Reports & Media

Wellington, 26 March 2020 – Mixing the New Zealand Initiative’s research with ideas from dozens of the largest Kiwi firms, the think tank has produced a comprehensive touchstone document on the best range of Covid-19 policy responses. Written by the Initiative’s chief economist Eric Crampton, with research assistance from Leonard Hong, Effective Treatment: Public policy prescription for a pandemic warns that without sound, quick and careful policy adjustments implemented by the Government, New Zealand risks slipping into a deep recession. Read more

Wellington, 26 March - Asking the public for submissions on pending legislation while the country is in pandemic lockdown risks making a farce of democracy and unnecessarily distracting the Government, according to a new policy paper by the New Zealand Initiative. The business of government must go on, said the Initiative’s chief economist Dr Eric Crampton, but politicians can afford to put less urgent matters aside for the time being. Read more

Wellington, 24 March 2020 – The New Zealand Initiative says the Government must change its approach towards wage subsidies to avoid a mass lay-off of jobs and the potential destruction of many companies. In a new paper called Short-time work to maintain employment, New Zealand could preserve an extra 3-4% of jobs – even during the harshest economic impact of the Covid-19 shutdowns – by adopting a successful European policy tested during the GFC. Read more

Wellington 23 March 2020 - BusinessNZ and The New Zealand Initiative are encouraging the Government to go further with its economic support package, saying the support package announced last week was the right first step and was greatly appreciated but needed to go further. The New Zealand Initiative’s Executive Director Dr Oliver Hartwich and BusinessNZ’s CEO Kirk Hope noted the Australian Government’s move yesterday, launching a second amount of support and signaling that more was coming. Read more

Wellington, 17 March 2020 - We welcome the Government’s measures to tackle Covid-19 in New Zealand. In particular, we welcome the recently announced travel restrictions, the increased health funding and the support to business. Read more

Wellington, 16 March 2020 - The New Zealand Initiative welcomes the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s move to cut interest rates and suspend the tightening of bank capital requirements. However, the Initiative’s Chief Economist Dr Eric Crampton warns that more will be necessary. Read more

Wellington, 6 March 2020 – A groundbreaking new tool could give parents and principals the first objective measurement of New Zealand school performance, says a new report released today by The New Zealand Initiative. Insights and Excellence: School success in New Zealand demonstrates the quality of information, analysis and reporting that could be provided to every parent and principal in the country using the data already collected by the Ministry of Education and other government agencies. Read more

New Zealand can learn from international experiences showing congestion pricing systems can be successfully introduced – and with the support of the public, says a new report released today by The New Zealand Initiative. Pricing Out Congestion: Experiences from abroad, describes how cities around the world are turning to the decades of scientific research and empirical support on using congestion charging to manage chronic road overuse. Read more

Public policy think tank The New Zealand Initiative opposes changing the purpose of the Crown Minerals Act from the promotion of mining for the benefit of New Zealanders. In our submission on the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s discussion document: Review of the Crown Minerals Act 1991, the Initiative addresses questions raised about the role and purpose of the Crown Minerals Act (CMA). Read more

Cabinet’s decisions announced today by Finance Minister Grant Robertson to reform the governance and accountability arrangements of the Reserve Bank are commendable. Key among the decisions is establishing a governance board that will be responsible for all functions of the Reserve Bank, except those undertaken by the Monetary Policy Committee. Read more

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand should suspend its decision to increase banks’ capital and re-open the public consultation process says public policy think tank, The New Zealand Initiative. The RBNZ’s decision to increase the capital banks are required to hold will have adverse effects for borrowers and the wider economy. Read more

Confirmation came today that New Zealand’s once world-leading school system continues its steady decline. Ever since the OECD began testing the educational performance of 15-year olds in the early 2000s, New Zealand has performed progressively worse in all three assessed areas of reading, maths and science. Read more

The Government must halt its plans to introduce fair pay agreements or face harming workers, consumers, the unemployed and the wider economy says public policy think tank, The New Zealand Initiative. The Initiative’s submission in response to the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment’s October 2019 Discussion Paper reveals that the premises on which the fair pay agreement proposals are based remain deeply flawed. Read more

Worrying comments from Whetu Cormick, President of the New Zealand Principals Federation in today’s Herald show why, for the sake of educational equity, it is time New Zealand rethought its approach to knowledge in the national curriculum. Commenting on the Initiative’s latest research report, Ignorance is not bliss: Why knowledge matters (and why we may not have enough of it), Cormick explained that the curriculum was right to let teachers choose topics on the basis of students’ interests. Read more

New research released by The New Zealand Initiative reveals significant gaps in adult New Zealanders’ general knowledge. Ignorance is not bliss: Why knowledge matters (and why we may not have enough of it) argues that although information is readily available nowadays, our basic knowledge of subjects like geography, history, and maths is low. Read more