This is the final report in a New Zealand Initiative series on local government. It aims to restore accountability, transparency and community responsibility to local government. We propose doing this by setting clear roles for each tier of government, with limits on the ability of either party to act beyond these limits, except where agreed...

The public is constantly told income inequality is rising and the government should do something. This report seeks to explain why inequality matters, even though it has barely changed. It shows how income inequality did rise in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but has since flattened out. Meanwhile consumer spending inequality has returned to...

Around 600,000 New Zealanders, almost thirteen percent of the population, fish recreationally each year in inshore waters. Many of them place great importance on the ability to take home a day’s catch. Fishing is a valued pastime, a way to connect with nature and tradition, and something that is integral to the Kiwi way of...

New Zealand’s interest-free student loan scheme has not achieved its policy objectives and fails to help students from poorer backgrounds access tertiary education, according to this report from The New Zealand Initiative. Eliminating interest-charges on all student loans was a superb decision in political expediency; politicians compete for votes and people will naturally vote for...

A collection of statistical data on population developments in New Zealand. Introduction At the heart of all social, political and economic debates are the people that live in our country. The policies we make are for their benefit, and their needs drive our policy developments. It is thus only fitting to begin our journey into...