This shows the government owns $571 billion in assets - equivalent to $275,000 for every Kiwi household.

"The returns from these government-owned assets don't even cover the interest costs on the money borrowed to buy them," says Dr Bryce Wilkinson, author of The People's Portfolio: A $571 Billion Question.

"Interest payments alone are now eating up nearly 4 cents of every tax dollar collected," says Dr Wilkinson. "At a time when New Zealand desperately needs better infrastructure, hospitals and schools, we must ask whether taxpayers are getting value for money."

The report shows that when assets are sold to private owners and opened to competition, services typically improve and costs fall. It points to the successful sale of Telecom in 1990, which led to dramatically better service and lower prices for consumers.

"This isn't about selling everything," Dr Wilkinson emphasises. "It's about making rational decisions about what the government needs to own and what might work better in private hands."

The report calls for an independent review of government assets to identify where changes in ownership could benefit New Zealanders through better services and freed-up funding for critical infrastructure.