Before anyone can build a house in New Zealand, someone must pay for the pipes and the roads that connect a development to the city. While this seems like a minor detail, it is a central issue for housing affordability. Read more
New Zealand spends more on infrastructure than almost any developed country, yet still cannot build the pipes and roads new housing needs. Why? Read more
Wellington (Wednesday, 17 June 2026) – New Zealand cannot build enough houses because councils cannot afford the pipes and roads that new suburbs need. That is the conclusion of a new report by The New Zealand Initiative. Read more
New Zealand cannot build enough houses because councils cannot afford the pipes and roads that new suburbs need. That is the conclusion of a new report by The New Zealand Initiative. Read more
When the European Central Bank (ECB) raised interest rates on 11 June, marking its first increase since 2023, the news was unwelcome across the eurozone. It was especially unwelcome in Germany. Read more
Warren Pyke is, by all accounts, a serious practitioner. Thirty-five years acting for the underprivileged, the vulnerable, the mentally ill, the villainous and a great many “ordinary folk” is real civil-liberties work. Read more
1. INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY 1.1 This submission on the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines (ACVM) Amendment Bill and the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Amendment Bill is made by The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative), a Wellington-based think tank supported primarily by major New Zealand businesses. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich talked to Michael Laws on The Platform about Labour's public transport policy. He argued the policy was released without a proper discussion document or modelling, and that its figures on cost, savings and passenger numbers do not stack up. Read more
In this episode, Eric talks with Jillaine Heather, Chief Executive of the Free Speech Union, about the Government's plans for an under-16 social media ban and the universal age verification that may come with it. They examine why the Department of Internal Affairs appears to be building delivery machinery ahead of any legislation, what Australia and the UK reveal about compliance and scope creep, and why policy aimed at online harms could create serious risks for privacy and free speech. Read more
Once a year, as the days shorten, a great migration begins. From the warm offices of Wellington and the cafes of central Auckland, the political class sets out for Mystery Creek, where the gates of Fieldays open and the country remembers that it has a countryside. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich talked to Wallace Chapman on RNZ's The Panel about the New Zealand Initiative's election recommendation to introduce a lower youth wage, which he argued would tackle high youth unemployment by giving 16 and 17 year olds a path into work and structured training. Dr Hartwich pointed to Central European countries such as Germany and Switzerland, where lower wages are paired with three or four year training programmes leading to a certified qualification, while panellists were divided on whether the idea risked exploiting young workers. Read more
Across the Tasman, anger has propelled Pauline Hanson’s One Nation from a fringe outfit to the most popular party, on 31 percent in a recent poll, ahead of both Labor and the Coalition. Yet Australia’s preferential voting, which redistributes losing candidates’ votes, could still return a Labor government. Read more
In May 2025, University of Otago Vice-Chancellor Grant Robertson eloquently explained why universities, as institutions, should be neutral on matters of public and political debate. If universities take stances on political issues, he said, they place members of their communities with different views in a difficult position. Read more
When Victoria University of Wellington’s great little prediction market, iPredict, announced that it would be shutting down back in 2015, it had a couple hundred thousand dollars of traders’ deposited funds in the bank. It was a very small, very limited, academic enterprise. Read more
Canterbury's amalgamation debate has ignited. First up, Christchurch city councillor Sam MacDonald put the cat amongst the pigeons arguing that Selwyn and Waimakariri residents should be made to pay for Christchurch-funded facilities. Read more