Reports & Media

Top economists agree on critical policy issuesThe inaugural New Zealand Economics Experts Survey finds remarkable consensus among the country’s top economists on critical policy issues. The New Zealand Association of Economists, in conjunction with the New Zealand Initiative, invited Distinguished Fellows, life members, and former Presidents of the New Zealand Association of Economists, and recipients of the NZIER ‘Economist of the Year’ award, to serve as an expert panel. Read more

Wellington (Thursday, 11 November 2021) A new unemployment insurance scheme would be another tax on income, with little benefit, and increase unemployment, according to a new report from The New Zealand Initiative. The think tank warns that the scheme could constitute a 2 – 3% tax increase for every Kiwi worker in the medium-term. Read more

Wellington (Tuesday, 9 November 2021) The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has no legal or democratic mandate for climate change, says a new report from think tank The New Zealand Initiative. Climate of fear: How the Reserve Bank is overstepping its mandate documents serious breaches of the RBNZ's responsibilities as regulator of the financial system, including one instance of misconduct. Read more

Wellington (Tuesday, 19 October 2021) – Today, the Government took a significant step toward restoring housing affordability. The New Zealand Initiative enthusiastically welcomed the announcement, supported by Labour and National, of a broad upzoning across urban centres where housing is terribly unaffordable. Read more

Wellington (Tuesday, 12 October 2021) – The New Zealand Initiative is urging the Government to substantially reconsider a provision in the COVID-19 Public Health Response Amendment Bill (No. 2) that would allow it to commandeer private Covid testing facilities and equipment such as those of Rako Science. The egregious provision and its implications for New Zealand’s testing capability were the subject of the New Zealand Initiative’s submission on the Bill. Read more

Wellington (Thursday, 30 September 2021) – The New Zealand Initiative has welcomed today’s announcement from Immigration Minister Hon Kris Faafoi that the government will provide a pathway to residency for migrants currently in New Zealand. In May, The New Zealand Initiative implored the government to rethink their hostile approach to skilled migrants and called for migrants to be given residence. Read more

Wellington (Tuesday, 21 September 2021) – The 2.8 percent jump in GDP in the June quarter 2021 does not mean that the government’s economic strategy is sound. In fact, it is dangerous wishful thinking based on a false reading of history, according to a new research report from The New Zealand Initiative. Read more

Wellington (Friday, 27 August 2021): A new report by the New Zealand Initiative says personal budgets are a social services innovation that is creating new opportunities and changing how disabled Kiwis live. The report, titled The Power of Freedom: How personal budgets for social services are transforming lives, compares outcomes from traditional support services to the Individualised Funding (“IF”) model for disability support. Read more

Wellington (Monday, 23August 2021): Improving water quality requires more than short-term fixes, concludes a new report released today by the New Zealand Initiative. Any Government committed to improving New Zealand’s freshwater quality must build the institutions that can deliver it while withstanding changes in Government. Read more

Wellington (Wednesday, 18 August 2021): A review of last week’s blackout by Carl Hansen, the former Chief Executive of the Electricity Authority (EA), argues for a sober and careful analysis of why 35,000 consumers lost power for up to two hours on 9 August. In a research paper published today by the New Zealand Initiative, Mr Hansen states “It is essential the Government allows the independent market regulator to identify and address any problems found.” “It is also important the Opposition take a mature approach and resist the temptation to jump to conclusions and call for Ministerial heads to roll.” At 6:48pm, Transpower asked lines companies to reduce demand by 1%, and followed up this request with a formal notice at 7:09pm. 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

Wellington (Thursday 10 June 2021): Every secondary school should provide every student with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in their endeavours after graduation. However, new research from the New Zealand Initiative shows that this might not be the case. Read more

Wellington (Wednesday, 9 June 2021): The New Zealand Initiative calls on the Government to reject the Climate Change Commission’s recommendations and instead rely on the Emissions Trading Scheme’s cap to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. “The Climate Change Commission has based its plan on the idea that the ETS does not cap emissions,” says Dr Oliver Hartwich, Executive Director of the New Zealand Initiative. Read more

Wellington (Friday, 7 May 2021): The Government’s proposal announced today to impose compulsory industry-wide collective bargaining on employees and employers without their agreement or even their participation will harm everyone but unions,” said Roger Partridge, chair of The New Zealand Initiative. Partridge said The New Zealand Initiative’s 2019 report, Work in Progress: Why Fair Pay Agreements would be bad for labour, found that Fair Pay Agreements would be likely to harm productivity and would be not be in the interests of workers, the unemployed, consumers, and overall wellbeing. Read more

The Government’s recent housing package announcement primarily focused on measures to dampen housing demand, particularly from those who provide rental accommodation services, rather than the key drivers of inadequate housing supply. Focusing on these measures is likely to have little effect on housing affordability in the long run. Read more