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Closing his 2020 Budget speech, Finance Minister Grant Robertson looked back to the First and Fourth Labour governments for lessons on how to tackle New Zealand’s current economic challenges. His first history lesson was that the way forward today lay in the “great traditions of the First Labour Government” (1935–49) that “rebuilt New Zealand after the Great Depression” under Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage. Read more

This submission in response to the Commerce Commission’s (Commission) Market study into the retail grocery sector draft report, is made by The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative), a think tank supported primarily by major New Zealand businesses. In combination, our members employ more than 150,000 people. Read more

The personal grievance provisions of the Employment Relations Act 2000 (ERA) prevent an employer from firing an employee without good cause. Instead, dismissals must be justified. Read more

Read our submission to the Ministry for the Environment on phasing out fossil fuels in process heat. The New Zealand Initiative fully supports New Zealand’s emissions targets. Read more

The Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) uses prices to lower emissions. The scheme launched in New Zealand in 2008 and it is now one of the best-designed schemes in the world. Read more

In our submission to the Climate Change Commission on the draft emissions budget, we support the commitments to emissions targets under the Paris agreement and to net zero emissions from 2050. We have two overarching recommendations that we explain in the submission: 1. Read more

The year 2020 was one none of us will forget in a hurry. Lives were put on hold. Read more

On 24 November, the Helen Clark Foundation and the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research released a joint report (the HCF&NZIER report) outlining an inclusive growth agenda for New Zealand. Its recommendation on the minimum wage is concerning and risks hurting the most vulnerable. Read more

At the end of October, governor of the Reserve Bank Adrian Orr boldly asserted in a speech that climate change is “a key risk to global financial stability.” He made the case for urgent “transformation” as an “important, imminent, and personal” issue. Although the Reserve Bank Act does not mention climate change, the RBNZ is responsible for financial stability. Read more

Read our submission, written by Dr Bryce Wilkinson to Treasury and the Reserve Bank. This submission is in response to the third round of consultation on Phase 2 of the review of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act. Read more