According to the Peter Principle, people in a hierarchy tend to rise to their "level of incompetence." While intended as satire, many people will have their own story of the Peter Principle in practice. Of a boss not up to the role they have been promoted to fulfil. Read more
The global pandemic has led to a lot of political catchphrases, such as Green New Deal, and Build Back Better. Are these slogans of little substance, or will we soon see the state take a more assertive role in the economy? Read more
In our submission to the Ministry of Transport on transport emissions - pathways to net zero by 2050, we support the commitment to lower emissions and our national emissions targets. MoT’s strategy to reduce transport emissions is incompatible with national targets. Read more
Readers of this column will be only too well aware why the Government’s proposals to return to compulsory, occupation-wide collective bargaining (misleadingly dubbed “Fair Pay Agreements”) will damage New Zealand’s already fragile productivity growth. The evidence is set out in black and white in The New Zealand Initiative’s 2019 report, Work in Progress: Why Fair Pay Agreements would be bad for labour. Read more
Roger Partridge talks to Mike Hosking on Breakfast about his new report that says our employment protection laws make it hard to fire poorly performing senior managers.
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A law change is needed to make it easier to dismiss highly paid staff who are underperforming. Roger Partridge discusses his new report with Wallace Chapman on Radio NZ - The Panel. Read more
This week, a strong majority of Australian economists came out in support of a policy measure to encourage electric vehicle adoption on their side of the Tasman. But they did not support subsidies for electric vehicles. Read more
Wellington (Monday, 21 June 2021): New Zealand's productivity growth is being hampered by employment protection laws that constrain boards and business owners from firing poorly performing senior managers, warns a report from The New Zealand Initiative. In Nothing Costs nothing: Why unjustified dismissal procedures should not apply to the highly paid, Initiative chair and senior fellow Roger Partridge found strong arguments for New Zealand adopting an Australian-style carve-out of high-income earners from the unjustified dismissal provisions of the Employment Contracts Act 2000. Read more
The personal grievance provisions of the Employment Relations Act 2000 (ERA) prevent an employer from firing an employee without good cause. Instead, dismissals must be justified. Read more
The vehicle feebate scheme announced Sunday might result in more electric vehicles, but it cannot affect net carbon emissions. Transport is covered by the Emissions Trading Scheme’s binding cap on net emissions. Read more
There are many ways a Minister can communicate with their Ministry. From an email from an advisor to a quiet word with officials (or sometimes a not so quiet word). Read more
The Government’s so-called clean-car ‘feebate’ scheme has copped a lot of criticism. However, the Government at least deserves credit for its creativity. Read more
The government’s announcement on Sunday of subsidies for electric vehicles did not make any case that the benefits to the public would plausibly exceed the costs. To fail to demonstrate positive net benefits is to fail to make a public wellbeing case for the measure. Read more
Chelsy Killick talks to Oliver Hartwich about his latest Newsroom column and asks why the next Euro crisis has just begun. If you would like to listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more
The practicalities of the Government’s new ‘feebate’ scheme are still unclear, as the Financial Services Federation’s Lyn McMorran explains in a conversation with Eric Crampton, Matt Burgess and Oliver Hartwich. If you would like to listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more