Roger Partridge: How did we end up so asset-rich but service-poor?

Something is seriously wrong with New Zealand’s public wealth. We rank near the top globally for per-capita resources and assets - ahead of most OECD nations. On some measures, only Saudi Arabia eclipses us. Yet our public services are crumbling and we cannot afford to fund or maintain critical infrastructure.

The scale of our natural wealth may come as a surprise to many. But our endowment spans an extraordinary range. World-class agricultural land stretches across both islands. Our renewable electricity generation ranks among the highest in the OECD. Our fisheries rank among the world’s most extensive, while forests blanket 37% of our land. We even possess significant mineral deposits, though these remain largely unexplored.