Dr Oliver Hartwich: Bridging divides through shared purpose

When our New Zealand Initiative delegation visited Amsterdam last month, officials from the Advisory Board on Regulatory Burden shared something striking. Before talking to us, this government agency had researched New Zealand’s approach – and they were astonished.

In the Netherlands, reducing administrative burdens has been an uncontroversial project for two decades. In New Zealand, meanwhile, aiming for better regulation has become distinctly political. Both creating the Ministry of Regulation and proposing a Regulatory Standards Bill sparked fierce debates.