The New Zealand Initiative has been a staunch supporter of the coalition government’s housing agenda. While we warned that Kiwibuild would not fix the housing crisis but rather risked diverting the government’s attention from more important reforms, we have had every confidence in Minister Twyford’s wider vision. Read more
“It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes,” said Douglas Adams of the Silastic Armourfiends of Striterax in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.The aliens believed they could control their anger by punching potatoes. Alas, once they started doing that, it did not take long for them to get bored and shoot people instead. Our government on earth seems to be taking policy advice from the Armourfiends, pursuing a potato obsession without care... Read more
Imagine you wanted to establish a bar. Before you could worry about vintage, décor or music, local activists might scare you away. Like the 500+ people protesting against a proposed bottle shop in Wellington’s Khandallah suburb this month. Read more
Fans of the classic Australian political satire The Hollowmen will remember the standard trick for inflating a figure when doing political math: roll together several years' expenditures to get a bigger number. Read more
Have you ever driven past one of those stores that mostly sells blinds but calls itself ‘Not Just Blinds’ and wondered whether they should have thought a bit bigger in their marketing? Read more
Eric Crampton spoke to Radio New Zealand about the government's proposal to establish a new, independent office to cost the policies of political parties. 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. Our current approach fails to make use of the social and economic opportunities a neatly managed nightlife can offer while addressing existing concerns. Read more
To reinvigorate nightlife in our cities we need to take a more modern and balanced approach, says our new report, Living after Midnight: For a better night-time environment. 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. The Independent Parliamentary Budget Office will monitor the government’s fiscal strategy and provide independent costings of political party policies. Dr Bryce Wilkinson, co-author of the New Zealand Initiative’s 2014 report, Guarding the Public Purse, which called for the establishment of an independent fiscal institution,... Read more
Our report, Living after Midnight, highlights New Zealand's antiquated way of restricting life after dark, and explains how cities such as Melbourne and Amsterdam have implemented very different, but successful, solutions to enable a thriving nightlife. Read more
Following the release of our report, Living after Midnight: For a better night-time environment, Dr Oliver Hartwich spoke to Newshub and explained how New Zealand could learn from cities such as Melbourne and Amsterdam who have implemented successful solutions to enable a thriving, and safe, nightlife - and highlighted how Sydney got it wrong. Read more
New Zealand's way of regulating nightlife often restricts the opportunities for night owls without improving issues of public health and security. Natanael Rother talks to Bryan Crump on Radio NZ about possible solutions. Read more
When Germany’s statistics office released the economic growth rate for the second quarter, the disappointing 0.1 percent decline added to the troubles on Wall St. Read more
It would be insane to do the same thing over and over again and still expect different results. It’s a lesson those embroiled in the politics of the night have yet to learn. Read more
New Zealand’s way of regulating nightlife often restricts the opportunities for night owls. This has made nights overly tedious without improving issues of public health and security. Read more