Auckland's regional fuel tax has been in place since the beginning of the month. The extra funds raised are intended to help fund transport projects around the region over the coming decade. Read more
LGNZ and The New Zealand Initiative start 'Project Localism' Wellington (15 July 2018): Instead of relying on central government to decide what is good for our communities it is time to empower councils and communities themselves to make such decisions, Local Government New Zealand and The New Zealand Initiative say. LGNZ and the Initiative have today presented their Localism project. Read more
Donald Trump's performance at the NATO summit has raised more questions than answers. Oliver Hartwich tells Andrew West on ABC Radio there's increasing uncertainty about the future of the trans-Atlantic alliance and other international agreements after the American president chastised Germany and other members countries. Read more
A seventh person died in Waikato Hospital after a head-on collision near Waverley in South Taranaki. Sam Warburton tells Mike Hosking the road toll has gone up by 60 percent over the past four years, but travel is only up 15 percent. Read more
Wallace Chapman talks to Jenesa Jeram about how we measure child poverty. She says the Child Poverty Reduction Bill is underwhelming and the way we measure poverty isn't consistent. Read more
Oliver Hartwich speaks to Mike Hosking on the Fair Pay Agreements. These agreements will set minimum standards for wages and employment conditions like allowances, weekend and night rates, hours of work and leave arrangements for all workers within industries. Read more
Katharine Birbalsingh is the founder and headmistress of Michaela Community School, a free school in London. She started her own school after declaring Britain's state education system “broken” because it kept "poor children poor." She's been called the "strictest teacher in Britain," but Katharine Birbalsingh tells Hayley Holt on Breakfast that her students "love the fact that it's strict". Read more
On World No Tobacco Day Wendyl Nissen interviews Jenesa Jeram about how smokeless nicotine delivery products (e-cigarettes, snus, and heat-not-burn) can be used to help New Zealand become smoke-free. Read more
New Zealand born London headteacher Katharine Birbalsingh founded Michaela Community School. It is often referred to as Britain's strictest school. Read more
Jenesa Jeram tells James Coleman on World No Tobacco Day how vaping could be the pathway to a smoke-free New Zealand. Her recent report Smoke and Vapour: the changing world of tobacco harm reduction calls for a range of smokeless nicotine delivery products to be made available to smokers wanting to cut down or quit. Read more
Wellington (30 May 2018): The New Zealand Initiative is celebrating World Smokefree Day (Thursday 31 May) as an opportunity to take a more compassionate approach to tobacco control policy. A recent report by The New Zealand Initiative Smoke and Vapour: the changing world of tobacco harm reduction calls for a range of smokeless nicotine delivery products (e-cigarettes, snus, and heat-not-burn) to be made available to smokers wanting to cut down or quit. Read more
While our tobacco policy is flawed, the Government needs to make the most of new technology like vaping, argues Jenesa Jeram argues on Newstalk ZB. Read more
Eric Crampton comments on the new taxi service to rival Uber. Zoomy now has more than 80,000 app downloads and more than 2000 drivers, but can it become profitable? Read more
The head of the country's largest Māori public health organisation wants the Government to develop a strategy to end tobacco sales in New Zealand. Hāpai Te Hauora chief executive Lance Norman made the call at a briefing of the health and Māori affairs select committees on the country's Smokefree 2025 target. Read more
Wellington (17 May 2018): The New Zealand Initiative applauds today’s Budget 2018 announcement of an independent fiscal institution. Associate Finance Minister James Shaw announced a new independent body to assess government forecasts and cost political party election promises. Read more