Over the years and in addition to the speeches he gave in various roles, Don wrote various articles and letters to the editor, some of which are recorded below.
There’s been a bit of crowing over the last week or so about the fact that New Zealand has beaten Australia in the Global Competitive Index issued by the World Economic Forum. We were ranked 18th in the world in terms of competitiveness – out of the 148 countries ranked...
In Wednesday’s Herald, Dr Jamie Hosking, a senior lecturer in the Auckland University Medical School specialising in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, criticised my call for the opening up of more land around Auckland to make housing more affordable.
When Bill English unveils his Budget tomorrow, he will no doubt confound the sceptics who ridiculed his claims to get the government’s books back into balance by 2014/15. The indications are that he will achieve that objective and he deserves considerable credit for that.
There has been an astonishing amount of alarmist comment – certainly in the “New Zealand Herald” and even on Radio New Zealand – about the possibility that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand could impose a “Cypriot-type” tax on bank deposits in the event of a bank failure.
In 1984, a reforming Labour Government came to power in New Zealand. One of their first acts was to announce their intention to introduce a goods and services tax. I was invited to chair the three person committee to seek submissions from the public on the proposed tax, and make...
Written by Robert L. Hetzel. Cambridge University Press, 2012, 384 pages.
One of the most depressing things that has happened in New Zealand in recent times was the narrowness with which Winston Peters’ bill to amend the Reserve Bank Act was defeated a few days ago – 61 votes to 60.
Submission to the UK Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards
Most objective observers agree that, at its present level, the New Zealand dollar is over-valued. Dr Bollard certainly felt that, and I agree with him. Why? Because at its present level, New Zealand is not exporting remotely enough to cover both the cost of the imports of goods and services...
The recent report of the Financial Services Council makes it clear that New Zealand Superannuation will not survive in its present form. With life expectancy rising by two years every decade, taxpayers of the future will be faced with an enormous increase in their obligations unless there is some change.
Over the days since the Minister of Finance presented his fourth Budget last week, there has been extensive debate about the details of the Budget’s growth projections (will New Zealand achieve growth of 3.4% in the year to March 2014?), about whether the government’s accounts will be in surplus of...
At the end of last month, I took five days out of the campaign to visit London and Washington. Some people suggested that was an odd thing to do just five weeks before the election, but I’m quite sure it was a good use of my time.
All political parties want to convince farmers to vote for them. And most parties talk about the huge importance of farming to our nation’s prosperity.
There are some powerful lessons for New Zealand from the debt debacle in America.
The world is in a serious mess. Late last week, and for the first time in history, Standard and Poor’s downgraded the United States from AAA, the highest credit rating, to AA+. More ominously still, they noted that there was a “negative outlook” for the rating.
The ‘eighties: Liberalization and crisis
Little more than a year after I became Governor of the Reserve Bank in 1988, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989 was passed. Most people who know anything about the Reserve Bank think that that legislation was about giving the Bank operational independence and requiring it to focus...
Although I am currently chairman of the 2025 Taskforce, I am making this submission in my personal capacity. I have long had a strong interest in economic policy in New Zealand – I was a member of the Monetary and Economic Council in the early seventies, a member of the...
Last Thursday, the Herald argued that New Zealand should adopt “compulsory superannuation”.
by Alan Bollard with Sarah Gaitanos. Auckland University Press, 2012, 253 pages.
Copyright © 2024 Don Brash.