Prescription for Prosperity 2026: Briefing to the Incoming Government
This is The New Zealand Initiative’s 2026 Prescription for Prosperity. Since 2017, the Initiative has prepared a briefing for the incoming government. Read more
Government is present in most aspects of our lives. It taxes and spends more than a third of our economic output. It employs hundreds of thousands of people. It regulates the way New Zealanders can work, travel, do business, and interact with one another.
Our research focuses on how the will of Parliament interacts with society, whether legislation is fit for purpose, and whether certain policy settings can be improved.
The actions of previous political administrations can inspire current and future governments. But if they are based more on myth than reality, the risk creating false impressions that can lead to poor public policy.
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This is The New Zealand Initiative’s 2026 Prescription for Prosperity. Since 2017, the Initiative has prepared a briefing for the incoming government. Read more
Housing targets have long been a political football. They are also an emotional political subject. Read more
1. INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY 1.1 Introduction 1.1.1 This submission on the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Improving Alcohol Regulation)Amendment Bill is made by The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative), a Wellingtonbased think tank supported primarily by major New Zealand businesses. Read more
The Martian Audit is a satirical novella. Two Martian auditors land in the Wairarapa expecting to assess humanity at its best. Read more
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
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
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
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
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