Wellington (Tuesday, 3 November 2026) - New Zealand heads into the election with two big problems barely mentioned on the campaign trail: rising government debt and stalling productivity. A new report from The New Zealand Initiative, NZ Unbound: Freeing up growth and fixing the books, says the answer starts with getting value for money. Read more

Our Senior Fellow Dr Bryce Wilkinson, a former Treasury director, joined Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB to make sense of the fiscal plans dominating the election campaign. He read National’s numbers as a continuation of its effort since 2024 to return to surplus: holding the line on spending despite rising interest costs and an ageing population, and relying on economic growth to lift revenues and close the gap. Read more

Heather du Plessis-Allan discussed Dr Bryce Wilkinson's NZ Herald article on Newstalk ZB, drawing on his analysis of the 1970s oil shocks as a cautionary lesson for today's politicians. Dr Wilkinson argues that the government should resist pressure to intervene through price controls, subsidies, or fuel tax cuts, and instead rely on price signals and targeted income relief for the most vulnerable, while leaving risky energy investments to private capital. Read more