The New Zealand Initiative

Recent Ministry of Education publications bring mātauranga Māori concepts into the school curriculum. While concepts like mauri, a Māori term meaning “vital essence” or “life force”, may have something to offer science as a reflection of ecosystem health or the “life-supporting capacity” of rivers, any interpretation that equated mauri with chemical properties, or as “the binding force between the physical and the spiritual”, had no place in the chemistry curriculum and proposals to incorporate traditional knowledge in science curricula need a lot more reflection, with nobody excluded from the conversation. In this week’s podcast James Kierstead talks with Paul Kilmartin (Ngāi Tahu), Professor of Chemistry in the School of Chemical Sciences at the University of Auckland, about mātauranga Māori, science and the school curriculum. To read the article referred to in the podcast click here: https://nzic.org.nz/unsecure_files/cinz/2022-86-4.pdf

For years, The New Zealand Initiative has argued for the case for localism in New Zealand, which is one of the most centralised countries in the world. According to a recent tax sharing poll, 70% of people support keeping tax revenue in their communities. In this week's podcast, Oliver Hartwich is joined by Malcolm Alexander, consultant and former chief executive of LGNZ, to discuss all things localism - including incentives and funding mechanisms for local councils, three waters, and the government's penchant for centralisation.

The public service, and the neutrality of its leaders, has become a recent issue. In this episode, Drs Oliver Hartwich and Michael Johnston discuss New Zealand's public service, how it is run, and the importance of public servants being impartial and objective in their work. Drawing on Germany's example, they look at how public servants can be highly professional and skilled, and still work for the government of the day without showing bias, to ensure a neutral and effective public service that serves all its citizens.

The Charities Amendment Bill is currently before Parliament, but it is flawed and full of unintended consequences. As promised in the Labour Party manifesto, charities in New Zealand are demanding a proper first principles review with a better process and more public participation. This week's podcast is a conversation between Oliver Hartwich and Sue Barker, a charity law expert, about the growing authoritarianism and its impact on our democracy, social cohesion, and community wellbeing.

Director of Economics for the Infrastructure Commission, Peter Nunns, talks to Eric Crampton, Chief Economist for The New Zealand Initiative, about his research on the cost to deliver infrastructure in New Zealand and the need to improve the efficiency of our infrastructure sector, rather than only focusing on broadening the funding and financing options available to it. For more, please read the Infrastructure Commission’s report, “The lay of the land: Benchmarking New Zealand’s infrastructure delivery costs.”

Resilient infrastructure is crucial for protecting people during disasters and ensuring that communities can bounce back quickly in the aftermath of a crisis. Two powerful examples of this can be seen in New Zealand's response to the 2011 Christchurch earthquake and, more recently, Cyclone Gabrielle. However, with the high cost of repairs that will be needed, the government will need to find the funds to pay for it. In addition, the demand for building supplies is already high, so the government has the power to encourage new entrants into the market. The task of repairing the damage caused by the cyclone will be significant and will require a large number of people to get involved. Therefore, policy changes are necessary to facilitate the involvement of the necessary workforce. On our podcast, our panelists, Dr Oliver Hartwich, Dr Eric Crampton, and Dr Bryce Wilkinson, share their insights on the lessons learned from the 2011 earthquake and suggest necessary policy changes to promote the development of resilient infrastructure for a speedy recovery.

The Initiative team has welcomed a new addition to their team with the appointment of Benjamin Macintyre as a Research Assistant. Benjamin holds a Bachelor of Arts in Politics, International Studies, and Italian, and brings a fresh perspective to the team, with a focus on traditional political theory, modern political issues, international institutions, international political economy, and Italian language and culture.

In this week's podcast we are diving into the much-anticipated policy shift announced by the country's new Prime Minister. The speculation has been building for months, with many wondering what policies will be scrapped and which ones will remain. In this episode, we dissect the Cabinet's first reprioritisations - everything from the biofuel mandate, free speech, the Social Unemployment Scheme, Three Waters, resource management, the TVNZ/RNZ merger, fair pay agreements and the surprise minimum wage increase.

In this week's podcast The New Zealand Initiative's chief economist, Dr Eric Crampton, chats with Christian van der Pump about building regulations, fire safety and the causes of 'market failure' in the building industry. Christian van der Pump is a professional engineer with qualifications in chemistry, engineering and economics. He is doing a PhD in market failure in the construction industry across Australasia. You can read Christian's 12 December 2022 opinion article on the causes of 'market failure' in the building industry here: https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/130812601/the-causes-of-market-failure-in--the-building-industry

In this week's podcast The New Zealand Initiative's chief economist, Dr Eric Crampton, chats with Jonathan Alve, National Operations Manager at Hospitality New Zealand, about proposed amendments to the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act and the challenges these may hold for licence holders.