Roger Partridge

Auckland

Senior Fellow and Chairman at The New Zealand Initiative

Chair of the New Zealand Initiative

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Articles

New Zealand’s real economic problem: Too little capital, not too much profit

2 days ago | nzinitiative.org.nz | Roger Partridge

New Zealand’s economy has a chronic capital problem – and it is getting worse. Over the last 50 years, New Zealand has become one of the most undercapitalised economies in the developed world. Our workers are supported by far less infrastructure, plant, technology, and equipment than their counterparts in comparable countries. To read the full article on the NZ Herald website, click here.
New Zealand’s real economic problem: Too little capital, not too much profit - Roger Partridge

2 days ago | nzherald.co.nz | Roger Partridge

Chronic capital underinvestment weakens the foundations of New Zealand’s economy, says Roger Partridge. Photo / Getty ImagesOpinion by Roger PartridgeRoger Partridge is chair and a senior fellow at The New Zealand Initiative. THREE KEY FACTSNew Zealand’s economy is undercapitalised, with workers supported by less infrastructure and technology than other countries. Decades of underinvestment have led to slower wage growth and higher prices, with structural constraints and poor policy contributing.
Auckland Council’s precautionary urbanism

1 week ago | nzinitiative.org.nz | Roger Partridge

Auckland Council has confirmed what many suspected: in most of the city centre, 20 storeys is quite tall enough. We wouldn’t want to frighten ourselves into looking like a real city. Not everywhere, of course. A few favoured blocks in the CBD will be permitted to reach for the sky – provided they don’t offend a protected viewshaft, cast an unauthorised shadow, or challenge our collective sense of scale. But outside that core, the Council has drawn a firm line: 72.5 metres.
Kevin Bennett: ‘Currawongs’, ‘The Path to Lewisham’ and ‘The Veil’

1 week ago | quadrant.org.au | Anthony Daniels |Roger Partridge |Malcolm Gillies

“And what did you do in the army?” I asked. “I was a torturer,” he replied.
Paul Williamson: ‘Green to Grey’

1 week ago | quadrant.org.au | Anthony Daniels |Roger Partridge |Malcolm Gillies

“And what did you do in the army?” I asked. “I was a torturer,” he replied.
Patrick McMahon: ‘Another day’, ‘Our Dog Daisy’ and ‘A portrait of dad, age 60’

1 week ago | quadrant.org.au | Anthony Daniels |Roger Partridge |Malcolm Gillies

“And what did you do in the army?” I asked. “I was a torturer,” he replied. May 26 20257 minsQatar's gift of a $400 million jet is demonstrating yet again that this president's ethical standards would make any banana republic's supremo blushMay 26 20256 minsIt's the instrument you've heard introducing Doctor Who, but it's much more than a novelty in the hands of virtuoso Carolina EyckMay 26 20253 minsAnother dayAgain, we haveforgotten to set an alarm. There’s no harm?
Donald Trump, a Man of Many Gifts

1 week ago | nzinitiative.org.nz | Roger Partridge

Nothing to see here, folks. Just a $400 million Boeing 747 from a foreign monarchy — accepted by the US Department of Defense for presidential use, then slated for retirement on the tarmac in full flight readiness at the future former president’s pleasure. Perfectly normal democratic procedure. At last, America is catching up with global democratic standards.
Donald Trump, a Man of Many Gifts

1 week ago | quadrant.org.au | Roger Partridge

Qatar's gift of a $400 million jet is demonstrating yet again that this president's ethical standards would make any banana republic's supremo blush May 26 2025 6 mins It's the instrument you've heard introducing Doctor Who, but it's much more than a novelty in the hands of virtuoso Carolina Eyck May 26 2025 3 mins Immigration is very much the topic of the moment, with an increasingly vocal body of opinion asserting that intakes are both too high and not necessarily consisting of those able...
The bureaucracy or the books

3 weeks ago | nzinitiative.org.nz | Roger Partridge

Next week’s Budget is Nicola Willis’s opportunity to prove the government means business about restoring fiscal discipline. Treasury’s long-term models are flashing red. The International Monetary Fund ranks New Zealand among the worst in the developed world for structural fiscal deficits (the gap between government revenue and spending even when the economy is not in recession). Core Crown spending continues to rise, and debt is on track to spiral without reform.
Right Diagnosis, Wrong Remedy?

1 month ago | quadrant.org.au | Roger Partridge

The greatest risk of Trump’s university crusade is not that it will fail, but that it might entrench a troubling precedent of federal micromanagement that began under Obama May 06 2025 13 mins Matters of the Heart impresses with Jacinta Price’s honesty, stamina and fervent belief that Australia's best way forward is to leave identity politics behind May 06 2025 13 mins When Cool isn't dishing out its own classroom disinformation, it's dismissing sceptics as liars and frauds -- including a...