Latest news with #Initiative
Scoop
3 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
The New Zealand Initiative Supports Resource Management Reform Package As Important Interim Step
Press Release – The New Zealand Initiative The reforms include proposed amendments to a suite of existing national direction instruments and several new instruments across three key areas: infrastructure and development, primary sector regulation, and freshwater management. The Government's announcement of sweeping reforms to national direction under the Resource Management Act represents an important interim step toward fixing New Zealand's broken planning system. The reforms include proposed amendments to a suite of existing national direction instruments and several new instruments across three key areas: infrastructure and development, primary sector regulation, and freshwater management. 'We applaud Ministers for stripping out unnecessary consenting hurdles and bringing forward an NPS on infrastructure to speed up investment and housing supply,' says Dr Oliver Hartwich, Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative. 'But without similarly bold action to lower barriers in the grocery sector, New Zealanders risk missing out on the opportunity to open up the retail grocery sector to competition.' The reforms tackle multiple fronts simultaneously – from enabling granny flats and papakāinga housing to removing barriers for primary sector development and streamlining infrastructure projects. New national policy statements for infrastructure and renewable energy generation signal that the Government recognises infrastructure as vital to prosperity. 'We particularly welcome the focus on removing unnecessary consent requirements that have added cost and delay without meaningful environmental benefit,' Dr Hartwich said. The Government's commitment to removing certain types of land from the National Policy Statement on Highly Productive Land reflects common-sense priorities. 'These changes represent a philosophical shift from discretionary control to enabling development,' Dr Hartwich said. 'The new National Policy Statement for Infrastructure sends a clear message that infrastructure is critical to our prosperity, not an inconvenience to be managed.' However, The New Zealand Initiative believes the Government can do more. The organisation's recently released proposal on Fast-Track Supermarket Entry and Expansion would perfectly align with the suite of reforms the Government has put forward. 'By integrating our Fast-Track Supermarket Entry and Expansion framework into this package, Ministers would remove planning, consenting and investment barriers all at once,' the Initiative's Chief Economist Dr Eric Crampton added. 'That single, coordinated pathway would finally allow well-capitalised new entrants to open a network of supermarkets well in advance of the final phase of resource management reforms being implemented.' The proposal would enable the market to discover what is possible in grocery retail by removing regulatory bottlenecks that have historically protected incumbents from new competition. 'Nothing we do now under the existing RMA framework will ever be truly sufficient, given the fundamental structural problems with the current regime,' Dr Hartwich said. 'But the Government is making meaningful progress while we wait for Phase Three's complete overhaul – and our supermarket framework shows how they could go further.' The organisation noted that the reforms align with evidence-based approaches to urban development and economic growth, including enabling mixed-use development and reducing barriers to productive land use. 'These reforms demonstrate that good policy can advance environmental outcomes and economic development simultaneously,' Dr Hartwich said. 'The question was never environment versus economy – it was about creating systems that work for New Zealand families and businesses.'
Scoop
3 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
The New Zealand Initiative Supports Resource Management Reform Package As Important Interim Step
Press Release – The New Zealand Initiative The reforms include proposed amendments to a suite of existing national direction instruments and several new instruments across three key areas: infrastructure and development, primary sector regulation, and freshwater management. The Government's announcement of sweeping reforms to national direction under the Resource Management Act represents an important interim step toward fixing New Zealand's broken planning system. The reforms include proposed amendments to a suite of existing national direction instruments and several new instruments across three key areas: infrastructure and development, primary sector regulation, and freshwater management. 'We applaud Ministers for stripping out unnecessary consenting hurdles and bringing forward an NPS on infrastructure to speed up investment and housing supply,' says Dr Oliver Hartwich, Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative. 'But without similarly bold action to lower barriers in the grocery sector, New Zealanders risk missing out on the opportunity to open up the retail grocery sector to competition.' The reforms tackle multiple fronts simultaneously – from enabling granny flats and papakāinga housing to removing barriers for primary sector development and streamlining infrastructure projects. New national policy statements for infrastructure and renewable energy generation signal that the Government recognises infrastructure as vital to prosperity. 'We particularly welcome the focus on removing unnecessary consent requirements that have added cost and delay without meaningful environmental benefit,' Dr Hartwich said. The Government's commitment to removing certain types of land from the National Policy Statement on Highly Productive Land reflects common-sense priorities. 'These changes represent a philosophical shift from discretionary control to enabling development,' Dr Hartwich said. 'The new National Policy Statement for Infrastructure sends a clear message that infrastructure is critical to our prosperity, not an inconvenience to be managed.' However, The New Zealand Initiative believes the Government can do more. The organisation's recently released proposal on Fast-Track Supermarket Entry and Expansion would perfectly align with the suite of reforms the Government has put forward. 'By integrating our Fast-Track Supermarket Entry and Expansion framework into this package, Ministers would remove planning, consenting and investment barriers all at once,' the Initiative's Chief Economist Dr Eric Crampton added. 'That single, coordinated pathway would finally allow well-capitalised new entrants to open a network of supermarkets well in advance of the final phase of resource management reforms being implemented.' The proposal would enable the market to discover what is possible in grocery retail by removing regulatory bottlenecks that have historically protected incumbents from new competition. 'Nothing we do now under the existing RMA framework will ever be truly sufficient, given the fundamental structural problems with the current regime,' Dr Hartwich said. 'But the Government is making meaningful progress while we wait for Phase Three's complete overhaul – and our supermarket framework shows how they could go further.' The organisation noted that the reforms align with evidence-based approaches to urban development and economic growth, including enabling mixed-use development and reducing barriers to productive land use. 'These reforms demonstrate that good policy can advance environmental outcomes and economic development simultaneously,' Dr Hartwich said. 'The question was never environment versus economy – it was about creating systems that work for New Zealand families and businesses.'
