Podcasts about nz initiative

How much blame for the GDP drop can be placed at the feet of the Reserve Bank? GDP's fallen 0.9 percent in the June quarter – a much sharper drop than economists had been expecting. NZ Initiative Chief Economist Eric Crampton told Kerre Woodham what we're feeling is an effect of getting inflation back in line, but he wouldn't necessarily blame the Reserve Bank for the drop. He says it's one big job is keeping inflation in the 1-3% band, and it largely forgot what it's job was in 2020 and 2021, and went overboard with the spending. Crampton says he wouldn't blame the bank's current round of tightening, but rather the prior round of exuberance that required it. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After six weeks north of the Equator, it's good to be back. "Two years ago, New Zealanders voted for change. Not just a change of government but a change of direction. They were promised fiscal discipline, economic renewal and a productive economy. The New Zealand government has shown it can reform when it wants to. Now it must also reform what matters most: the unsustainable growth in public spending.” This quote came from The Australian (August 28), and it was written by Dr Oliver Hartwich, Executive Director of the NZ Initiative. In Podcast 300, he provides us with a very good analysis of the challenge facing the NZ economy. We spend the second half of this interview discussing one of the most extraordinary human beings of all time, Leonardo Da Vinci. The reason is explained fulsomely and you'll understand my enthusiasm as it unfolds. I can only suggest that what you'll hear provides a greater perspective of the present. And finally, we are back with Mrs Producer and The Mailroom. File your comments and complaints at Leighton@newstalkzb.co.nz Haven't listened to a podcast before? Check out our simple how-to guide. Listen here on iHeartRadio Leighton Smith's podcast also available on iTunes:To subscribe via iTunes click here See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight, on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Jennie Moreton and Peter Field. First up, we take the pulse on a petition to deport Neo Nazi Thomas Sewell back to New Zealand which has reached 50,000 signatures in Australia. Shoudl we take him? Or can Australia deal with him? Then, a new chaper in water reforms begins today as councils deliver their water delivery plans. Now it appears more than 40 water providers will emerge with many councils choosing to keep water in house. The Panel talks to Gary Kircher, Mayor for Waitaki. Finally, Denmark has 25 ministerial portfolios, NZ has 81. The NZ Initiative think tank thinks we need to follow Denmark.

There's a call to cull some of New Zealand's ministers. A new report from the New Zealand Initiative found New Zealand has 81 ministerial portfolios, while comparable countries have a third of that. The think-tank says we should be more like countries with comparable populations, like Norway which has 17 portfolios, and Singapore with 16. Co-author Roger Partridge told Mike Hosking we keep slicing off pieces of portfolios and giving them new names, resulting in important policy areas being split across multiple ministers. Housing for example, reports up to 12 ministers, he says, and when you splinter key portfolios you get fragmented decision-making, a lack of accountability, and higher costs. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Andrew Dickens Full Show Podcast Tuesday 2nd of September 2025, the government's made moves of the foreign buyers ban, former Labour minister Stuart Nash shares his thoughts. Interest rates are softening but the property market's still in limbo, Jeremy Andrews from Key Mortgages provides analysis on the latest Centrix Credit data. The NZ Initiative has done a report which found we have about three times as many ministries as countries we like to compare ourselves to, PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons shares her thoughts. Plus, Australia Correspondent Donna Demaio has the latest on Anthony Albanese speaking on the Nauru deportation plan. Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An economist says the Government did the best it could in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Treasury's latest report calculates the total cost of the Covid-19 pandemic at $66 billion. The Government ignored official advice at the time to ease spending. New Zealand Initiative Chief Economist Eric Crampton told Mike Hosking it is hard to fault anyone up until late 2020. He says, afterwards, the Government failed to come up with solutions outside lockdowns and wage subsidies. Treasury is now suggesting the Government establish an independent fiscal institution for better scrutiny. Crampton says Treasury isn't in a position where it can effectively challenge the Finance Minister's decisions. He says the public currently can't rely on Treasury for clear warnings when things are going wrong, which is needed for democratic accountability. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It must be tricky being at school and feeling like you're not doing anything to prepare you for what you actually want to do when you leave. The Government is starting to think about that after this new report from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority which says NCEA is too focused on kids wanting to go to university. The report was prepared for Education Minister Erica Stanford who is promising some big changes. The report says NCEA doesn't do enough to get school students ready to work in the trades and hospitality. It says many students end up doing subjects that aren't relevant to what they want to do when it comes to a career. So could that be fixed, do you think, if students had the option of studying for an NCEA “trades entrance” qualification, similar to the university entrance qualification? Dr Michael Johnston from the NZ Initiative think tank thinks so. And I think so too. The irony is that, when NCEA was first developed, it was all about not being so focused on the academic kids and providing something which gave all students a useful qualification to take with them when they leave school. But, as the qualifications authority is saying to the education minister, that hasn't turned out to be the case for anyone wanting to be builders, or plumbers, or sparkies etc. Which the tertiary education union agrees with and which is backed up by the numbers Dr Michael Johnston from the NZ Initiative has been throwing around. He says 44 percent of school leavers aren't enrolled in tertiary education. And only six percent of them end up in work-based training doing things like trades. From what we're hearing from the NZ Qualifications Authority and the tertiary education union, a big reason for that is that NCEA doesn't do enough for students who either know they want to do a trade or the kids who might end up doing a trade if they learned more about it while at school. And the brilliance of NCEA being expanded to include a trades entrance qualification - as well as the university entrance qualification - would be that, even if someone did leave school with a “trades entrance” certificate, they would still have the option of going to university if they wanted to down the track. Because, once someone turns 20, they can go to uni whether they've got UE or not. Michael Johnston says school students need to be given a much clearer idea of their options. He says: "We just esteem university education much more highly than apprenticeship training for no really good reason. Trades people can earn great money and there's no reason why an arts degree, for example, should be seen as better than an electrical qualification or a plumbing qualification.” Amen to that. Which is why I think his idea of giving high school kids the option of doing NCEA trades or NCEA university entrance is a brilliant idea LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One expert is joining the calls to overhaul NCEA after the Government indicated changes were on the way. A damning report's highlighted major problems with the qualification's credibility, with some schools already withdrawing from Level One. NZ Initiative Senior Fellow Dr Michael Johnston says NCEA's had a 20-year run and it's time to rethink it. "I think a lot of teachers and schools have probably had a gutsful of it, to be honest. It imposes a very heavy workload on teachers... there's a lot that schools have to do." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new plan is being touted as a way to fast track shaking up the grocery sector. The New Zealand Initiative is proposing allowing new entrants to enter the market, rather than forcing any break-up of the existing supermarket companies. It outlines the need for fast track plans for rezoning, consenting, overseas investment clearance, and a more neutral stance from the government. Chief Economist Eric Crampton told Mike Hosking a new entrant should get a head start. He says within five years the government would find out whether planning barriers are what's held companies back. Foodstuffs and Woolworths are both members of the New Zealand Initiative. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Grocery Action Group is unconvinced by a proposal to rapidly add competition to the grocery sector. The New Zealand Initiative wants the Government to introduce a "fast track pathway" to allow new entrants to enter the market, rather than forcing any break-up of the existing supermarket companies. It includes streamlining rezoning, consenting and investment clearance processes. The group's Sue Chetwin told Ryan Bridge it's more of a nice to have. She says to get more competitors, the government will need to force existing supermarkets to give up some of their stores. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the time of preparing this show Craig Renney and the CTU have been banned by Treasury to attend the budget lock up for the first time ever. Along with other third party, non-media groups such as the TPU, Business NZ and the NZ Initiative have also been banned. The company that makes BHN applied for access to the lock up and we'll tell you the whole sordid story tonight after 9pmMarama Davidson joins us LIVE at 9pm to talk the Green Party Alternative Budget. The Green Party is proposing an "income guarantee" that would give everyone who is out of work at least $395 a week, and to completely overhaul the Working for Families scheme. It is one of the announcements in its alternative Budget revealed this morning.=================================Come support the work we're doing by becoming a Patron of ⁠⁠#BHN⁠⁠ www.patreon.com/BigHairyNews⁠=================================Merch available at www.BHNShop.nz Like us on Facebookwww.facebook.com/BigHairyNews Follow us on Twitter.@patbrittenden @Chewie_NZFollow us on BlueskyPat @patbrittenden.bsky.socialChewie @chewienz.bsky.socialEmily @iamprettyawesome.bsky.socialMagenta @xkaosmagex.bsky.social

