Reaching Aussie Becomes More Distant
7 November 2010
Muriel Newman  
“Conventional politicians ignore structural reform because they think they are in power to please people, and pleasing people does not involve making them face the hard questions. They use the latest polls to... More >>>

Financial tremors  
5 September 2010
Muriel Newman  
Our hearts go out to people caught up in Christchurch’s devastating earthquake and we wish them well in days ahead as they go through the difficult process of rebuilding. We can all be thankful... More >>>

Are we in 1978?
5 September 2010
Don Nicolson
Every 20-30 years the unfashionable, with a few tweaks, becomes fashionable. Surprisingly, this 'fashion cycle' seems to apply equally public policy and even to politics – think NZ First.   It all starts with an 'outsider' breaking the mold and if the movement has legs, ...  More >>>

Rating the Budget  
23 May 2010
Muriel Newman  
In Thursday’s budget speech the Minister of Finance, Bill English announced that this budget had four main objectives: “The first is lifting the long-term performance of the economy.... More >>>

Budget not a Game Changer
22 May 2010
Roger Kerr
The annual budget is the main statement of the government’s overall economic and social programme. So in the first instance it needs to be evaluated in terms of the government’s own goals.  More >>>

Unemployment Returns as a National Scandal
21 February 2010
Roger Kerr
Recent unemployment numbers were not good news. Contrary to expectations, the overall unemployment rate in the December quarter jumped to 7.3% of the labour force...  More >>>

Hopes of a Nation 7 February 2010
Muriel Newman  
While words sound good – it is actions that matter. After nine years of socialism the country was more than ready for a fresh approach. That’s why National was elected... More >>>  

Reaction to the Report of the 2025 Taskforce
7 February 2010
Dr Don Brash
Late last November, the 2025 Taskforce issued its first report.  As readers may recall, the Taskforce was set up by Government as a result of the coalition deal between the National and ACT Parties after the 2008 election. More >>>

Less Tax Not New Tax Was the Election Pledge
23 January 2010
Muriel Newman  
The Tax Working Group released its report on proposed changes to our tax system on Wednesday to a respectful response from the government. This is in sharp contrast to the dismissive reaction the 2025 Taskforce received...  More >>>  

Tax Working Group report over-hyped
23 January 2010
Roger Kerr
Following the tax reforms of the 1980s, New Zealand’s tax system was widely regarded as one of the least distortionary in the OECD. It remained largely that way through the 1990s...  More >>>

Halting the Economic Decline
17 October 2009
Muriel Newman
After decades of making jam as a fundraiser for the local hospice, a Good Samaritan from Kerikeri in the Far North was forced to lay down her wooden spoon and hang up her apron when officials from the local council demanded that she upgrade her kitchen to a commercial standard... More >>>

NZ's Economic Outlook
17 October 2009
Don Brash
Helen Clark’s Labour Government was a profound disappointment.. When she was first elected Prime Minister in 1999, Helen Clark said that her objective was to raise New Zealand’s living standards into the top half of the OECD within a decade.   More >>>

Capital Gains Tax not the Answer
20 September 2009
Muriel Newman
Former Prime Minister David Lange described a capital gains tax as the sort of tax you introduce if you want to lose not just one election, but the next three! And he should know since the Fourth Labour Government considered a capital gains tax back in 1988, eventually rejecting it as being too difficult... More >>>

Taxing Matters
20 September 2009
Frank Newman
Calls for a capital gains tax are gaining momentum, but unfortunately the capital gains debate thus far has been tainted with misinformation and a lack of clarity as to what a capital gains tax would hope to achieve... More >>>

Closing the Gap
25 July 2009
Muriel Newman
Wednesday’s announcement that former Reserve Bank Governor Dr Don Brash will head the ‘Catching up with Australia’ taskforce is good news for New Zealand. More >>>

Naive Keynesianism and Other Fallacies
10 June 2009
Roger Kerr
One of the most frequently cited statements in economics is John Maynard Keynes’ observation that “Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist.” More >>>