Scoop
3 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
The New Zealand Initiative Supports Resource Management Reform Package As Important Interim Step
The Government's announcement of sweeping reforms to national direction under the Resource Management Act represents an important interim step toward fixing New Zealand's broken planning system. The reforms include proposed amendments to a suite of existing national direction instruments and several new instruments across three key areas: infrastructure and development, primary sector regulation, and freshwater management. "We applaud Ministers for stripping out unnecessary consenting hurdles and bringing forward an NPS on infrastructure to speed up investment and housing supply," says Dr Oliver Hartwich, Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative. "But without similarly bold action to lower barriers in the grocery sector, New Zealanders risk missing out on the opportunity to open up the retail grocery sector to competition." The reforms tackle multiple fronts simultaneously – from enabling granny flats and papakāinga housing to removing barriers for primary sector development and streamlining infrastructure projects. New national policy statements for infrastructure and renewable energy generation signal that the Government recognises infrastructure as vital to prosperity. "We particularly welcome the focus on removing unnecessary consent requirements that have added cost and delay without meaningful environmental benefit," Dr Hartwich said. The Government's commitment to removing certain types of land from the National Policy Statement on Highly Productive Land reflects common-sense priorities. "These changes represent a philosophical shift from discretionary control to enabling development," Dr Hartwich said. "The new National Policy Statement for Infrastructure sends a clear message that infrastructure is critical to our prosperity, not an inconvenience to be managed." However, The New Zealand Initiative believes the Government can do more. The organisation's recently released proposal on Fast-Track Supermarket Entry and Expansion would perfectly align with the suite of reforms the Government has put forward. "By integrating our Fast-Track Supermarket Entry and Expansion framework into this package, Ministers would remove planning, consenting and investment barriers all at once," the Initiative's Chief Economist Dr Eric Crampton added. "That single, coordinated pathway would finally allow well-capitalised new entrants to open a network of supermarkets well in advance of the final phase of resource management reforms being implemented." The proposal would enable the market to discover what is possible in grocery retail by removing regulatory bottlenecks that have historically protected incumbents from new competition. "Nothing we do now under the existing RMA framework will ever be truly sufficient, given the fundamental structural problems with the current regime," Dr Hartwich said. "But the Government is making meaningful progress while we wait for Phase Three's complete overhaul – and our supermarket framework shows how they could go further." The organisation noted that the reforms align with evidence-based approaches to urban development and economic growth, including enabling mixed-use development and reducing barriers to productive land use. "These reforms demonstrate that good policy can advance environmental outcomes and economic development simultaneously," Dr Hartwich said. "The question was never environment versus economy – it was about creating systems that work for New Zealand families and businesses."