It's expected the government could find more savings by selling state owned assets. The Government's scraped the bottom of the barrel to find more money for the upcoming Budget. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's promising an extra $400 million for maintaining and upgrading assets, on top of the already projected $3.6 billion. New Zealand Initiative Executive Director Oliver Hartwich told Ryan Bridge they could go into a process of asset recycling. He says selling some existing assets would give the government more room for new ones. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Matt Heath and Tyler Adams Afternoons Full Show Podcast for the 7th of May, National has got a private member's bill in the biscuit tin that would ban under-16s from social media - we spoke with Eric Crampton from the NZ Initiative, as well as ACT Leader David Seymour. Then our Afternoons duo had a great chat about the growing number of adult children moving home. And uniforms at work - what works and what doesn't. To wrap things up in the Ask The Expert series, Employment Lawyer Gareth Abdinor answered listeners' questions. Get the Matt Heath and Tyler Adams Afternoons Podcast every weekday afternoon on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I love the way David Seymour is describing the size of cabinet and the number of government departments. He says the whole lot are "a big, complicated bureaucratic beast". And he is spot on. Here are the numbers that say it all: we have 82 portfolios, 28 ministers, and 41 separate government departments and agencies. If that doesn't sound like a complicated beast, I don't what does. So no argument from me. No argument also from Oliver Hartwich, who is Executive Director at the NZ Initiative think tank. He says part of the problem is that we have created all of these different outfits that, pretty much, look after similar things. Now Oliver Hartwich thinks we could get away with having as few as 15 cabinet ministers instead of the 28 we have at the moment. But he reckons maybe 20 is more realistic. Although, he also told Mike Hosking that he heard Ruth Richardson say recently that she thinks we should have no more than 12 cabinet ministers. Now, granted, I've never been a cabinet minister so I don't have any inside expert knowledge, but I'm going to give it a go anyway. And I reckon we could go really hardcore and have a prime minister with two deputy prime ministers reporting to them. Those two deputies would have all the other ministers reporting to them. And I would streamline the total number of ministers, generally within the areas of law and order, finance, defence and security, health and social services, education, and the arts. That's just a rough example of my streamlined cabinet. But Seymour's not just having a go at the number of cabinet ministers, he's also got the number of government departments and agencies in his line of sight, and I know a thing or two about them. Because in previous lives I've worked at a few, and they are monsters. David Seymour is describing them as "bureaucratic beasts". I'd describe government departments and agencies as “beastly spaghetti junctions”. And that's just what it's like inside these departments, let alone what happens between them. Because, despite politicians talking about these departments being “all of government”, they're not. That's this theoretical idea that all government departments get on swimmingly, and talk to each other about everything, and they're all best mates, and because of that us taxpayers get the best bang for our buck. But it's not like that at all. They work in silos. They compete with each other for funding. They don't talk to each other. One great thing the government has done to try and sort out this shambles is in the area of weather forecasting. NIWA and MetService aren't government departments exactly, but they are state-owned enterprises, and Simeon Brown announced a few weeks back that they're going to be merged. Which makes perfect sense. And that's what we need to see more of. Examples: do we need a Ministry of Education and an Education Review Office? I don't think so. Do we need a Ministry of Justice and a Department of Corrections? Possibly not. Do we need a Department of Conservation and a Ministry for the Environment? See what I mean? So I'm right with David Seymour, and I think we would all be winners with less cabinet ministers and less government departments and agencies. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Seymour's calling for fat to be cut from multiple areas of government. The Act Party leader wants a limit on the number of ministers – with no ministers outside of Cabinet, and no associate ministers other than in Finance. He wants 30 total government agencies, down from 41. Executive Director of business think tank New Zealand Initiative, Oliver Hartwich told Mike Hosking the current model doesn't make sense. He says there's a Minister of Housing but also a Minister of Building and Construction, as if they have nothing to do with each other. Hartwich also says the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is a prime example of a bloated cabinet. He says there are 16 ministers in charge of MBIE, and Ireland has 15 in its entire cabinet. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nicola Willis is looking to further rein in Government spending in next month's Budget - but one expert has warned it won't go far enough. The Finance Minister is slashing the operating allowance from $2.4 billion to $1.3 billion. She's targeting a return to surplus in 2029. NZ Initiative economist Eric Crampton says Government spending has been running too high for years - and cuts need to be made to save the situation. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Trump's turning up the heat on China but throwing a tariff lifeline to most others. He's authorised a 90-day pause which will see tariffs dropped to 10% for many countries. However, China's rate has been increased from 104% to 125%. Eric Crampton —Chief Economist at New Zealand Initiative— told Mike Hosking it's a rapidly changing situation. He says it's really hard for any business to plan in this kind of environment – the chaos is just going to continue. