We welcome the focus on this issue. The quality of life in Auckland, not to mention New Zealand's prosperity, depends on an efficient transport system. Read more
The New Zealand Institute welcomes the introduction of the KiwiSaver scheme as a step in the right direction. The introduction of a scheme to encourage household savings is a long overdue addition to the New Zealand policy landscape. Read more
The proposal to extend the adult minimum wage to 16 and 17 year olds may be well-intentioned, but it is likely to adversely affect the employment and training of young workers. Read more
This submission is made by the New Zealand Business Roundtable (NZBR), an organisation comprising primarily chief executives of major New Zealand business firms. The purpose of the NZBR is to contribute to the development of sound public policies that reflect overall New Zealand interests. Because of the size of its member companies, few of them have a direct interest in Unlisted. Read more
New Zealand is not on track to lift its average living standards relative to Australia or the OECD average. The BPS is based on a projected annual average rate of growth in real GDP of only 2.8 percent during the five years to March 2010. Read more
The NZBR agrees with the statements in the introductory note to the Bill about the importance of security in private property rights and the need for compensation when rights in private property are taken. Many of our submissions on government regulations over the years have stressed the need for governments to take a more circumspect and principled approach to altering private property rights. Read more
The Forum has long argued that the main contribution the Council can make to the advancement of the overall welfare of the citizens of Wellington City is to minimise the rates and regulatory burdens that it imposes. It could achieve this by focusing on funding genuine local public goods and services, facilitating the efficient provision of necessary infrastructure and exiting from non-core activities. Read more
The submission comments on the proposal that the Council should contribute up to $3.95 million per annum for seven years towards the costs of holding the V8 Supercar Championship series (V8 race) in Wellington city from April 2006. Read more
The Bill's explanatory note describes it as an omnibus bill. It will amend the Securities Act 1978, the Securities Markets Act 1988, the Takeovers Act 1993, and the Takeovers Code, with related amendments to other statutes. Read more
We have several concerns about the propositions contained in paragraphs 20 and 21. We raise them in the context of section 68 of the Act. Read more
We are grateful for the opportunity to comment on the Ministry's discussion document, Review of the Financial Reporting Act Part II. Read more
The New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) has released five papers that are part of a review of the government’s role in the domestic food sector. The fifth paper, Principles and Possible Methods for a Cost Recovery Framework (the Cost Recovery Paper), states that its purpose is to “propose principles and possible methods for a cost recovery framework for domestic food safety that will determine the funding of functions undertaken by the regulator or on its behalf and who will fund those functions” (p 5). Read more
This paper was prepared by Capital Economics Ltd for the Local Government Forum. Read more
In this submission, section 2 reviews the BPS's objectives. Section 3 discusses whether the fiscal strategy in the BPS is consistent with those objectives and touches on problems of regulation. Read more
The minister of energy has invited interested parties to comment on new matters raised in the Report, and other relevant matters that have not been the subject of earlier submissions or are not reflected in the Report. In particular, the minister has sought comments on the Report's recommendation that a targeted control regime comparable to that applied to electricity lines businesses under Part 4A of the Commerce Act 1986 should be applied to gas pipeline businesses. Read more