As Parliament rushes the final stages of the Government’s Zero Carbon Bill, a new report by think tank The New Zealand Initiative warns the Bill is so seriously flawed that it could raise emissions. The report, Real action, not empty words says New Zealand can reduce global emissions by far more than we contribute by working with whoever can do the most to reduce emissions, wherever they are. Read more
Bold policy changes in the form of congestion pricing, which charges drivers higher road user rates at peak times in overcrowded routes, can solve New Zealand’s shocking congestion problems, says a new report from The New Zealand Initiative. The Price is Right: The road to a better transport system provides compelling evidence that without proper road user pricing, congestion will continue to increase in our urban centres. Read more
Abolishing New Zealand’s decile-based school funding system may get rid of the decile stigma of some schools. However, it does nothing to address the underlying issues, says a new research note by think tank The New Zealand Initiative. Read more
Low-decile schools are often viewed as being of lower quality by parents and are disproportionately categorised by ERO in the underperforming category. However, findings from The New Zealand Initiative’s latest report, In Fairness to Our Schools: Better measures for better outcomes, suggests that many low-deciles schools are some of the top-performers in the country. Read more
The government’s proposal to reform New Zealand’s underachieving vocational education sector is laudable, but there are still concerns that need to be addressed, says a new research note from The New Zealand Initiative. The research note, Hands-on: New suggestions to reform New Zealand's vocational sector, identifies what changes need to be implemented to ensure the vocational education sector is given the same positive level of attention as a university education: Industry training has to become more attractive for students and employers alike in order for it to be seen as a successful career path The roles of different educational institutions in the vocational sector have to be clearly defined to manage expectations, and Existing institutions must be independent and self-reliable so that they look for partners early and don’t count on the government to step in once the business model has proven to be dysfunctional for many years. Read more
To reinvigorate nightlife in our cities we need to take a more modern and balanced approach, says a report released today by The New Zealand Initiative. Living after Midnight: For a better night-time environment highlights New Zealand’s antiquated way of restricting life after dark. Read more
The New Zealand Initiative enthusiastically welcomes the Coalition Government’s announcement of an Independent Parliamentary Budget Office. Finance Minister Grant Robertson and Associate Finance Minister James Shaw jointly announced the Office today, to be operational from mid-2021. Read more
Following the larger than anticipated cut in the cash rate, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has signalled its preparation for unconventional monetary policies such as negative interest rates and quantitative easing. But such a move requires an urgent clarification of the Remit given to the RBNZ’s Monetary Policy Committee, argues a new research note by The New Zealand Initiative. Read more
Wellington (25 July 2019): The Interim Climate Change Committee has delivered a landmark report, according to The New Zealand Initiative's new policy paper When the facts change: How the ICCC saved New Zealand from a policy disaster. Analysis by the Interim Committee found the Government’s 100% renewable electricity policy would hike power prices and potentially deliver worse environmental outcomes. Read more
Wellington (16 July 2019): The New Zealand Initiative has welcomed the decision by Minister of Energy and Resources Hon Megan Woods to accept the Interim Climate Change Committee’s recommendation to shift focus away from 100% renewable electricity to other more effective and less expensive emissions policies. The Interim Committee found the Government’s 100% renewables policy would increase power prices by up to 39% and could effectively raise New Zealand’s emissions by preventing a transition off fossil fuels to electricity in transport and parts of industry. Read more
The Government must reject the recommendations made by former Prime Minister Jim Bolger’s Fair Pay Agreements Working Group (FPAWG) or face harming economic growth and productivity and the interests of workers, the unemployed and consumers, says public policy think tank The New Zealand Initiative. The Initiative’s new report Work in Progress: Why Fair Pay Agreements would be bad for labour, reveals that the Bolger report misrepresents New Zealand’s labour market record. Read more
The Government must reject the recommendations made by former Prime Minister Jim Bolger’s Fair Pay Agreements Working Group (FPAWG) or face harming economic growth and productivity and the interests of workers, the unemployed and consumers, says public policy think tank The New Zealand Initiative. The Initiative’s new report Work in Progress: Why Fair Pay Agreements would be bad for labour, reveals that the Bolger report misrepresents New Zealand’s labour market record. Read more
Wellington (7 July 2019): The New Zealand Initiative is proud to support the release of Local Government New Zealand’s (LGNZ) localism discussion paper, Reinvigorating local democracy, which was launched today at the 2019 LGNZ Conference in Wellington. The discussion paper outlines a gradual process for New Zealand to move from being one of the world’s most centralised countries in the developed world to one that is prepared to trust its communities to play a meaningful role in our social, economic and cultural development. Read more
Wellington (4 July 2019): The New Zealand Initiative commends the New Zealand Productivity Commission’s draft report on local government funding and financing. “The report stresses the importance of high performing local government for community wellbeing. Read more
The New Zealand Initiative has appointed Barbara Chapman, CNZM, as Deputy Chair of its Board of Directors. Ms Chapman, who has sat on the Initiative Board since 2017, is a former Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of ASB Bank. Read more