Scoop
4 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
A Fast-Track To Stronger Grocery Competition
Wellington (Thursday, 29 May 2025) – The government has viewed stronger retail grocery competition as a national priority. But zoning, consenting, and overseas investment approval processes make new entry far too difficult. The New Zealand Initiative today showed how to open New Zealand's markets to more competition. It released drafting instructions for a Fast-track Supermarket Entry and Expansion Omnibus Bill, which would rapidly approve retail grocery developments at scale and cut through complex barriers that are preventing new supermarket chains from entering the New Zealand market. The proposed Fast-Track pathway would: Streamline rezoning, consenting and investment clearance processes for a set of new stores and associated warehouses as a package, providing decisions within months; Override obstructive planning regulations; Open New Zealand's grocery sector to the real possibility of a new competitor; Disappear when resource management reform has made the pathway irrelevant. Proposal author Dr Benno Blaschke said, 'New Zealand has a lot of fast-track regimes, but none of them can give a single, timely decision for complex projects across multiple councils. Our process achieves this and has been crafted for policy officials and legislative drafters to pick up and run with.' Dr Blaschke explains, "Fixing the rules of the game allows the competitive process to unfold. If there are super-profits in grocery retail, opening the market lets new entrants compete for them while providing better service to consumers.' The Initiative's Chief Economist Dr Eric Crampton added, 'The underlying problem has always been regulatory structures that make new entry practically impossible. Fixing that real problem makes far more sense than break-ups that risk increasing prices for consumers.' The New Zealand Initiative is supported by businesses in its membership, including two supermarket chains. Our proposal would explicitly prevent existing major supermarket chains from using this fast-track process for at least five years, reserving the pathway for new entrants and smaller competitors before enabling existing chains to engage in more strenuous head-to-head competition. Dr Benno Blaschke and Dr Eric Crampton explore this research note in the latest New Zealand Initiative podcast. Listen here.
Campaign ME
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Campaign ME
Yas Island Abu Dhabi cranks up the volume with ‘Bastanis' campaign
Building on the success of previous summer campaigns, Yas Island Abu Dhabi is turning up the volume for the summer of 2025, presenting a vibrant, refreshed rendition of the beloved hit song 'Bastanis' as part of a campaign brought to life in collaboration with the renowned Kuwaiti group, Miami Band, as well as media agency Initiative and production house Dejavu UAE. This collaboration captures the essence of summer through upbeat melodies and lyrics that evoke joy, excitement and the carefree delight of living in the moment, a sentiment echoed throughout the campaign, which invites families across the region to escape the heat and embrace a season filled with joy, energy and unforgettable memories at the region's leading entertainment destination. Catered to GCC audiences, the campaign highlights Yas Island as the perfect nearby getaway with luxurious accommodations and a host of thrilling attractions: From award-winning indoor theme parks to family-friendly leisure experiences. Liam Findlay, CEO of Miral Destinations, said, 'Our ongoing collaboration with Miami Band has evolved into a cherished summer tradition that resonates with families across the region. With 'Bastanis,' we aim to celebrate the summer spirit — embracing time with loved ones, breaking away from daily routines, and immersing ourselves in moments of pure joy.' Findlay added, 'Miami Band's enduring appeal, paired with the dynamic energy of Yas Island, continues to create a powerful connection with our audiences. This campaign is more than a nostalgic musical revival; it's a call to experience summer to the fullest and create unforgettable memories with loved ones.' The campaign highlights Yas Island's position as the ultimate summer destination, featuring three award-winning indoor theme parks — Ferrari World Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, SeaWorld® Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, and Warner Bros. World™ Yas Island, Abu Dhabi — along with the refreshing water adventures of Yas Waterworld Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. To complement these attractions, Yas Island offers a range of family-friendly hotels with exclusive summer deals, including the popular Kids Go Free promotion allowing families to enjoy tons of benefits, including free stay, play and dine for kids. 1/8 Yas Island Abu Dhabi x Miami Band Beyond its world-class theme parks, the campaign also highlights how Yas Island's layout makes it easy for families to explore its diverse offerings, including how: Yas Marina offers a lively mix of waterfront dining, nightlife, and leisure experiences. Yas Bay Waterfront delivers a vibrant social scene just steps from Etihad Arena, home to world-class concerts and global events. Shopping enthusiasts can indulge at Yas Mall, Abu Dhabi's largest retail destination, featuring a wide array of international brands and entertainment options. Yas Island boasts 10 world-class hotels, offering a range of luxury and family-friendly accommodations to suit every traveler. A complimentary luxury shuttle service Yas Express, which includes free Wi-Fi, families can take people from heart-pounding roller coasters to cooling off at a water park, then unwind with a meal overlooking the marina all in a single day. As the summer heats up, Yas Island Abu Dhabi, in partnership with Miami Band, continues to lead the region's seasonal celebrations. CREDITS: Client: Miral Destinations / Yas Island Abu Dhabi Experiential: Miami Band Media agency: Initiative Production house: Dejavu UAE PR: Weber Shandwick MENAT
