Nothing to see here
Kia ora, colleagues! It’s me, your Vice-Chancellor. Read more
Dr James Kierstead
18 July, 2025
Podcast: Going for Housing Growth (Part 3): The Government’s proposals - Transformation or incremental change?
In this final episode of their three-part series, Dr Eric Crampton, Dr Benno Blaschke and Dr Stuart Donovan critically examine the government's housing discussion document, assessing its potential to create more competitive urban land markets. They explore whether the proposed reforms genuinely move towards a more responsive and dynamic urban development system or remain trapped in existing planning paradigms. You can also listen to Part 1 and 2 here: Going for Housing Growth (Part 1): How we got into this mess - Struggling with uncompetitive urban land markets Going for Housing Growth (Part 2): The way out - The benefits of competitive urban land markets To listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton
Dr Benno Blaschke
18 July, 2025
Towards a system that respects property rights: Tidy tweaks or real change?
After decades of planning gridlock, the government has promised to put property rights at the heart of New Zealand’s resource management system. But will its latest reforms deliver lasting change or just patch up the mess we already have? Read more
Nick Clark
18 July, 2025
Why students say they are learning nothing
When students across New Zealand say they are not learning anything at school, we should listen. After nearly six months speaking with New Zealand’s schools and universities, I have witnessed firsthand how this nation has become the unwitting laboratory for one of education's most destructive experiments. Read more
Professor Barbara Oakley
18 July, 2025
Feeling for Gen Z's unemployment problem
News this week of how hard it was for some Gen Z New Zealanders to find paid work made grim reading. They were stories of young, qualified people handing out dozens of CVs, applying for hundreds of jobs, and receiving little more than silence in return. Read more
Dr Bryce Wilkinson ONZM
18 July, 2025
How to solve an empire state of mind
There is a fun sign at the Wairau Road Pak’nSave explaining the store’s story. The story began in 1987 when Foodstuffs acquired an interest in the land. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton
15 July, 2025
Making sense of the case for compensation in regulatory bill
The Regulatory Standards Bill before Parliament provides no enforceable legal right to compensation for the cost of regulation. It only suggests that compensation can be warranted when regulation takes or impairs property. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton
14 July, 2025
Stepping stones or stumbling blocks?
The government's latest Resource Management Act (RMA) consultation promises improvements to a broken system. The proposals for new national directions for infrastructure, the primary sector, and freshwater raise a critical question: are they preparing the ground for a property-rights-based resource management system or merely tinkering at the edges? Read more
Nick Clark
11 July, 2025
Dr James Kierstead presents to the Education and Workforce Select Committee on the Education and Training Amendment Bill (No.2)
Dr James Kierstead presented to the Education and Workforce Select Committee on the Education and Training Amendment Bill (No.2). He spoke about academic freedom, presenting findings from the New Zealand Initiative's 50,000-word report "Unpopular Opinions, Academic Freedom in New Zealand". Read more
Dr James Kierstead
11 July, 2025
Podcast: Going for Housing Growth (Part 2): The way out - The benefits of competitive urban land markets
In this second episode of their three-part series on New Zealand's housing crisis, Eric Crampton continues the discussion with Stu Donovan and Benno Blaschke, exploring what competitive urban land markets could look like. Building on their previous exploration of how New Zealand's housing became dysfunctional, they now examine the ideal alternative to the current system, detailing how a more responsive urban environment could address the structural issues discussed in Part 1. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton
Dr Benno Blaschke
11 July, 2025
The case for regulatory standards
Parliament faces tighter constraints when it wants to spend money than when it wishes to regulate. The Regulatory Standards Bill would set the two on slightly more equal footing. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton
11 July, 2025
How we solved success by creating failure
Who knew that fixing something that works would become New Zealand’s signature planning move? In 1988, New Zealand boasted 453 special purpose governance entities. Read more
Dr Benno Blaschke
11 July, 2025
A response to sincerely held concerns about the Regulatory Standards Bill
This week, Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee is hearing oral submissions on the government’s Regulatory Standards Bill. I support the Bill, most submitters oppose it. Read more
Dr Bryce Wilkinson ONZM
10 July, 2025
The new ESG: why Dutch bankers are now talking tanks
The Netherlands has long been Europe’s model of commercial pragmatism. Its business leaders built their fortunes on free trade, open markets, and meticulous efficiency. Read more
Roger Partridge
10 July, 2025
Dr Eric Crampton and Dr Bryce Wilkinson's submission on the Regulatory Standards Bill | Finance and Expenditure Committee
Dr Eric Crampton and Dr Bryce Wilkinson presented a submission to the Finance and Expenditure Committee on day four of hearings into the Regulatory Standards Bill, supporting the legislation while proposing nine recommendations to improve regulatory accountability and transparency. The submission emphasised the bill's potential to provide greater scrutiny of regulations, address economic challenges like housing affordability and productivity, and create a mechanism for Parliament to better understand the implications of proposed legislation. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton
Dr Bryce Wilkinson ONZM
10 July, 2025