Reports & Media

Representatives of two separate and distinct peoples signed the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. Maori immigrants from the Pacific region, who had lived in isolation on the islands now known as New Zealand for somewhere between 500 and 700 years, had been connected with the rest of the world in the decades following James Cook’s arrival in 1769.1 Their separation from the traders, religions, cultural achievements, military forces and diseases of other nations was inevitably going to end. Read more

The purpose of this report is to provide a primer on the core role of local government: the provision of public goods. Governments have to distinguish their roles from those of the private sector and prioritise their plans because the demands on them are unlimited, but resources are scarce. Read more

It is interesting in a public policy sense to review the various roles that have been given to the Maori portfolio of government over the last 160 years. Maori Affairs is one of the oldest of all government portfolios. Read more

The indicators of productivity in New Zealand's health sector are reason for concern, as is the paucity of transparent and reliable information with which to evaluate the effectiveness of policies and management. In spite of continuing substantial - and possibly unsustainable - increases in funding each year, the system struggles to meet some of its obligations, for example to provide treatment to all those who qualify under the points system. Read more

This report is motivated by the realisation that there is a need in New Zealand for a wider understanding of the importance of security of all property rights for civil peace, prosperity, constitutional government, social cohesion and ultimately the democratic system. Respect for private property rights implies the need for restraint, both by governments and by lobby groups. Read more

This paper explores the nature of iwi through time and is structured in three parts. First, the role and institutional limitations of a tribal collective are examined. Read more

This essay advances four propositions: (a) the separate seats are unnecessary to secure effective representation of Maori, (b) the seats entrench a form of historical paternalism that removes Maori issues from the mainstream political agenda, (c) the retention of the seats under MMP represents an insidious form of reverse discrimination and (d) the seats invite 'overhang' and the potential to undermine the expressed will of the people. Read more

We see the agreement as furthering New Zealand's efforts to become an open and competitive economy with strong links to the rest of the world. Trade liberalisation policies going back some 25 years have put the country in a sound position to benefit from freer trade with China. Read more

The Business Roundtable believes that the mandate of local authorities should be more tightly constrained. As a general rule, councils should only be permitted to engage in those activities, including regulatoryactivities, that fall within the proper role of government (as opposed to the private sector) and that should be the responsibility of local rather than central government. Read more

The Business Roundtable has had reservations about the TSO from the outset and agrees it is now outdated. It fails most, if not all, tests of good public policy. Read more

This article is an appeal to the media. Speaking to the Journalism Education Association in Wellington recently, prime minister Helen Clark said she wished the New Zealand media were better informed about, among other things, economics. Read more

Actions speak louder than words is the second discussion paper in a research project that the New Zealand Institute is conducting to develop recommendations on New Zealand’s policy response to climate change.

 

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Complaint to the Regulation Review Committee concerning the Order in Council of 3 March 2008 amending the Overseas Investment Regulations 2005. Read more

The Bill aims to increase ACC payments to some categories of persons. It contains a regulatory impact statement (RIS) certified by the Department of Labour that purports to make the case for these proposals. Read more

We acknowledge the government’s need to take action in the light of international developments. We have long supported broad-based price measures as the most efficient means of reducing gross or net emissions, should the case for such action be demonstrated. Read more