Wellington, 12 May 2020 - Taiwan’s relative success against Covid-19 makes it a great candidate for connections with New Zealand after lockdown, according to a new report from The New Zealand Initiative. As New Zealand prepares to downgrade to Alert Level 2, the Government will be keen to find other Covid-free countries to help restart the Kiwi economy. Read more
Wellington, 8 May 2020 - More economic freedom will be the key to surviving the next phase of the Covid-19 recovery, and the Government should step aside as soon as it can, according to a new report For better or for worse: How governments respond to crises by The New Zealand Initiative. After placing the country in enforced lockdown for nearly two months, the Government is now considering its options to reopen many Kiwi businesses sometime in the next few weeks. Read more
Wellington, 1 May - New Zealand’s relative success against Covid-19 now gives Kiwi universities a unique opportunity to attract a new wave of keen international students, according to a report by the New Zealand Initiative. In the report, Open for minds: export education and recovery, chief economist Dr Eric Crampton highlights what may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Kiwi universities to reinvigorate their foreign student numbers as the pandemic crisis is brought under control. Read more
Wellington, 30 April - Now is not the time to rethink New Zealand’s hard-won network of trade ties around the world with protectionist policies, warns a new report Reinforcing New Zealand’s trade relationships after Covid-19 by the New Zealand Initiative. While the Covid-19 crisis exposed vulnerabilities in the global supply chain, the answer isn’t to create new trade barriers, said the report’s author and chief editor Nathan Smith. Read more
Wellington, 24 April - South Korea has tackled the Covid-19 crisis competently and New Zealand could learn from the East Asian country as it considers moving to Alert Level 3, according to a new report from the New Zealand Initiative. While no country comparison is perfect, both New Zealand and South Korea are highly-wired and technologically advanced liberal democracies. Read more
Wellington, 22 April - No matter how seductive it sounds, central bank funding of the additional government spending on Covid-19 would set New Zealand on a dangerous path, according to a new report by the New Zealand Initiative. The report, Deficit spending in a crisis: why there is no such thing as a free lunch, highlights some concerning ideas from both the government and the Reserve Bank about expanding the money supply to help pull New Zealand out of the Covid-19 economic crisis. Read more
Wellington, 14 April - The New Zealand Initiative welcomes comments from Finance Minister Grant Robertson today before the Epidemic Response Committee about the need for a principles-based approach to what businesses will be able to operate at Alert Level 3. New Zealand Initiative Executive Director, Oliver Hartwich said: “The essential/non-essential categorisation of businesses or business activities at Alert Level 4 was cumbersome, bureaucratic and difficult for both businesses and consumers. Read more
Wellington, 9 April - A new report Quantifying the wellbeing costs of Covid-19 by the New Zealand Initiative shows how an economic hit of about 6.1% of GDP would be justified if it meant saving 33,600 lives during the Covid-19 pandemic. The figures, compiled by research fellow Dr Bryce Wilkinson, were generated by updating a Ministry of Health model from 2017 and plugging in the available data on Covid-19. Read more
Wellington, 8 April - Singapore has set a high standard for dealing with Covid-19 and despite its decision to enter a lockdown this week, New Zealand can learn a lot from the country, according to a new report Lessons from abroad: Singapore’s Covid-19 containment model from the New Zealand Initiative. Although Singapore has enacted a “circuit breaker” lockdown to defend against some new sources of coronavirus, it could make this choice due to its earlier efforts to identify, control and contain the pandemic threatening its territory. Read more
Wellington, 7 April - The Government’s current wage subsidy scheme may insufficiently protect Kiwis from the worst effects of the Covid-19 crisis, according to a new report from the New Zealand Initiative. Comparing New Zealand with Australia and Canada, the report Relief measures: comparing Covid-19 wage subsidy schemes by Dr David Law shows significant differences between the three in the construction of wage subsidy schemes. Read more
Wellington, 3 April - If New Zealand can’t recover from the economic “heart attack” of self-imposed lockdown, it could face GDP losses at Great Depression levels, according to a New Zealand Initiative research note. While the Covid-19 pandemic has not ruined New Zealand’s economic capabilities, the lockdown has forced the country into an unprecedented productivity pause which the Initiative’s senior fellow Bryce Wilkinson says could slice away about $10,000 per household this year. Read more
Wellington, 1 April - Rushing to deal with new vaping legislation during an unprecedented economic lockdown is not just folly, it is anti-democratic, according to a public submission by the New Zealand Initiative. While most businesses and public services are shut down as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government has retained its deadline for public submissions about its tabled Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendments Bill, due today. Read more
Wellington, 31 March - The New Zealand Initiative welcomes the Government’s plans to ramp up testing for Covid-19 beyond 3500 per day to get the country closer to reopening its economy. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a press briefing this afternoon the Government has completed approximately 21,000 tests for the coronavirus Covid-19 already and is on track to issue 3500 tests per day. Read more
Wellington, 27 March - The pandemic-induced recession creates a strong case for the Government to support struggling workers with targeted assistance, rather than a Universal Basic Income (UBI), according to the new policy paper Stay on Target by The New Zealand Initiative. As the Government searches for fresh and innovative ideas to prepare for the worst economic effects of shutting down the country’s commerce over four weeks, it has tentatively proposed the introduction of a universal basic income scheme. Read more