Wellington (Thursday, 7 May 2026) – The New Zealand Initiative today publishes a satirical novella. The book is called The Martian Audit. Read more
Dr Michael Johnston talked to Heather du Plessis-Allan on Newstalk ZB about the Initiative's report calling for vocational and industry-led subjects to be part of the new post-NCEA qualification from 2029, directing more students towards apprenticeships and the trades rather than defaulting to university. Dr Johnston said schools will need to partner with tertiary institutions and employers to deliver these subjects, and suggested that trade skills may prove more durable than many white-collar professions as AI reshapes the workforce. Read more
Wellington (Tuesday, 28 April 2026) - A heavy diesel mechanic earns roughly the same as a policy analyst, qualifies in the same time and graduates with little or no debt. Yet most New Zealanders still regard university as superior to industry training and our school qualifications system has quietly reinforced that bias for decades. Read more
Newstalk ZB's news bulletin reported on the Initiative's report questioning why New Zealand still treats university as the gold standard when a tradie can earn as much as a policy analyst. Dr Michael Johnston said industry-led subjects must be designed with schools and students in mind, not just the industry, and that schools will need additional resources to teach them well. Read more
Wellington (Thursday, 23 April 2026) - The Government’s 2025 Defence Capability Plan commits $12 billion over four years, including $9 billion of new spending. But without institutional reform, new money risks being absorbed into a system too slow and fragmented to deliver modern capability, a new report from The New Zealand Initiative warns. Read more
New Zealand's defence investment is landing the same way it always has: slowly, bureaucratically, and after the need has already been declared. In this webinar, retired Major General John Howard presents his new report God Defend New Zealand, which argues the country must move from an industrial-age acquisition model to one that operates at the speed of technological change. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich talked to Peter Williams on Taxpayer Talk about his paper arguing New Zealand's public service system is fundamentally broken, with the Public Service Commissioner, not elected ministers, controlling the appointment of department chief executives and shaping their career incentives. Drawing on Germany's model of ministerial responsibility and contrasting it with the American and Australian systems, Dr Hartwich proposed a transition toward giving ministers direct control over their departments while maintaining safeguards such as qualification requirements and a duty to object to unlawful orders. Read more
Who runs the country? New Zealand’s system stops elected governments from governing Wellington (Wednesday, 8 April 2026) - New Zealand’s ministers answer to Parliament for departments they cannot control. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich talked to Ryan Bridge on Newstalk ZB about why ministers should have the power to appoint and dismiss their department chief executives, arguing the current system, where the Public Service Commission makes these appointments, is unusual internationally and can hinder a government's ability to implement its agenda. He pointed to the resource management reforms as an example where bureaucratic resistance may have watered down the government's plans, and highlighted Germany's model, where ministers appoint a qualified state secretary while the rest of the public service remains neutral and protected. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich was featured on the news segment of Newstalk ZB discussing The New Zealand Initiative's push for legislation allowing ministers to help choose public sector chief executives. Dr Hartwich says New Zealand should look to Germany's system, which gives ministers a say in appointments while including safeguards such as whistleblower protections and a duty to object to unlawful instructions. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich talked to Sean Plunket on The Platform about the looming fuel crisis, explaining that New Zealand's roughly nine-week oil supply chain from the Middle East means the real impact of the current war will be felt in the coming weeks as existing supplies run out. Dr Hartwich warned that even if peace were achieved quickly, damaged infrastructure and disrupted shipping logistics would take months to restore, leaving New Zealand facing a prolonged period of fuel uncertainty. Read more
Wellington (Wednesday, 1 April 2026) - “New Zealand's resource management system is broken”, said Nick Clark, author of The New Zealand Initiative’s new research note RMA Reform: Getting the new system right. “Many attempts have been made over the past three decades to fix it. Read more
Nick Clark's research note on the government's draft RMA reform bills was featured on Newstalk ZB's news segment. The bulletin reported the Initiative's warning that the bills risk creating a worse system than the current one, with Clark calling for a property rights presumption to be embedded upfront in the legislation. Read more
Dr Eric Crampton talked to Wallace Chapman on RNZ's The Panel about the growing problem of on-street parking in intensifying suburbs, arguing that free street parking is poorly managed and creates perverse incentives for townhouse buyers to forgo on-site car parks. Dr Crampton proposed tradable resident parking passes as a market-based solution, giving existing homeowners something valuable they can sell to newcomers while better managing scarce street space. Read more
Dr Michael Johnston talked to Emile Donovan on Nights on RNZ about the Ministry of Education's plan not to build any new single-sex state schools, arguing that while co-education has clear social benefits, a blanket ban removes choice, particularly for families who can't afford private alternatives. Dr Johnston noted that his research found single-sex schools showed better academic results on average for both sexes, especially for Māori and Pasifika boys and boys from lower socioeconomic communities. Read more