New Zealand

Queenstown’s visitor levy a cry for reform

Ultimately, reforming local government finance would be in central government’s interest, too. Queenstown Lakes District council probably holds little hope for such reforms to happen anytime soon. [...]

As Kiwi as pavlova

In our #localismNZ report we call for a radical shift of power from the centre to the people. [...]

#localismNZ: Bringing power to the people

#localismNZ: Bringing power to the people explains the rationale behind localism and responds to commonly heard objections. [...]

No time is money

New Zealanders like the ability to kick out bad governments after only three years. But our short terms reduce the quality of any government no matter who happens to be in office. [...]

Being kind to the Fourth Labour Government

Kindness is a virtue. Let us extend it to those brave political leaders of the 1980s and 1990s. [...]

Time to un-Grinch

From a policy perspective, New Zealand’s 2018 was not quite as eventful as most observers predicted. The (now no longer) new Government established so many inquiries and working groups that we saw less policymaking and more policy preparation. [...]

Centralism attacks Tomorrow’s Schools

In one area of public policy, New Zealand is much devolved: education. Since the rollout of Tomorrow’s Schools in 1989, our schools have enjoyed relative autonomy and self-governance. That may end if the Government implements recommendations from the Tomorrow's Schools Review taskforce. [...]