This article explores how the New Zealand Parliament scrutinises the quality of long-term governance and considers how such scrutiny could be made more systematic, proactive and rigorous.

This report has been prepared through a partnership between the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives (OOC) and the Institute for Governance and Policy Studies at Victoria University of Wellington. The primary purpose of this partnership is to “develop policy options for parliamentary scrutiny of long-term governance and stewardship.”

This special issue of Policy Quarterly has five articles on aspects of government regulation in New Zealand, five articles on various topical policy issues from a range of (mostly academic) contributors, and three articles based on student research internships.

This article briefly discusses the nature and measurement of poverty in developed countries, outlines the main trends in poverty rates in New Zealand over recent decades, comments on why poverty matters, and assesses recent government policy changes

Contemplates the fundamental components of anticipatory governance - anticipating tomorrow’s problems, protecting the long-term public interest, and endeavouring to ‘future-proof’ the state