Should the Reserve Bank target unemployment as well as inflation? Will the new government abolish the dual mandate?
Back in 1989 – near the end of the fourth Labour government – the inflation-busting Reserve Bank Act was passed. Labour has shifted well away from the Rogernomics of that decade, and in 2021 Grant Robertson added maximum sustainable employment to the bank’s mandate - with the support of coalition partner NZ First.
The next three years – the job ahead for Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori
The Fabians had a session on Nov 14th reflecting on the elections. Our panel of Simon Wilson, Senior Writer at NZ Herald, Bridie Witton, Stuff Press Gallery Reporter and Ollie Neas, freelance writer used the election results as a springboard to target some of the key issues for Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori as they head into opposition.
Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the Pae Ora health reforms with you.
Since I was sacked by the Health Minister I have taken time to reflect on the experience and to make a considered assessment of what I learned in the process. My intention tonight is to share that with you, making the assumption that we share common ground in wanting to have an effective, efficient, excellent and equitable public health service.
If anyone does not want that, I don’t really have anything useful to share with you.
Interview transcript: Ambassador Wang Xiaolong with NZ Fabian Society
Hello, my name is Mike Smith, from the New Zealand Fabian Society. It's my great pleasure today to interview Ambassador Wang Xiaolong from the People's Republic of China to talk with us about China's values. I heard Ambassador Wang speak at a meeting convened by the Institute of International Relations(NZIIA) last year and in the course of that meeting, he addressed the question of China's values and said, "China's choice for values, social system and path to modernity is made by our own people, based on our own history, culture and realities. All these choices have proven to be suitable and effective to solve China's problems and meet the needs of the Chinese people".
The recent papers delivered to the Fabian Society by Peter Harris and Lianne Dalziel have attracted some media coverage. The full text of Peter's paper is available here and Lianne's here.
The response to the 2010 Fabian seminars on the Resilient Economy indicates that there is a widespread desire for a critical assessment of the failed economic models of the last thirty years. The Fabians strongly reject the neo-liberal slogan ‘there is no alternative’ (TINA). Instead, we believe ‘there are real alternatives' (TARA), and we have aimed to supply alternatives to assist the debate.
The New Zealand economy remains stalled. The Government talks about the need to promote the export sector but there is still no evidence of a detailed and determined plan to shift the focus and build a stronger future for the next generations. Our program this year will feature around the "Plan for the Productive Economy" series.
Fabians 2011 Seminar program
“The Plan for the Productive Economy”
Rick Boven, NZ Institute
Owen Glenn Business School, Auckland, 6:30pm, Monday 4 April
Bernard Hickey, interest.co.nz
Ellen Melville Hall, High Street, Auckland, 6:30pm Thursday 21 April
Rick Boven, NZ Institute
St John's Church Hall, Wellington, 6pm Tuesday 17 May
“Bank regulation, exchange rate policy, overseas debt, and asset sales: how to untangle them?”
Dr Geoff Bertram, Institute of Policy Studies
Connolly Hall, Wellington, 5:30pm Tuesday 31 March
“Reconstructing Christchurch”
Peter Harris & Hon Lianne Dalziel MP
St John's Church Hall, Wellington, 5:30pm Wednesday 27 April
“Inequality in New Zealand”
Dr David Craig
St John's Church Hall, Wellington, 5:30pm Wednesday 11 May
“Squandering the demographic bonus”
Profs Ian Pool and Natalie Jackson
Ellen Melville Hall, High Street, Auckland CBD, Thursday 9 June
“Taxing Capital gains in New Zealand”
Prof Craig Elliffe and Chye-ching Huang
Owen Glenn Building, Auckland Business School, 6:30pm Thursday 5 May
Further seminars and venues will be advised as soon as they are finalised.We intend to mix the standard lectures with more interactive debates, and continue to seek presenters who are expert and committed to New Zealand's future. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. are welcome.
Annual General Meeting
The Society has now incorporated, and an Annual General Meeting will be held in June. Date and venue will be advised later.
Thanks
We would like to thank all of you who have made it along to the seminars or followed us on line. Thanks for being interested enough to join the debate and add to the growing chorus of those who believe urgent action is needed if NZ is to retain control over its own future.
Please continue the conversation with family and friends, delve into our growing archive of papers and presentations.
Mike Smith, Chair
for Paul Chalmers, Barbara Ward, Bryan Nunweek, Selwyn Pellett, Jordan Carter, and Phil Harington, Committee.
Almost all commentators are saying the New Zealand's economy needs to be reconfigured and diversified to generate a more productive export sector, but little has happened by way of intentional steps or even a plan to make that happen. Planning, and even the discussion of its absence, is distinctly unfashionable.
The Fabians aim to fill the gap by inviting speakers to give their views on what such steps might be. We have now scheduled first two instalments of .In the second of our new free seminar series, The Plan for the Productive Economyon April 21st, Bernard Hickey of Interest.co.nz, a trenchant critic of the status-quo, will propose his own solutions to the problems NZ faces. Rick Boven of the New Zealand Institute will expand on the Institute's ideas the paper 'A goal is not a strategy' in Wellington on Tuesday May 17.You can register for the Hickey seminar here andthe Boven seminar here.
In recent seminar papers delivered to attentive Fabian audiences, Rick Boven and Bernard Hickey both delivered clear visions for rescuing and resuscitating the NZ economy. Each recapped the critical analysis of the problems, refined over the past year, and set out specific changes he believes essential to reverse our decline.
Rick provided a crisp and convincing summary of NZ's situation and the factors leading to it, including specific 'market failures'. This led to a frank and disconcerting outline of possible solutions and the trade-offs they entail. His presentation can be downloaded here.
Bernard's paper is available here and identifies the key factors contributing to our economic decline and identifies the pragmatic steps needed to reverse these trends.
David Hall’s expert summing up of the case for public spending is now available. It’s essential viewing for anyone interested in the debate about privatisation and asset sales. There is also a podcast available here.