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Full Show Podcast Monday 7th April 2025, Washington Bureau Chief for the Guardian David Smith shares the latest on reaction out of the US following Donald Trump's tariffs. The Government wants to shake up free speech laws in universities, Former Victoria University Dean and NZ Initiative research fellow Dr Michael Johnston tells Andrew Dickens what this means. Andrew Alderson shares the latest from sport over the weekend. Plus UK/Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey shares the latest on UK car giant Jaguar Land Rover announcing a pause all shipments to the US, following the announcement on tarrifs. Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government wants to change the laws surrounding free speech in New Zealand. As part of the Quarter two action plan, legislation will be introduced to require freedom of expression in our university's. What impact will the new law have on students and learning? Former Victoria University Dean & NZ Initiative Research Fellow Michael Johnston talks to Andrew Dickens about the change. LISTEN ABOVE. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new report examining the state of New Zealand's GP workforce has unveiled the strain many healthcare workers are currently under. The report, called The Heart of Healthcare: Renewing New Zealand's Primary Care System, describes an ageing, overworked cohort of GPs who struggle to maintain their business under the weight of increasing patients and operating costs. Former GP and NZ Initiative research fellow Dr Prabani Wood says current funding doesn't cover the necessary costs to deliver the care that patients need. "Add to that, the working conditions under which GPs currently have to work - which means that a lot of our time is spent doing vital, non-patient-facing work, such as following up referrals." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Taxpayer Talk  Jordan sat down with the NZ Initiative's Chief Economist, Dr Eric Crampton on Nicola Willis' announcement on Sunday about possible splitting up of the super market industry.In the podcast, we unpack what's on the table, the risks, and what Dr Crampton argues is the real reason New Zealand lacks competition at the checkout. Support the show

In Leaders Getting Coffee episode 38, our guest is the Executive Director of the New Zealand Initiative, Dr Oliver Hartwich. Oliver Hartwich was born in West Germany and talks of growing up in the 1980’s in a country shaped by the two World Wars that had until that point defined it. As Europe reshapes its defence strategies in response to the Ukraine crisis, his surprisingly frank conversation about his youth offers a stark reminder of the long-term impacts of war. But it is as an economist, specialising in thinking about government strategy, that he has made his career. That career has seen him working in the House of Lords and in think tanks in the UK, Australia, and ultimately, for the last twelve years, in his adopted home in New Zealand. During the Leaders Getting Coffee podcast Dr Hartwich speaks to Bruce Cotterill about the state of New Zealand, a country which he says has so much going in its favour, and yet continuously fails to live up to its potential. Using the extensive research base of the NZ Initiative as his base, he discusses the state of our housing market and explains in a simple and no-nonsense manner the reasons why such a small country at the end of the world has some of the world’s highest house process. And while on the local themes, his insights regarding our education system, excessive centralisation, infrastructure and the opportunity for direct foreign investment are as refreshing as they are direct. Dr Hartwich has made quite a name for himself as an international columnist, and his comments about the current state of the USA, Europe and the UK are so insightful that they should be regarded as compulsory listening for the millions who are relatively uninformed on matters of international geopolitics.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I always have and always will be a huge fan of on-the-job training. Which is why I think it's brilliant that we've got an education expert saying today that the apprenticeship system needs an overhaul. And not only that, he wants to see schools doing more, and is suggesting they could offer a trades preparation qualification to create a pipeline of new apprentices - but also to remove the stigma that an apprenticeship is second fiddle to a university degree. Michael Johnston from the NZ Initiative think-tank says in Germany, 50% of school-leavers end up in working in the trades. But here in New Zealand, a university education is given much higher status than apprenticeship training. He says we need a more coherent apprenticeship system connecting schools, the trades and the training organisations. Michael Johnston is saying that part of the problem is that trades historically have been seen or have been promoted as the thing kids do if they're not bright enough to go to university or not interested in going to university. Which is crazy for a number of reasons – for starters, I marvel all the time at what tradespeople know and what they can do. He says maybe we also need some sort of bonding system that would keep require tradespeople once they've finished their apprenticeship to stick around and not bugger off somewhere else. He says that would probably encourage