Rather than rising since the 1980s, income inequality in New Zealand rose in the late 1980s and early 1990s, then flattened out. Some of that increase was real, but some of it was complicated – as explained late last year. Read more
New Zealand's tax brackets don't accurately reflect what counts as "high earning" in this country, critics say. Since 2008, the highest personal income tax rate has kicked in on earnings over $70,000 a year. Read more
Everything has its season. The slow January news period brings Oxfam’s annual condemnation of wealth inequality and calls for redistribution. Read more
KiwiBuild – the government programme to build or deliver 100,000 homes in 10 years – serves no useful public interest purpose and promises to endlessly distract and embarrass the government. That is the signal conclusion of KiwiBuild: Twyford’s Tar Baby, a research note released this week by The New Zealand Initiative. Read more
Being the most recent addition to the New Zealand Initiative research team, I would like to briefly introduce myself. My name is Patrick – also known more commonly in some social interactions as the “Father of Liz” or the “Husband of Julia”. Read more
KiwiBuild – the government programme to deliver 100,000 down-sized homes in 10 years – is a waste of time and money. It serves no useful material public purpose and absorbs time and resources that would be far better devoted to addressing the real problem – housing affordability. Read more
A panel - chaired by the former National Prime Minister Jim Bolger - has made recommendations to the government on how best to set up Fair Pay Agreements that would set minimum terms and conditions for all workers in the same sector or occupation in a bid to stop a slide in pay. The report has yet to be made public, but the National Party has been told some of the recommendations - chiefly that a fair pay negotiation could be triggered with the support of just ten per cent of a workforce nationwide. Read more
Read The New Zealand Initiative's submission to the Independent Expert Advisory Panel on Phase 2 of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act Review. Read more
Every January, Oxfam releases a report on global wealth inequality. This year's Oxfam report contrasted the drop in wealth held by the less wealthy half of New Zealand with the rise in wealth enjoyed by the two Kiwis who made it on to Forbes' 2018 list of billionaires. Read more
Bryce Wilkinson discusses on TVNZ Breakfast his new report on KiwiBuild – the government programme to deliver 100,000 down-sized homes in 10 years. He explains why this policy is a waste of time and money and why it is not going to achieve worthwhile objectives. Read more
Bryce Wilkinson discusses with Karyn Hay on Radio New Zealand the findings in his new report on KiwiBuild. He explains why the policy fails against all the objectives set for it. Read more
Executive SummaryRelative to income, dwelling prices in New Zealand are among the highest in the OECD. This is New Zealand’s housing affordability problem in a nutshell. Read more
Wellington (22 January 2019): Decisive government action to free up the supply of land for housing and to reduce construction costs across the board is the only viable remedy for New Zealand’s housing affordability problem. KiwiBuild – the government programme to build or deliver 100,000 homes in 10 years – is a massive distraction from fixing the housing problem, according to a new research report, KiwiBuild: Twyford’s Tar Baby, released today by The New Zealand Initiative. Read more
With Jacinda Ardern meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May to discuss trade agreements, Dr Oliver Hartwich speaks to Newstalk ZB and says this is an important chance to discuss our post-Brexit trading relationship and a good opportunity to remind the Brits that there are other countries who would like to trade with Britain.
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The Tomorrow's Schools Independent Taskforce sees competition and self-governance as bad, collaboration and ministry management as good. It is seductive stuff, if a little Orwellian. Read more