The 2009 Budget: What's Next? 
31 May 2009
Roger Kerr
The National-led government which came into office seven months ago inherited a difficult economic situation. Not only was the international financial system in crisis, triggering a global recession...  More >>>

Judging National's First Budget
16 May 2009
Sir Roger Douglas MP
Budget Day is coming up. Finance Minister Bill English has promised that this will be a ‘responsible Budget’ - but what does that actually mean? How can we tell if a Budget is responsible or reckless? Unless we understand some fundamental economic truths... More >>>

How the Labour Government Robbed You Blind
16 April 2009
Sir Roger Douglas MP
Labour and National Governments between 1996 and 2009 robbed New Zealanders of more than $30 billion. That is the transfer that has taken place from the private sector to the Government...  More >>> 

Opportunities of a Lifetime
Speech, Sir Ronald Trotter Lecture 2009, 7 April 2009
Stephen Jennings
I am going to speak about the accelerating economic convergence taking place globally as the living standards of the 5 billion people living outside the historically rich part of the world rapidly catch up with income levels in the West...  More >>>

Ten Lessons for the Recession
12 March 2009
Sir Roger Douglas MP
This recession will end. We can control how quickly it will end and how fast we will grow once it has ended. We can continue down the redistribution path. But that is a path to poverty. Alternatively, we could aim to increase our productivity and stimulate economic growth. ... More >>>  

Putting the Public Interest First
6 March 2009
Muriel Newman
With the economic crisis delivering more bad news each day, we must keep reminding ourselves that change brings opportunity. The return of frugality and thrift is good for discount businesses... More >>>

Real Job growth
5 March 2009
Sir Roger Douglas MP
The problem with the job summit is that it is likely to be a distraction when New Zealand needs to look to the dollars, not concentrate on the minor issues that is, the cents. While the participants at the summit will take a micro-look at how we might artificially-create a few jobs over the short-term... More >>>  

Tackling the Tough Issues
1 March 2009
Muriel Newman
As the government progresses it’s so-called “razor gang” line-by-line review of government expenditure, it will be interesting to see whether those controversial and costly policy areas, that are clearly long overdue for reform... More >>>

The rise of the Reserve Bank Act
11 February 2009 
Hon David Butcher
This week's guest piece is a letter written by The Hon David Butcher, to Bryan Gould. Although it was written in 1995, it outlines the risks associated with politial interference in the economy and ... More >>>  

Don’t assume our problems are due to “Free & unregulated banking”
8 February 2009
Dr Don Brash
In recent months, we’ve all been treated to a steady diet of sermons from those who would have us believe that the international financial crisis is all the result of the banking industry being “free and unregulated”...  More >>>

Liquidity Traps and Fiscal Rescues 
4 February 2009 
Roger Bowden
Now that President Obama has got his stimulus package through Congress, it’s time for our own, due out this week. By now, we’ve seen pretty much what’s on offer internationally... More >>>  

Reviewing the Minimum Wage
Muriel Newman
The Government has announced that it will hold an employment summit at the end of February to gather ideas to help New Zealand cope with the global economic crisis. In announcing the summit, the Prime Minister said... More >>>

The cruel dark side of the minimum wage
31 January 2009
Phil O'Reilly  
One of the tenets of economics is that an increase in the price of something causes less of it to be purchased. It’s a tenet that’s central to the minimum wage debate.  More >>>

The Current Situation
14 January 09 
Sir Roger Douglas (ACT MP)
“The most challenging problem that faces the government is how it should respond to the worldwide financial meltdown which has already turned into a worldwide recession. I suspect this crisis is likely to be different from any New Zealand has had to face since World War II – much worse, longer and deeper than... More >>>

New Zealand, It’s Time to Be Measured
17 January 09
Paul Newfield
This is traditionally a time of year when we commit to new personal goals. The energy and sense of perspective we bring back from summer holidays, combined with the ticking over of the calendar, put us in the right frame of mind for resolutions... More >>>

