The New Zealand Initiative

Oliver Hartwich joins Ben Craven to discuss the effects of the Reserve Bank’s Long-term Asset Purchase Scheme that has so far cost taxpayers $6 billion – and counting.

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko is channelling Middle Eastern migrants and refugees towards Poland in a bid to destabilise the European Union. People are now camped between the Polish and Belarusian border with nowhere to go. Oliver Hartwich joins Ben Craven to talk about his latest column on this subject and the implications for European unity and security.

Bryce Wilkinson and Leonard Hong discuss their latest report "Walking the path to the next global financial crisis" and the implications for New Zealand.

Senior Fellow Dr David Law discusses his new paper on the Government’s plans to introduce an unemployment insurance scheme.

Matt Burgess joins Oliver Hartwich to discuss his latest research note, Climate of fear: How the Reserve Bank is overstepping its mandate. Matt’s research documents serious breaches of the RBNZ's responsibilities as regulator of the financial system, including one instance of misconduct. The Reserve Bank has no legal or democratic mandate for climate change. It should not be threatening regulated...

The Government has announced they will confiscate councils’ three water assets, despite widespread opposition from mayors, councillors, and ratepayers. Ben Craven sits down with Oliver Hartwich, Matt Burgess and Eric Crampton to discuss what the proposals will mean for councils; the winners and losers; and why centralised control of water assets is not the answer to local water issues.

Oliver Hartwich joins Ben Craven to discuss his latest Newsroom column on a media funding scandal that has led to the resignation of centre-right Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. The investigation has highlighted the dependency of Austrian media on government advertising, and the influence that funding can exert.

Dr Bryce Wilkinson and Emeritus Professor Gary Hawke join Ben Craven to discuss Bryce’s latest report, The Illusions of History: How misunderstanding the past jeopardises our future. The trio look at some of the prevailing myths of New Zealand’s economic history, and explain the risks of basing contemporary public policy on inaccurate stories of our past.

It is not clear how the government’s Emissions Reduction Plan can reduce emissions. The government is proposing massive interventions in everything from energy to transport to manufacturing. Nearly all of the proposals are already in the ETS emissions cap. They cannot lower emissions any further. An army of officials is planning how you live your life, knowing most of their rules will contribute n...

How can New Zealand improve its Covid response? Dr Eric Crampton joins Ben Craven to talk about his latest research note Safer Arrivals and the Path to 2022. The pair discuss the report’s findings; why Covid restrictions should not be compared to the nanny state; and the policies New Zealand could introduce now to prevent even greater outbreaks.

Matt Burgess joins host Ben Craven to discuss the government’s feebate policy which launches in April 2022. The policy is egregiously regressive. Buyers of new EVs including the Tesla Model 3 will receive $8,625, paid for by people who buy more affordable petrol and diesel vehicles. Feebate taxes three times more imported vehicles than it subsidises, and could add thousands of dollars to the cost...

Germans went to the polls on Sunday to elect the first post-Angela Merkel government. Ben Craven talks to Oliver Hartwich about the results, who the winners and losers are, and what the next government could look like.

In 2016, Australia agreed to purchase 12 conventionally powered Attack Class submarines from France. The deal cost AU$50 billion. Last week, Australia tore up the deal and instead agreed to purchase nuclear submarines from the USA. At the same time, Australia, the UK, and USA announced the formation of the AUKUS defence alliance. Dr Oliver Hartwich’s latest Newsroom column, A torpedo to European s...

Dr Eric Crampton speaks to Medicines New Zealand CEO Graeme Jarvis about therapeutic medicines that ca treat Covid-19, and when we might expect them to become available in New Zealand.

Dr David Law joins Ben Craven to discuss what we know about the Government’s plans for unemployment insurance, and what such a scheme could look like for New Zealanders.

This week the price of a New Zealand Unit of carbon credit passed $50 for the first time. Ben Craven spoke to Matt Burgess about why this happened, and what the increase in price will mean for consumers, emitters, and New Zealand’s environmental commitments.

Individualised Funding, or IF, is a funding model for disability support. IF gives money directly to individuals so they can hire their own support staff. Each individual’s personal budget is set based on an assessment of their needs. Today, there are around 8,000 people on IF, nearly 20% of the people who receive disability support. Matt Burgess talks to Rt Hon Sir Bill English about the transfor...

Carl Hansen, the former Chief Executive of the Electricity Authority between 2010 and 2018, joins Matt Burgess to discuss what happened on the evening of 9 August when 35,000 homes lost power on the coldest night of the year. Carl explains how the blackout happened and the response to the event by the government. He also talks about how the system drives investment in new capacity, recent announce...

Ben Craven talks to New Zealand Initiative Senior Fellow Dr David Law about the implications of rising inflation, and how a different type of mortgage could make it more affordable to get on the housing ladder.

Oliver Hartwich and Eric Crampton talk to University of Auckland’s Professor Des Gorman (Ngāpuhi), from the University’s Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences. The team discuss New Zealand’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and what could be done differently.

Eric Crampton and Matt Burgess discuss the thousands of homes hit by blackouts on the coldest night of the year and government’s response to it so far. Decisions should be made only after the facts are established. Questions include what led to the decision to cut power to homes, and whether all of the available generating capacity was used. The independent Electricity Authority has responsibility...

Matt Burgess talks to Oliver Hartwich about the government’s Natural and Built Environment bill, the first of three pieces of legislation to replace the RMA. The bill shows the government sees planning as an appropriate vehicle for everything from protecting the natural environment, to culture, growth and climate change. Matt argues the top priority of the reforms should be housing affordability....

Oliver Hartwich and Matt Burgess discuss the Commerce Commissions market study on supermarket competition. What are the barriers to competitors entering the market, and is the number of competitors a real indication of price competition?

The Climate Change Commission believes the ETS is not enough. But not enough for what? Matt Burgess and Oliver Hartwich discuss.

Oliver Hartwich and Eric Crampton join Matt Burgess to talk about the government’s performance on immigration since the lockdown. Skilled migrants who cannot get their families into the country or obtain residency are now leaving, while MIQ spaces sit vacant and the government is paying migrants to come into the country to deal with a skills shortage. The government’s policy and processes have tre...