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The NZBR agrees with the statements in the introductory note to the Bill about the importance of security in private property rights and the need for compensation when rights in private property are taken. Many of our submissions on government regulations over the years have stressed the need for governments to take a more circumspect and principled approach to altering private property rights. Read more

The concept of fairness is both elusive on the one hand and well-nigh indispensable on the other. On particular occasions, I devoutly wish that the word would be eliminated from the English lexicon, which is a bit like hoping to hold back the tides with a wave of the hand. Read more

Most families with dependent children will qualify for additional family, childcare or housing assistance under the government's Working For Families (WFF) policy which was announced in the 2004 budget. WFF is being introduced in stages between October 2004 and April 2007, and will cost an estimated $1.1 billion a year or 0.7 percent of forecast GDP when fully implemented. Read more

The question I have been asked to address is ‘How big should government be?’. My temptation is to start with the position that they who govern best govern least. Read more

The study of constitutional law often begins with a dispute between two different versions of the relationship of the individual to the state. There are those who think that atomistic individuals come together by a set of voluntary contracts, and those who think that societies should be treated as though they are complex organisms that cannot be understood simply as the sum of their parts. Read more

One of the most famous statements about the relationship between a company and a state is contained in a remark by Charles E Wilson ('Engine Charlie' of General Motors) when he was being questioned for his appointment as Secretary of Defence in 1953, the early days of the Eisenhower administration. He said that, "for years I thought what was good for our country was good for General Motors and vice versa". Read more

Opportunity for a lifetime is the fourth and final paper in a series that forms part of the New Zealand Institute’s initial research program on Creating an Ownership Society. This paper follows on from our first three papers, The wealth of a nation, It’s not just about the money, and Home is where the money is. Read more

This lecture, Affirmative Action: The US Experience and Implications for New Zealand, was delivered on 3 August 2004 at the offices of Russell McVeagh, Wellington. Read more

The submission comments on the proposal that the Council should contribute up to $3.95 million per annum for seven years towards the costs of holding the V8 Supercar Championship series (V8 race) in Wellington city from April 2006. Read more

There is a perception in New Zealand that the so-called ‘rich’ do not pay their fair share of tax. Yet the evidence examined by Sinclair Davidson shows this to be untrue. Read more