New Employment Law Good for the Country
14 December 2008
Muriel Newman
Such was the uproar over a law change to introduce a grievance-free trial period for new employees, that you could be forgiven for thinking that the new National Government was outlawing the trade union movement!  More >>> 

Back to Basics for New Zealand Labour Markets
13 December 08 
Richard Epstein
When I first visited New Zealand in July of 1990 at the invitation of the New Zealand Business Roundtable, one mission stood out above all. My job was to find some sensible way to stem the ever increasing tide of regulation in Kiwi employment markets... More >>>

Rogernomics is not a Dirty Word
4 December 08 
Gerry Eckhoff
The return of Sir Roger Douglas to the New Zealand Parliament should be welcomed. Regretfully, his return has been greeted with some ridicule and even vitriol by those who choose to ignore that we once lived in a fools paradise. If all that was done back then was so wrong, why .... More >>>

Planning our Future
30 November 2008
Muriel Newman
Anyone concerned about the global financial situation in general and New Zealand’s position in particular should certainly read the Reserve Bank's first Financial Stability Report, published two weeks ago. More >>>  

Boosting Prosperity in New Zealand
30 November 08 
Daniel J. Mitchell, Ph.D.
Thanks to its modest size and geographic isolation, New Zealand automatically is in a position of having to fight harder and work smarter to be competitive. The slowdown in the global economy is going to make that task more challenging, which puts considerable pressure on John Key... More >>>

Moving in the Right Direction
16 November 2008
Muriel Newman
Last Thursday, US President George Bush launched a vigorous defence of the free market, stating that the only long-term solution to the global financial crisis is sustained economic growth...   More >>>

Cool Heads Needed in Economic Turmoil
17 October 08 
Roger Kerr
The current international financial crisis is the worst in most people’s lifetimes. A global recession is in prospect. New Zealand cannot escape the consequences. The duty of policy makers is not to make them worse and to respond with policies to assist the country to emerge in better shape. More>>>  

Don't Panic!
12 October 08 
Dr Roger Bowden  
It’s all a bit unreal, the credit crunch, but if there’s a message coming out of it, it’s engraved on the cover of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe: Don’t Panic.  More >>>

Pointing the Finger of Blame 
5 October 2008
Muriel Newman
Those who still believe that Karl Marx’s “Communist Manifesto” maps out the best path forward for mankind are now claiming that the current economic woes on Wall Street have been caused by the failure of capitalism and the free market. More >>>

The End of Capitalism? Dream On!
5 October 08 
Roger Kerr  
The idea that the US financial crisis presages the end of capitalism – the dream of Marxists down the ages – doesn’t pass the laugh test. It took no time for local members of the anti-capitalist brigade to appear from under stones.  More >>>

Policies to Improve Productivity & Grow the Economy
30 August 08 
Charles Finny
The major impediment to growth in New Zealand is our poor productivity performance. With the general election approaching, the New Zealand Chambers of Commerce ( NZCCI ) has just released its Election Manifesto... More >>>

The Bottom Billion
30 July 08
Mike Moore
This week Trade Ministers assemble in Geneva to try and make progress at the World Trade Organisation on the Doha Development trade round.  The global economy needs the boost that further trade liberalisation deliveres. More >>>

Legal Empowerment for the Poor
16 July 08
Mike Moore
Look at the worst places to live in the world – Burma, North Korea, Zimbabwe. What have they in common? No democracy, no human, civil, commercial and legal rights. More >>>

Mike Moore needs some reminders of Labour’s past
9 July 08
Michael Littlewood
In his rush to judgement (The Politics of Retirement, 18 June 2008, nzcpr midweek), Mike Moore slides by some inconvenient truths about the last 30 or so years of New Zealand’s superannuation history. More >>>