more employers to take someone on in the first place. He might have a point there, but I suspect that businesses look at apprentices and just see extra work. I don't think they're necessarily concerned whether the apprentice is going to stick around once they've got their qualification. But the idea of his that I really like, is this bit where he says schools need to up their game when it comes to promoting trades and getting kids ready to move into a trade. Because I think, over the years, schools —but, in particular, school careers advisors— have pointed kids in the wrong direction, making them think that a university degree is the be-all and end-all. Another reason why I'm so excited at the ideas Michael Johnston is pushing today, is that on-the-job training is how I started my working life. So maybe I'm biased. I wanted to be a journalist, so I did a cadetship at the local newspaper. And, since then, I have been dismayed at how so many people have been sucked in by this idea that a university degree is way better than an apprenticeship or any other form of on-the-job training. Of course, there are some professions where people have to go to university – law, medicine, engineering are examples. But I have never understood why a degree makes someone a better journalist, for example. The other great thing about apprenticeships is that someone can start one, realise they're not actually cut out for that particular trade, and move on to something else without racking up huge debt and then, after three or four years, realising they're not cut out for the career they studied for. A guy I went to school with took on a plumbing apprenticeship when he left. Realised pretty quickly it wasn't him, then moved an electrical apprenticeship and flourished. The other thing about all of this is that it seems we've been saying forever that we need more apprenticeships, and we need to take the trades more seriously, but nothing seems to have changed. Maybe it's because —if we're really honest— we've been so brainwashed over the years and still believe that that you only do a trade if you're not bright enough to go to university. Hopefully, there aren't any careers advisors who still hold on to that view. Because I agree completely that the apprenticeship system needs an overhaul and the stigma that an apprenticeship is second-best to a university degree needs to go. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's a belief better pathways to industry and trades training are needed. A report from the New Zealand Initiative has found just 6% of 16-to-19 year-olds participate in workplace learning, while 11% are unemployed. It states schools are geared toward university education, even though only about a third enrol in degrees. Report author Michael Johnston says apprenticeship options need to be more visible to young people. He told Mike Hosking part of the problem is apprenticeship training is viewed as being for the kids who don't cope with the academic path. Johnston says we need to rearrange the system so that young people, regardless of their background and propensities, look at apprenticeship training as a viable option. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adrian Orr resigned as Reserve Bank Governor this week after 7 years in the job, but three years early, effective immediately and without explanation. Bernard Hickey talks in an emergency edition of When The Facts Change with NZ Initiative executive director Oliver Hartwich, an Orr critic, about his legacy and how his replacement should change the bank, and with Kiwibank chief economist Jarrod Kerr about Orr's operation of monetary policy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The cost of keeping Government-owned assets could be more than the return it's getting from them. A report by The New Zealand Initiative says the Government owns $571 billion in assets, yet the returns from them don't even cover the interest on loans used to buy them. Author Bryce Wilkinson is calling for a review to identify if assets should be sold, and if so, which ones. He says the Government should be asking if someone else could put the assets to better use to improve public access. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand's taxes aren't as competitive as they once were. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has floated potential tax cuts for corporations in the wake of the latest Treasury report. Speaking to Ryan Bridge on Newstalk ZB last night, she says our corporate tax rate is reasonably high compared to the rest of the world. Former Treasury Director Bryce Wilkinson told Mike Hosking that it could be a good move. He says the Government is trying to attract foreign investment and capital to try and compare with Singapore and Ireland, who have corporate tax rates within the 10-20% range compared to our rate of 28%. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During his state of the nation speech Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced a new foreign investment agency with the aim of driving more overseas revenue to our shores and boost local economy and productivity. It's a model based on Ireland and Singapore and will see Invest New Zealand become part of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, which itself is set to become an autonomous crown entity. Executive Director of the New Zealand Initiative Oliver Hartwich has been advocating for a model like this for more than a decade and says he took Luxon on a trip to Ireland to show how a model like theirs could work locally. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A proposed law change will prohibit universities from adopting positions on issues that aren't related to their core role and functions. They'll be required to actively promote an environment where ideas can be challenged, controversial issues discussed, and diverse opinions expressed. Universities will have to adopt a statement on freedom of speech and report annually on it. Former Victoria University dean and NZ Initiative senior fellow Michael Johnston told Heather du Plessis-Allan it's not a silver bullet to solve the culture problem at universities, but is necessary. He says problems on campuses are in part a result of a political bias pretty strongly to the left. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A business think tank is critical of the first part of New Zealand's Covid-19 review, believing it's not comprehensive enough. Phase 1 of the pandemic response report from the Royal Commission of Inquiry brings 39 recommendations. They include planning for quarantine measures, allowing movement of public sector capability during a pandemic, and assigning a minister to lead implementation. New Zealand Initiative Senior Fellow, Murray Horn told Mike Hosking the report misses some areas. He says it doesn't explore whether damage to the economy and people's faith in government was more serious than needed. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Education in NZ has long been controversial. It's not incorrect to suggest that a Labour Education Minister has an easier task than a more ‘conservative' party minister (i.e. National's Merv Wellington in the 1980's.) Similar circumstances apply in other countries. Donald Trump returns to the Presidency with intent to eliminate the Department of Education and return the responsibility to the States. There are some valid reasons for doing so. Are there lessons for other countries? Dr Michael Johnston has been consulting NZ Education Minister Erica Stanford. After years of experience, most recently at Victoria University, Wellington, Michael is now with the NZ Initiative. His podcast contribution is very informative. Following the Mailroom there is further comment on other matters, including AI and democracy. File your comments and complaints at Leighton@newstalkzb.co.nz Haven't listened to a podcast before? Check out our simple how-to guide. Listen here on iHeartRadio Leighton Smith's podcast also available on iTunes:To subscribe via iTunes click here See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Who Makes the Law? Reining in the Supreme Court”. This report by Roger Partridge, lawyer and Chairman of the NZ Initiative, challenges the Supreme Court's overreach or activism in recent cases and the constitutional implications. Judicial activism is in a word, dangerous for democracy. This is a most important matter and it needs the attention of Parliament. And we venture into The Mailroom with Mrs Producer. File your comments and complaints at Leighton@newstalkzb.co.nz Haven't listened to a podcast before? Check out our simple how-to guide. Listen here on iHeartRadio Leighton Smith's podcast also available on iTunes:To subscribe via iTunes click here See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is a shake-up needed for the Supreme Court? That's the question posed by a New Zealand Initiative report, which suggests the court may be straying into Parliament's domain by granting itself the power to rewrite legislation it deems unfavourable. It believes Parliament needs to reassert its sovereignty, to stop what it sees as the current drift towards judicial supremacy. Author, Roger Partridge proposes a maximum judge term of five to seven years, which will see them returned to the Court of Appeal and rotated around. He told Mike Hosking it's Parliament's prerogative to intervene when the court steers out of its lane. Partridge says the report is a call to Parliament that it's their job to set the law straight. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 16th of October, we discuss what will happen with the inflation number today, plus the struggles businesses are facing trying to have tables out on the street. We explore a new report from the NZ Initiative about Supreme Court creep when it comes to rules and regulations. Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell talk about why we don't like rich politicians and whether Luxon is getting the cut through needed on Politics Wednesday. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's an argument in favour of setting a maximum term for Supreme Court Judges. A report from New Zealand Initiative suggests the Supreme Court is getting an exaggerated view of its role and straying into Parliament's domain. Former ACT MP and lawyer Stephen Franks says there's been grumblings about it among some lawyers. He told Ryan Bridge that at the 20th anniversary of the Supreme Court this year, a leading KC presented a paper aligned with this belief. He says it read that the law is ceasing to be predictable as the Supreme Court's changing it according to their social values. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 16th of October, inflation numbers are out today and forecasts are pointing to 3 year low within the target range of 1 to 3%. Westpac Chief Economist Kelly Eckhold joins the show to discuss. An NZ Initiative report is suggesting changes to stop the Supreme Court getting an "exaggerated view of their role". What could it mean for our judicial system? Tauranga businesses are paying increasing fees for alfresco dining - what impact is it having on them and the price you're paying for cafe food? Ryan speaks to a Tauranga cafe owner. Get the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An easier road for foreign investors looking at New Zealand's companies and property. The Government's new law reforms will allow overseas investment to proceed - so long as it doesn't go against our interests. Associate Finance Minister David Seymour says right now, we rank 38 out of 38 countries for openness to investment. New Zealand Initiative Executive Director Oliver Hartwich told Mike Hosking New Zealand's always been one of the most difficult places for investment. “That part of globalisation has always bypassed New Zealand. Actually, the share of FDI in our GDP is lower than it used to be 25 years ago.