperity 2026, its fourth briefing to an incoming government. Read more
Businesses typically avoid taking a stance on contentious political matters, particularly during election campaigns, and that is what makes this week’s media release from Foodstuffs North Island quite remarkable. In this week’s podcast, Oliver Hartwich is joined by Chris Quin, CEO of Foodstuffs North Island, to delve into the pressing issue of escalating retail crime and lawlessness in New Zealand. Read more
Businesses typically avoid taking a stance on contentious political matters, particularly during election campaigns. That makes this week’s media release from New Zealand’s Foodstuffs North Island quite remarkable. Read more
In this thought-provoking episode, the Initiative’s economists – Dr Oliver Hartwich, Dr Eric Crampton, Dr Tony Burton, and Dr Bryce Wilkinson – dive into the debate over whether Australia is a better option for skilled talent. They discuss the current challenges faced by New Zealand in terms of health, education, and infrastructure, and how the nation's performance is deteriorating relative to Australia. Read more
