New Zealand

The New Zealand Initiative logo
Insights

Fighting bad government policy the South African way

10 October 2014
Two countries, two successful internet entrepreneurs, two clashes with government. Last week we witnessed an epic Twitter battle between Trade Me founder Sam Morgan and Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce over the usefulness of research grants. Meanwhile, founder of Thawte Consulting and the Ubuntu Linux OS, Mark Shuttleworth, won a long legal fight against the South African Reserve Bank.

[…]

Business Spectator logo
Business Spectator

The joys of forming a European government

2 October 2014
The problems with forming the European Commission are manifold, but there is only one written rule: Every EU member state will be represented by one commissioner, nominated by national governments. The difficulties begin once you realise that there are numerous unwritten rules to be considered when putting together the new Commission.

[…]

interest.co.nz logo
Interest.co.nz

Time for Key to define his place in history

22 September 2014
Key has proved himself to be an exceptionally skilled politician, especially when operating with slim majorities. This term will show whether history will also judge him as one of New Zealand’s great Prime Ministers. If he is bold enough in his third term, it might even secure him a fourth term.

[…]

Folded copy of The National Business Review
National Business Review

Colbert’s legacy lingers on

19 September 2014
We do not need big plans and visions and we do not need government to think on our behalf. We need the state to guarantee property rights, enforce contracts and provide a stable set of political and economic institutions.

[…]

Folded copy of The National Business Review
National Business Review

Grand Coalition the price of MMP

5 September 2014
Perhaps the occasional Grand Coalition is the price we have to pay for our MMP electoral system. If you want to avoid difficult coalition bargaining and prefer clear parliamentary majorities, then a first-past-the-post system would be better.

[…]

The New Zealand Initiative logo
Insights

Don’t mention the War?

15 August 2014
“Don’t mention the War” was not just a Fawlty Towers quote – it was my experience growing up in Germany. Against this background, the colourful ways in which the wars a remembered in the Commonwealth still strike me as odd.

[…]

Folded copy of The National Business Review
National Business Review

Change without pain over the decades

1 August 2014
Every achievement is a result of effort and determination. To make this country even better for the future, it will take the same courage and purpose that it took previous generations to build the New Zealand we live in today. If we do not want to fall behind, we cannot afford to stand still.

[…]

The New Zealand Initiative logo
Insights

How criminal is New Zealand?

25 July 2014
Perhaps the reason why our newspapers are so full of crime stories is not because there are so many crimes but because of the very opposite: crime is quite uncommon in New Zealand. In other places, it takes the most ghastly murder to make it into the news. In New Zealand, you might have a better chance with a wrongly parked car.

[…]