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new report says our fuel tax system is outdated and unfair.  A new report from the NZ Initiative proposes replacing the fuel excise duty with a new Smart Road User Charges system.  Under the system all vehicles would be charged based on actual road usage, time of day, and vehicle type.  Lead author Matthew Birchall says it would reduce congestion and ensure a fairer distribution of costs.  He says it's a revenue-neutral system where you wouldn't pay more, but just change the source.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A New Zealand Initiative report details potential hidden risks in China's Belt and Road Initiative.  The pro-free-market think-tank points to potential implications for our foreign policy, independence, and development.   Director Oliver Hartwich says it's not just about infrastructure investment.  He told Mike Hosking that we need to be wary about China trying to draw New Zealand into its sphere of influence.   Hartwich says when you have to do something political in return, you are no longer the client of the project but the product.  LISTEN ABOVE   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The New Zealand Government seems to be a bit bloated.  A study from New Zealand Initiative shows New Zealand has 44% more ministers, and one and a half times as many departments as similar sized Parliaments.  Researcher Max Salmon told Mike Hosking that it's all politics, as having extra portfolios can be useful for coalition negotiations and securing allies.  He suspects that the number of departments and ministers is contributing to the productivity issues this country faces.  While Salmon doesn't know if there's a magic number of ministers, similar countries only have about 20 cabinet ministers total.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The New Zealand Initiative is again calling for urgent action to secure the GP workforce and expand their role. It says a paper published in this month's New Zealand medical journal about GP's taking a tougher line on accepting new patients shows how broken the system is. The paper says more than three-quarters of practices surveyed have closed their books to new patients or limited enrolments in the last four years Emeritus professor and co-author of the report, Des Gorman, spoke to Corin Dann.

An economist says we're in an economy that's significantly smaller than estimated.   GDP fell 0.3% in the three months to September.   The June quarter's figures showed 0.5% growth, revised from 0.9%.  NZ Initiative director Oliver Hartwich told Mike Hosking that it means we're in a technical recession, but the revision's more shocking.   He says all together, the effect was the economy is now 1.8% of GDP smaller than the Reserve Bank last thought when they set the Official Cash Rate.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mediawatch - A business lobby group is urging New Zealand to emulate Ireland, which has a GDP twice as big as ours - but is the GDP picture warped? 

Show host Gene Tunny delves into the concept of Degrowth: the idea of deliberately shrinking economies to avoid the runaway climate change, ecological collapse, and societal breakdown that degrowth proponents are worried about. Gene first discusses degrowth with Oliver Hartwich from the New Zealand Initiative, and then responds to questions about degrowth at a recent University of Queensland Politics, Philosophy, and Economics student event. Please get in touch with any questions, comments and suggestions by emailing us at contact@economicsexplored.com or sending a voice message via https://www.speakpipe.com/economicsexplored. About this episode's guest: Dr Oliver Hartwich, NZ InitiativeDr Oliver Hartwich is the Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative. Before joining the Initiative, he was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney, the Chief Economist at Policy Exchange in London, and an advisor in the UK House of Lords. Oliver holds a Master's degree in Economics and Business administration and a PhD in Law from Bochum University in Germany.What's covered in EP208[00:04:39] Degrowth to stop climate change? [00:08:00] Economic growth and adaptation to climate change? [00:11:53] How a threatened lungfish colony stopped a new dam in South East Queensland. [00:15:47] Are we rich enough already? [00:20:20] Democratization of wealth and prosperity. [00:24:05] Economic growth as a positive. [00:30:39] Carbon pricing. [00:34:10] Decreasing Antarctic sea ice extent.Links relevant to the conversationGene's September 2023 Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) paper on Degrowth:https://www.cis.org.au/publication/debunking-degrowth/NZ Initiative podcast from which part 1 of this episode was borrowed:https://www.nzinitiative.org.nz/reports-and-media/podcasts/podcast-debunking-degrowth/Full transcripts are available a few days after the episode is first published at www.economicsexplored.com. Economics Explored is available via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, and other podcasting platforms.

