Category: Economic Issues
Prime Minister John Key described his 2015 Budget as ‘compassionate conservatism’. Some have called it a legacy Budget. Certainly it delivered on his long standing commitment to protect the most vulnerable in society.
It would be churlish to be entirely negative about Bill English’s seventh Budget. There is merit in increasing the basic benefit level – the first increase in real terms since 1972 – and on the other hand increasing the expectation that those on a benefit will get into at least part-time employment.
Good policies do not have international borders. What works in one country, can often be successfully adapted and used in another. For policy analysts, general elections provide a rich hunting ground for cutting edge policy options - and the United Kingdom’s 2015 general election on May 7 is no exception.
Whatever else you think about this government, there is no doubt it has presided over an astonishing boom in job creation like nowhere else in the developed world. The milestones are impressive: an average of a thousand new jobs a day over five years; a jobless rate half the eurozone’s; the highest percentage of the population in work since records began. All this while the public sector has been shedding 300 jobs a day.
While no-one can own freshwater in New Zealand, iwi leaders are pushing the government for race-based rights akin to ownership. They know that control of water brings power. They also know that water is big business. The Ministry for the Environment puts the economic value of New Zealand’s water at $34.85 billion a year – iwi corporations want a permanent share.
One of the roles of the New Zealand Centre for Political Research public policy think tank is to keep an eye on the government’s legislative agenda and to remind readers of their opportunity to contribute to the law-making process.
In December 2013, draft legislation was introduced into Parliament to amend the way the Building Act deals with seismic risk to buildings. The key element in the legislation is the ‘earthquake prone’ building definition.
The Northland by-election is a significant win for Winston Peters. In the short-term it takes away from National the luxury of being able to pass legislation without having to kowtow to Peter Dunne and the Maori Party.
The 1991 Resource Management Act (RMA) is under fire because it is seen in many quarters as an impediment to much-needed investment in housing and business. At the same time, communities are concerned that the Act is not serving the environment well,
Major external risks faced by nations include warfare, global pandemics and international economic collapse - all events we have witnessed over the last few years. But sometimes, serious threats come from within.
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