It's no secret that low productivity is a major issue for the New Zealand economy. There are many factors contributing to that. Read more
Oliver Hartwich talks to Wolfgang Müller, SBS Radio about how Australia and New Zealand are getting closer. He explains how the relationship has improved since the change in Australian government and what this means for New Zealanders living in Australia. Read more
Oliver Hartwich talks to Rachel Smalley, Today FM about the greatest challenge facing New Zealand. He explains the work of The New Zealand Initiative and highlights it's research on public policy issues across the spectrum from local government, housing, planning and education. Read more
When Ministers appear before a Parliamentary Select Committee we do not expect them to make false assertions about factual matters. That is why we were shocked by what the Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety told the Employment and Workforce Select Committee last month. Read more
Question: How many electricians does it take to change a lightbulb? Answer: Just one, as long as they’ve completed a Job Safety, Environmental Analysis and Risk Assessment, a COVID-19 Workplace Safety SmartForm and an Electrical Safety Certificate. Read more
As an exemplar of the purest form of Kiwi anti-growth, anti-development orientation, it is hard to beat. If New Zealand doesn’t beat this particular habit, it is very hard to be optimistic about anything other than emigration. Read more
Eric Crampton discusses with Tova O'Brien on Today FM whether we should ban single use plastic bottles and phase them out with the rest of single use plastics. Read more
Peta Credlin interviews Oliver Hartwich about New Zealand's increase in domestic issues (prolonged Covid lockdown, housing crisis, declining education standards, falling tourism, increase in crime, changes to democracy) and what Australia can learn from this. Read more
When expectations are low it is easy to be pleasantly surprised. Back in the 1980s, a school teacher once told me of a spontaneous surge of gratitude he had experienced towards a wayward pupil that morning. Read more
Last month, the Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety, Michael Wood, appeared before Parliament’s Education and Workforce Committee in support of the Government’s Fair Pay Agreement Bill. He was asked for his response to the New Zealand Initiative’s case that the wage rates were not showing a ‘race to the bottom,’ a decline in either employees’ share of income, or labour productivity growth since the Employment Contracts Act in 1991. Read more
Wellington (Tuesday, 5 July 2022) – A policy paper released today by The New Zealand Initiative suggests that Minister Wood's assertions about wage rates are based on myths rather than facts. The Minister’s claim that labour’s share has fallen since 1991 is not true for employee’s share, and it is employees’ liberty that he intends to reduce. Read more
The economists descended on Wellington last week. Or, at least, many shuffled their way from the Ministries over to Victoria University to meet with academics from across the country for the annual three-day conference of the New Zealand Association of Economists. Read more
In this week's podcast Dr Oliver Hartwich chats with Dr John McDermott, Executive Director of Motu and former Assistant Governor and Chief Economist at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand about monetary policy in New Zealand, the overhang of monetary stimulus from the last few years, and what will happen if we don't wind this back. OLIVER HARTWICH 0:05 Hello and welcome to the New Zealand Initiative’s Podcast. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich chats with Dr John McDermott, Executive Director of Motu and former Assistant Governor and Chief Economist at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand about monetary policy in New Zealand, the overhang of monetary stimulus from the last few years, and what will happen if we don't wind this back. To read the transcript click here. Read more
In an article in the June 11-17 edition of the New Zealand Listener, speech-language therapist Karena Shannon argued that our education system over-values literacy and under-values oral language. Shannon correctly noted that oral language is “innate” in human beings, whereas literacy is “constructed”. Read more