A new report has been released by New Zealand Initiative, looking into the Labour Government's fiscal record over the past six years.  The report found that Labour's fiscal projections before the 2017 election were too optimistic, resulting in an $18 billion discrepancy between intended and actual expenditure by the end of 2019.  Executive Director Oliver Hartwich told Mike Hosking that they were spending beyond what they planned before Covid, $29 billion more by 2019.  He said that Covid opened the floodgates in terms of spending, but once the pandemic was over they kept their spending levels at the level it was at in 2020.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An education researcher says some of ACT's education policies would be a radical change while others are no brainers.   The party wants to implement standardised testing, with University Entrance replacing NCEA Level Three.   The B4 School Check would be extended to include education progress, and Early Childhood Education providers that don't contribute to child development risk losing funding or licensing.  New Zealand Initiative Research Fellow Michael Johnston told Mike Hosking that one thing he likes is that schools can develop their own curricula, as long as they adhere with core requirements.   He says that's a good way ahead to avoid an ongoing political battle over curriculum.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Week two of the campaign has come and gone - so who are the winners? Well, if you go on polling alone, it's the new Government of National and Act. But if you believe that this campaign counts, if you believe that these events and stunts and announcements count for a lot, then there is still much to play for. For the record, I will repeat, I think the whole thing is a foregone conclusion. This, more than most elections, has already been decided on the Government's record. It's not about policy from the opposition, because most people already broadly know that the opposition is offering a change from the status quo. It's what happened when we tossed David Lange's Labour out. What happened when we tossed Robert Muldoon? What happened when we tossed Helen Clark out? For a variety of reasons, in Muldoon and Clark's case, we were over the agenda. In Lange's case, we were over the party imploding and the chaos. That's why they say Government's lose elections and oppositions don't win them. If you're interested in policy there have been some good ones. Act's law and order policy is full of common sense and scratches an itch felt by many a New Zealander fed up with crime. You can't argue with more doctors, except the fact Labour took six years to do it, which in and of itself is an example of why they are losing. National's literacy policy last Friday makes sense and many a parent will welcome a crack at tangible improvement in the classroom. But the downside of campaigns is the down in the weeds obsession you tend to get when the media put a lot of resource into a single event. When you're looking to eke every last dollar out of having journalists wander aimlessly around the country, you tend to end up with the nonsense we got on National's tax policy. Some economists thought there was a hole. My take - so what? There are other economists who don't think there is a hole. The Treasury PREFU said we aren't going into recession and the media swallowed that hook, line and sinker. Yet Bryce Wilkinson of the NZ Initiative wrote yesterday and said those numbers are bogus. Where was the media's obsession around that? Duelling economists is the sort of side show a campaign brings. But in summation, you can see poor, old Hipkins looking more and more deflated and Luxon looking more and more bullish. Seymour overplayed his hand a bit on the confidence thing, James Shaw called an Act MP a "clown show", Winston Peters refuted the polls, again, and I think one of the Maori leaders went surfing. Next week we have the debates. I don't put the weight some do on them. They're important, yes. But they aren't a deal breaker. As I say, my gut says this thing is over, the script was written over the past 24 months. We are, to a degree, going through the motions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With numbers of those employed in the public sector increasing by 28 percent,  along with more top heavy well-paid managers and communication teams, and an increase in spending - a new report is questioning why the outcomes in government dominated sectors aren't performing better. An earlier study shows the best performing countries are capable of achieving the same public service outcomes as New Zealand for up to 49 percent fewer resources. NZ Initiative Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson joined Mike Hosking. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It may be too early to read too much into the Government's higher than expected deficit. Latest Treasury figures show the Government has recorded a $7 billion deficit for the ten months to April. While that's $2.4 billion lower than the deficit from the same period a year ago, it's $1.3 billion dollars higher than Budget forecasts. New Zealand Initiative Chief Economist Eric Crampton told Mike Hosking we need to see how indicators track in the months ahead before drawing any conclusions. He says the deficit could change a bit from month to month, due to fluctuations in tax revenue and expenditure. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's podcast: State education has been in a void in New Zealand for a number of years. After spending some time as a world leader, the education field has been ploughed with incompetence. In all but a few schools. NCEA has failed, and the restructuring currently being attempted will also fail. Rangitoto Principal, Patrick Gale, explains why the country's largest school is rejecting NCEA Level 1 and creating its own diploma. The number of schools considering the same is uncertain, but is on the increase. From the NZ Initiative think tank, Dr Michael Johnson deals to an incompetent Education Dept. “Not fit for purpose” is his emphatic opinion. And, of course, The Mailroom with Mrs Producer. File your comments and complaints at Leighton@newstalkzb.co.nz Haven't listened to a podcast before? Check out our simple how-to guide. Listen here on iHeartRadio Leighton Smith's podcast also available on iTunes:To subscribe via iTunes click here See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.