MEDIA

Wellington (Tuesday, 15 October 2024) - A new report from The New Zealand Initiative warns of a looming constitutional crisis in New Zealand, as the Supreme Court increasingly oversteps its bounds, threatening the balance of power between the courts and Parliament. The report, "Who Makes the Law? Read more

The webinar launched Roger Partridge's report "Who makes the Law? Reining in the Supreme Court," which examines concerns about judicial overreach by New Zealand's Supreme Court and proposes solutions to restore balance between Parliament and the judiciary. Read more

Dr Oliver Hartwich talked to Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB about proposed reforms to attract more foreign investment, with both ACT and NZ First supporting easier processes for international investors. Dr Hartwich supports these changes, arguing they could boost New Zealand's lagging foreign direct investment and productivity. Read more

Wellington (Monday, 14 October 2024) – The New Zealand Initiative strongly welcomes the Government's plans to liberalise New Zealand's foreign direct investment (FDI) regime, calling for swift implementation of these game-changing reforms. The Initiative's Executive Director, Dr Oliver Hartwich, praised the proposed changes: "For too long, New Zealand has been sitting on the sidelines when it comes to attracting foreign investment. These reforms will put us back in the game, bringing in much-needed capital, technology and expertise. Read more

Dr Oliver Hartwich talks to Michael Laws on The Platform about Christopher Luxon's first year in office, focussing on his corporate-style leadership approach and the government's rapid pace of reforms. Watch below.

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Dr Oliver Hartwich talks to Nick Cater on ADH TV's Reality Bites about the NZ government under Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, focusing on his business-like approach to governance and efforts to reform the public service. Watch below. Read more

Dr Michael Johnston talked to Michael Laws on The Platform about New Zealand universities' declining positions in international rankings, discussing factors like funding, research quality, and domestic policies. Dr Johnston suggests that while government funding is an issue, internal decisions by universities, such as introducing compulsory courses on Māori worldview, may also be contributing to their loss of international reputation. Read more

Stephanie Martin talks to Sean Plunket on The Platofrm explaining why the Free Speech Union welcomed Auckland University's rejection of a problematic academic freedom policy that could have restricted speech. The policy, despite its intentions, contained clauses about well-being and health and safety that might have enabled "cry bullying" and chilled academic discourse. Read more

On Newstalk ZB, Mike Hosking discussed Dr Eric Crampton's latest Newsroom column about proposed legislation in New Zealand that would force mediation between big tech companies and local media, potentially leading to financial compensation for news content. The column highlights Google's threat to drop services in response, and references similar experiences in Canada, suggesting the legislation may not achieve its intended goals and could have negative consequences. Read more

Stephanie Martin talked to Rhema discussing the University of Auckland's overwhelmingly rejected freedom of expression and academic freedom policy, which was four years in the making. The policy was criticised for potentially inhibiting rather than protecting academic freedom, with concerns raised about its focus on subjective concepts like "well-being" that could restrict open discourse and debate in university settings. Read more

Dr Eric Crampton talked to Sean Plunket on The Platform discussing the challenges facing New Zealand's media landscape, including TVNZ's financial woes and Google's threat to stop linking to local news sites in response to proposed legislation. He expresses concern about the potential impact on public access to information and civic knowledge, while also noting that democracy has continued to function despite recent changes in the media sector. Read more

On his show on Newstalk ZB, John Macdonald talks about Nick Clark's latest opinion piece in the NZ Herald analysing the potential impacts of giving mayors more power in New Zealand's local government, considering both possible benefits and drawbacks of such a change. Listen below. Read more

A lecture from US broadcaster and historian Alexander Heffner, the host of The Open Mind on PBS, held at the Parliament on 20 September 2024. Watch below. Read more

Dr Tony Burton discusses his new report Demystifying the State with Andrea Black. Dr Oliver Hartwich moderates this discussion. Read more

On August 15, we hosted our second The Health Innovators’ Summit. This was a day event that brought together politicians, members of The New Zealand Initiative, professional health associations, and senior journalists to learn about innovative solutions for better healthcare in New Zealand. Read more