Reports & Media

Local government is ready to sit down and talk with central government about improving the sector’s performance, provided policymakers in the Beehive come to the table as a partner, not as a parent. That was the theme that emerged from the launch of our latest report, The Local Manifesto: Restoring local government accountability, which took place in Wellington on Monday. Read more

I almost did not read The Herald’s exclusive ‘classroom shake-up’ coverage last week. Quake stories were getting me down. Read more

If we want councils to be open, accountable and democratic, we have to overhaul the laws the govern the sector, writes Jason Krupp Local government in Zealand is broken and dying, only it is dying so slowly that you’d hardly notice it unless you are looking, and it is a problem. That most of you probably read this without batting an eye is testament to just how broken the sector is. Read more

The New Zealand Initiative is conducting research on the way fisheries are managed. This research will culminate in policy recommendations to help debate how best to improve New Zealanders’ recreational fishing experience. Read more

“Regulation above all else” is exactly what ridesharing wunderkind Uber must feel as it faces up to select committee hearings in Wellington this month. Despite promises of a new regulatory framework that recognises the role of global technology in improving safety and consumer protection, the bureaucrats at the Ministry of Transport have fallen well short. Read more

It was an odd sense of déjà vu this week as someone who lived in Christchurch until recently. The earthquake was hugely destructive and distressing for many. Read more

The government ran roughshod over property rights in the Christchurch rebuild. The New Zealand Human Rights Commission’s report urging the government to include property rights in the Bill of Rights now seems especially timely. Read more

Once upon a time, in a previous life it now seems, I wrote a doctoral thesis on the law and economics of advertising regulation. One of the fun facts I still remember is a paradox in people’s attitudes towards advertising. Read more