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Bipartisan politics is a rare beast in New Zealand nowadays. It is even harder to spot when political parties are shy to sponsor necessary policy changes that might arouse public backlash at first. Read more
The great legacy of the reforms of the 1980s and 1990s were the durable institutions that have since guided how we are governed. The Fiscal Responsibility Act set a framework for balanced budgets that has withstood many changes in government. Read more
Freshwater management is a tough political problem. Any substantive reduction in the nutrient load in too many of our rivers will require significant land use changes – and changes in wastewater practices in some towns. Read more
Before last Wednesday, I had no idea I was “brave”. Until I was told so by a delegate who had heard me speak at a large infrastructure conference. Read more
We at the Initiative share Education Minister Hipkins’s desire for a stronger vocational sector. But we are less convinced that centralising the sector will solve the problem. Read more
The opportunities of industry-based qualifications are highly underestimated in New Zealand. It is therefore laudable that earlier this month, Minister of Education Chris Hipkins proposed reforms to the vocational sector that include industry-based education. Read more
The government’s proposal to reform New Zealand’s underachieving vocational education sector is laudable, but there are still concerns that need to be addressed, says a new research note from The New Zealand Initiative. The research note, Hands-on: New suggestions to reform New Zealand's vocational sector, identifies what changes need to be implemented to ensure the vocational education sector is given the same positive level of attention as a university education: Industry training has to become more attractive for students and employers alike in order for it to be seen as a successful career path The roles of different educational institutions in the vocational sector have to be clearly defined to manage expectations, and Existing institutions must be independent and self-reliable so that they look for partners early and don’t count on the government to step in once the business model has proven to be dysfunctional for many years. Read more
A couple of years ago, I wrote a short report making the case that New Zealand is the world’s last sane place. Or, at least, if it’s going mad, it’s going mad more slowly than the rest of the world. Read more
What are budget advisers to make of the Reserve Bank governor’s call for increased public and private spending? Adrian Orr has reportedly even floated, as a future contingency option, taxing cash holdings to encourage savers to either spend or invest to stimulate the economy. Read more
The New Zealand Initiative has been a staunch supporter of the coalition government’s housing agenda. While we warned that Kiwibuild would not fix the housing crisis but rather risked diverting the government’s attention from more important reforms, we have had every confidence in Minister Twyford’s wider vision. Read more