Massive increase in spending, little increase in benefit  
15 June 2008
Muriel Newman
Since taking office, Labour has spent $85 billion more than if core government spending had been held at 1999 levels. The question is whether this massive additional spending has been of benefit?... More >>> 

Political Agendas Put Economy at Risk
13 April 08
Muriel Newman
Prime Minister Helen Clark is right when she says blocking the sale of a 40 percent interest in Auckland International Airport is a defining issue. Such political intervention is arrogant, damaging and reckless. It defines New Zealand as a state controlled economy. More >>>

Five Ideas to Super-Size NZ's Economy
12 April 08
Phil Rennie
Yet for the last 30 years the Aussies have been flogging us at something far more important than sport – economic performance. The average wage in Australia is now a third higher than in New Zealand , which means more exciting and rewarding jobs, more opportunities for young people and better social outcomes. More >>>

Motivating a Nation
30 March 08
Muriel Newman
There is such a notable lack of debate about crucial public policy issues that you could be excused for not realising that we are already a quarter of the way through to the latest possible date for the 2008 election. That’s why Sir Roger Douglas’s entry into the debate about the future direction of the country has been so interesting... More >>>

“Kids – it’s time to come home”
29 March 08
Sir Roger Douglas
Thirty years ago, I told the Labour Party conference that New Zealand stood at the economic crossroads.  That there were no soft options left.  That unless we changed our ways, New Zealand was headed for disaster.  That proved to be dead right. More >>>

Free Market Capitalism
24 February 08
Muriel Newman
A “rich prick”. That’s what Finance Minister Michael Cullen called the Leader of the National Party two months ago. That vitriolic attack during a Parliamentary debate revealed the Labour Party’s loathing of capitalism... More >>>

The Romance of Capitalism
23 February 08
Professor Peter Saunders
Capitalism lacks romantic appeal. Arguments in favour of private property rights and free market exchange do not set the pulse racing in the way that fiery speeches about socialism, fascism or environmentalism can. ... More >>>

Declining Productivity as a Way of Life
16 February 08
Richard Epstein
It is now eighteen years since I first visited New Zealand as a guest of the New Zealand Business Roundtable.  Yet that period of time is long enough to document the early rise in growth during the period between 1992-2000, followed by the much more anemic growth in the period between 2000 and 2006.... More >>>

Financial Literacy:  What’s the Buzz?
2 December 07
Prof Lawrence Rose
What is a basis point, and what does it have to do with changes in interest rates?  Should your savings be put into Kiwi Saver or into paying off a house mortgage? Should you be worried about the recent collapse of so many finance companies over the past 18 months?  What is an exchange rate and why does the New Zealand Exchange Rate change so much? Should I sell my Warehouse shares or buy more? More >>>

An Idea Whose Time Has Come
Muriel Newman
28 October 2007
With the average Kiwi family being more than $5,000 better off living in Australia than New Zealand, it is no wonder that almost 500 New Zealanders a week are packing up for life across the Tasman.  According to the Australian Immigration statistics, 23,906 people who were born in New Zealand settled in Australia during the 2006-07 year. This is a 25 percent increase on the year earlier. More >>>

Are Tax Cuts Inflationary?
Phil Rennie
27 October 07
The latest excuse from the government for not giving us tax cuts (despite an $8 billion surplus) is the fear of inflation. But do tax cuts really cause inflation? More >>>

Accepting Accountability
Muriel Newman
28 July 2007
In a week when lies in Parliament led to the unceremonious departure of Labour’s 10^th Government Minister, another statement made during Question Time deserves closer scrutiny. More >>>

NZ Dollar: End game or new game altogether?
Prof Roger Bowden
28 July 07
 Just as expected, Dr Bollard has announced a rise of 0.25% in the official cash rate (OCR), to bring it to 8.25%. Thursday’s announcement also contained another bit of information, that the Reserve Bank thought it had gone far enough for the time being, and yet another hike down the track is not anticipated. Provided, that is, the economy kept itself in restraint. More >>>

