Category: Economic Issues
Will the President of the United States be responsible for lowering power prices in New Zealand? That question has been raised because this could be one of the unintended consequences of Donald Trump’s latest move “to make America great again”.
The New Zealand electricity market has given us ever increasing prices and there is an increasing risk that a dry hydro year could lead to extremely high prices and blackouts. Major changes to the industry are needed – and quickly.
The Prime Minister says she intends making child poverty a priority for her administration. However, it’s not relative income measures that are needed, but policies to end intergenerational welfare dependency.
The Marine and Coastal Area Act is flawed in many respects, but especially in its failure to define a critical legal test. As it stands, unless the law is amended, it will be Judges rather than Parliament that determines whether Maori interests will own some of the coastal marine area or most of it.
Under the guise of ‘compassion’, the agenda is all too easily captured by vested interest groups that are promoting welfare policies that will increase dependency on the state, rather than reducing it.
As you and your family head off to the coast this summer, you might want to consider how long it will be before Maori tribal groups are dictating access rights to your favourite beach. Few holidaymakers will realise that ownership of the beach they are visiting is under claim.
Welfare reform requires great care. Of all policy areas, the unintended consequences of getting it wrong can be devastating, especially for children.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has promised to address New Zealand’s flagging productivity growth. According to the Productivity Commission, the country is being held back by our persistently weak labour productivity growth, which was the fourth lowest of all OECD countries between 1995 and 2014.
The government says it want to increase the export orientation of the New Zealand economy. Early in their term of office, the previous government adopted an explicit numerical target for lifting exports (as a share of GDP). Unfortunately, no progress was made towards it.
The country’s new Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister have claimed that free market capitalism is failing New Zealand. Their comments indicate that they intend blaming areas of government and policy failure on capitalism.
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