Six years have passed since the Sixth Labour Government was elected, and three years since the unprecedented Covid election of 2020.
Now, the people of New Zealand are about to express their verdict and their hopes for the future.
The mood is sombre. About two-thirds of us feel we are headed in the wrong direction. Business and consumer confidence have dipped to levels sometimes worse than the grim days of the Global Financial Crisis.
Yet, the election hangs in balance.
Why? Perhaps because New Zealanders are waiting. Waiting for something more than just promises. Waiting for a clear, well-researched plan that addresses our problems and offers solutions based on international best practices.
And as we wait for our mainstream parties to develop this plan, we at The New Zealand Initiative have taken the step.
This week we released Prescription for Prosperity, our blueprint for a flourishing New Zealand.
In this document, we offer an ambitious vision across 21 policy areas. From fiscal strategy to climate change, from education to health, you will find dozens of ideas for reform.
Built on over a decade of research, supported by more than a hundred reports and worked up by some of the best minds in New Zealand policy, this is not a patchwork of ideas. It is a holistic approach.
Unlike the typical election campaign promises, Prescription for Prosperity offers a realistic path to positive change.
Imagine a New Zealand where housing is affordable, where local governments have robust funding options, and where students are equipped with the skills to thrive. Imagine a country where public finances are strong, inflation is controlled, carbon emissions are reduced efficiently, and our resources are managed wisely. Imagine a country that works for all its people.
That is the New Zealand we envision.
Prescription for Prosperity is not just another document but an invitation to reshape our nation.
We know this country deserves better than we have seen in recent years. Better than fragmented proposals and unfulfilled promises. Better than slogans and clever marketing.
If you share our vision for a better New Zealand, Prescription for Prosperity will spark ideas.
And to our political parties, we say: Take these ideas. Embrace them. Make them yours.
Because, together, we can write a new chapter in our nation’s history. A chapter of growth, of renewal, of hope.
Read Prescription for Prosperity here.
Dr Oliver Hartwich is the Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative think tank. This article was first published HERE.
Yet, the election hangs in balance.
Why? Perhaps because New Zealanders are waiting. Waiting for something more than just promises. Waiting for a clear, well-researched plan that addresses our problems and offers solutions based on international best practices.
And as we wait for our mainstream parties to develop this plan, we at The New Zealand Initiative have taken the step.
This week we released Prescription for Prosperity, our blueprint for a flourishing New Zealand.
In this document, we offer an ambitious vision across 21 policy areas. From fiscal strategy to climate change, from education to health, you will find dozens of ideas for reform.
Built on over a decade of research, supported by more than a hundred reports and worked up by some of the best minds in New Zealand policy, this is not a patchwork of ideas. It is a holistic approach.
Unlike the typical election campaign promises, Prescription for Prosperity offers a realistic path to positive change.
Imagine a New Zealand where housing is affordable, where local governments have robust funding options, and where students are equipped with the skills to thrive. Imagine a country where public finances are strong, inflation is controlled, carbon emissions are reduced efficiently, and our resources are managed wisely. Imagine a country that works for all its people.
That is the New Zealand we envision.
Prescription for Prosperity is not just another document but an invitation to reshape our nation.
We know this country deserves better than we have seen in recent years. Better than fragmented proposals and unfulfilled promises. Better than slogans and clever marketing.
If you share our vision for a better New Zealand, Prescription for Prosperity will spark ideas.
And to our political parties, we say: Take these ideas. Embrace them. Make them yours.
Because, together, we can write a new chapter in our nation’s history. A chapter of growth, of renewal, of hope.
Read Prescription for Prosperity here.
Dr Oliver Hartwich is the Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative think tank. This article was first published HERE.
5 comments:
Have you actually sent it to all the political parties?
That is a very solid document.
Quite silent on energy but in essence I think it is assumed to be rational but mention it at your peril re cancel culture.
Ultimately the elephant in the global room now is the BRIC growth. It will soonish be over 50% of world population and as a proportion of annual economic growth 90%, much hastened by the suicidal West’s current energy settings and drive.
NZ should ask for associate status under the pretext of “trade assurance”.
Very interesting all and all.
NZ has the very unique status of being electrically renewable mainly very especially if they forced or push the closure of the aluminum smelter and could if we chose to have coal fired electrical prices adjacent to an economy 10 times larger with lunatic electrical prices. Australia would bleed energy intensive industry to our shores.
Please don't just assume that our political parties will read your report.
Please tell us that you have actively approached them and offered to take them through your report.
If one thing is clear from the last 6 years it's that certain political parties, and one in particular, are incapable of making SENSIBLE policy which is fair to ALL New Zealanders.
These parties sit on the Left, but may not be the only ones who desperately need help.
And how do we suddenly produce all the exports to change our balance of payments from the existing negative to the huge positive to allow us to pay for all this amazingness.
Gas and Oil permits ASAP for the Great Canterbury and Southern gas and oil Basins. Open Clipper-1 and just get the show on the road. Action Now.The Labour Govt's climate models are totally discredited by the IPCC....Let the $$$$ flow to every New Zealander.Fossil Fuels Must Rule.
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