Struggle Street
Muriel Newman
8 July 2007
While we were away in Europe for two weeks, we did see New Zealand featuring in the news – but no, it wasn’t about the America’s Cup. It was about the Reserve Bank’s unprecedented foray into the currency markets! But more on that later… More >>>

All Eyes on Slovakia's Flat Tax
Harvard Business School.  More >>>

A Missed Opportunity 
Muriel Newman
20 May 2007
People are getting sick and tired of this government telling us how to run our lives - what we can and can’t eat, how to raise our kids, and now, to add insult to injury, the key message in the budget is that they know far better than you or I how to spend our own money. More >>>

It's Not Your Money Dr Cullen
Roger Kerr
20 May 07
A commentator recently wrote as follows: "The notion that it is better to allow people to keep more of their own money than to snatch it from them as tax and then return it to them as a credit against that tax, is alien to a man who really believes that the national income is his, and it is for him to decide how much of his money to share with citizens." The man in question was not finance minister Michael Cullen, though it could have been. Rather, it was Gordon Brown, the British chancellor of the exchequer and soon to be prime minister when Tony Blair steps down next month.  More >>>

Old Problems New Solutions 
Muriel Newman
18 March 07
A new report by the Centre for Independent Studies, New Zealand’s Spending Binge by Phil Rennie, highlights the fact that core government spending is now almost $20 billion higher than it was in 2000. In spite of that, the social benefits being delivered “have shown negligible improvements”. More >>>

State Culpability
Muriel Newman
17 Dec 06
In his book Liberalism, written in 1927, distinguished economist Ludwig von Mises observed, “The task of the state consists solely and exclusively in guaranteeing the protection of life, health, liberty, and private property against violent attacks”.   More >>>

Do Tax Cuts Make a Difference?
Phil Rennie
10 Dec 06
With a budget surplus of over $11 billion the government is fast running out of excuses not to cut tax. Intuitively we might think the answer is obvious: of course they do. That is, if you believe that individuals can spend their money more efficiently and effectively than politicians and the bureaucracy.  More >>>

Big government the problem
Muriel Newman
11 Nov 06
It was a Professor of History at the University of Singapore, Cyril Northcote Parkinson, who first developed the law that explains the relentless growth in public sector bureaucracies. Parkinson’s Law states that work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. More >>>

The Swedish model looks more attractive
Johan Norberg
14 Oct 06
What’s the difference between Sweden and the US ? Well, only one of the countries has introduced school vouchers, abolished the death tax and partially privatised the pension system. All those reforms that President Bush has struggled to introduce in the US have been successfully implemented in Sweden . And the Swedish social democrats has accepted the first change, participated on the second and took the initiative to the third. More >>>

The Decline of Socialism
Muriel Newman
14 Oct 06
There was a time when New Zealand was one of the most progressive countries on earth. Most famously, we were first to give women the vote, but we also led the way in our early approach to social welfare, and in the economic reforms of the eighties. What we failed to do during that period, however – due largely to Prime Minister David Lange’s thirst for a cup of tea - was to implement a much-needed social reform programme. More >>>

Unsung Heroes
Muriel Newman
5 August 06
New Zealand’s unsung heroes are small businesses. These enterprises, which largely begin their life as family-based operations, keep the wheels of commerce turning. They provide the goods and services that consumers need and in the process, create the jobs and wealth that are necessary for the healthy functioning of our economy. More >>>

Economic Transformation (Budget)
Muriel Newman
20 May 06
The Budget is an annual summary or plan of the intended revenues and expenditures of a government, providing a public blueprint of their economic agenda. This week, the Labour Government expressed in a loud and clear fashion that, despite calls for tax cuts and official advice in favour of lowering taxes, they do not intend to deviate from their tax and spend approach.  More >>>

Lucky for Some Unlucky for Others
Muriel Newman
14 May 06
It has often been said that you make your own luck, and when you read Australia ’s 2006 budget it is easy to understand why they have been called the “lucky” country. More >>>