You searched everything for "" and got 2864 results
New Zealand’s ministers answer to Parliament for departments they cannot control. They cannot choose, direct or remove the chief executives who run those departments. Read more
Who runs the country? New Zealand’s system stops elected governments from governing Wellington (Wednesday, 8 April 2026) - New Zealand’s ministers answer to Parliament for departments they cannot control. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich talked to Ryan Bridge on Newstalk ZB about why ministers should have the power to appoint and dismiss their department chief executives, arguing the current system, where the Public Service Commission makes these appointments, is unusual internationally and can hinder a government's ability to implement its agenda. He pointed to the resource management reforms as an example where bureaucratic resistance may have watered down the government's plans, and highlighted Germany's model, where ministers appoint a qualified state secretary while the rest of the public service remains neutral and protected. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich was featured on the news segment of Newstalk ZB discussing The New Zealand Initiative's push for legislation allowing ministers to help choose public sector chief executives. Dr Hartwich says New Zealand should look to Germany's system, which gives ministers a say in appointments while including safeguards such as whistleblower protections and a duty to object to unlawful instructions. Read more
Winston Peters was in Westport on Sunday, announcing that a future NZ First government would return 50 per cent of all mining royalties to the regions where mining occurs. It is one of the more sensible growth ideas to emerge from this election campaign so far. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton talked to Wallace Chapman on RNZ's The Panel about the growing problem of on-street parking in intensifying suburbs, arguing that free street parking is poorly managed and creates perverse incentives for townhouse buyers to forgo on-site car parks. Dr Crampton proposed tradable resident parking passes as a market-based solution, giving existing homeowners something valuable they can sell to newcomers while better managing scarce street space. Read more
2025 marked a turning point for The New Zealand Initiative’s mission to build a more prosperous country. Ideas we have championed for years moved from research papers into the Government’s reform programme. Read more
There is an old joke about a man who visits his doctor complaining of fatigue. The doctor prescribes a course of vitamins and tells him to come back in a month. Read more
Dr Marian Tupy is the editor of HumanProgress.org, the world's most comprehensive database tracking improvements in human wellbeing, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, and co-author of the acclaimed book Superabundance: The Story of Population Growth, Innovation, and Human Flourishing on an Infinitely Bountiful Planet. A leading voice on human progress, globalisation, and economic development, Marian's work does something rare: it challenges the pessimistic narratives we hear every day — not with opinion, but with hard evidence. Read more
Heather du Plessis-Allan discussed Dr Bryce Wilkinson's NZ Herald article on Newstalk ZB, drawing on his analysis of the 1970s oil shocks as a cautionary lesson for today's politicians. Dr Wilkinson argues that the government should resist pressure to intervene through price controls, subsidies, or fuel tax cuts, and instead rely on price signals and targeted income relief for the most vulnerable, while leaving risky energy investments to private capital. Read more
