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Insights 31: 23 August 2024
Research Report: Unpopular Opinions, Dr James Kierstead
 
Newsroom: Dr Oliver Hartwich on how German state elections could shake the West
 
Research Note: The Pulse of Local Government, Max Salmon
The open society and its enemies
Dr James Kierstead | Research Fellow | james.kierstead@nzinitiative.org.nz
A couple years before the outbreak of the Second World War, the philosopher Karl Popper moved across the world to take up a position at what was then Canterbury College. Popper, who lost no fewer than sixteen family members in the Holocaust, was under no illusions about what would have happened to him had he stayed in Vienna. 

While in Christchurch, Popper wrote The Open Society and its Enemies, one of the classic defences of liberal democracy against totalitarianisms of the left and the right. Canterbury had a poor research culture at the time, and Popper butted heads with the chair of his programme. But his academic freedom – his freedom to think and write what he wanted – was never seriously in doubt.  

But how free would Popper feel to write his defence of freedom today if, by some strange quirk of fate, the ship that brought him here had landed 87 years later? 

The mountain of evidence collected in my latest Initiative report, Unpopular Opinions: Academic Freedom in New Zealand, suggests that the famous philosopher might have struggled in contemporary Aotearoa academia.  

For a start, even if his main concern was the right-wing extremism that had taken over his home country, Popper’s forthright criticisms of Marxism might have landed him in hot water. As in other English-speaking countries, right-of-centre academics and students in this country feel less comfortable discussing controversial topics than their left-of-centre peers.  

Couldn’t Popper at least feel certain that he would be safe from interference from a tyrannical foreign power? Probably not. New Zealand universities are now heavily dependent on China. Several incidents in the past decade (not least the cancelling of an event commemorating Tiananmen Square at AUT) have suggested that university administrators here can be eager to maintain good relations with the Chinese state. 

Finally, Popper, who had a direct communication style, would almost certainly have ruffled the feathers of the senior university administrators who now wield so much power, and whose chief concern (many academics told us) is with their universities’ brands.  

Restoring Popper’s paradise will be difficult. In the report, we recommend measures such as reconsidering some of our links with Chinese universities (especially military ones), training university administrators in the principles of academic freedom, and returning more power to academics. 

Karl Popper, who died 30 years ago, will not be coming back. Other world-leading thinkers, though, may be looking for a place where they can be free to pursue their research and speak their minds – no matter how far from home.    

Dr James Kierstead’s research report, Unpopular Opinions: Academic Freedom in New Zealand, was published on 21 August. 
Localism enjoys council support
Max Salmon | Research Fellow | max.salmon@nzinitiative.org.nz
As localism – the idea that local communities should have more control over decisions that affect them – gains political capital, questions naturally arise: What would localist policies look like? What do councils think about localism? What do they see as localism's largest challenges? 

A new survey of New Zealand's mayors, chairs, councillors, and council chief executives provides answers to these questions. The survey, covered in my report The Pulse of Local Government, is New Zealand's first public resource that catalogues council attitudes toward localism. 

The results are promising. Across the board, local government is supportive of localist policies. Councils see potential in localism for improved efficiency, accountability, innovation, and civic participation.  

While localism is not without critics, problems of wealth disparities, governance problems, and inter-council cooperation were largely seen as non-issues by respondents. 

The survey was also used to gauge council attitudes towards specific localist policy proposals. Examples include the city deals and GST sharing schemes that have recently captured headlines. 

Simply put, our vision for city deals is that councils examine which central government policies do not meet their local needs. They would then approach Wellington with a proposal for a regulatory carveout, a local approach to a national policy, or for devolution of service delivery. In return, Wellington would establish indicators to monitor the success of the devolved powers. 

GST sharing is another useful example. Again, the idea is simple: allow councils to retain a portion of the GST generated from new housing developments. Providing councils with funds directly tied to new builds encourages them to facilitate and accelerate housing development. 

Our survey results show that these policies are popular. City deals received 90% net support in our survey. GST sharing was supported by two-thirds of respondents as a means of offsetting infrastructure costs from new developments. 

Given this widespread support for localism, the thought naturally occurs: 'What's stopping New Zealand from being more localist?' 

The largest challenge councils themselves identified to a localist system was central government. Wellington was seen as the single largest challenge to localism. Nearly all (98%) respondents identified it as such.  

These attitudes are understandable. New Zealand's incredibly centralised government has a long record of imposing its mandates upon councils. However, they are not conducive toward realising a more localist New Zealand. 

Therefore, the next challenge for localist advocates is to rebalance the scales of decision-making power so we can reinvigorate our local communities. 

Max Salmon's research note, The Pulse of Local Government, was published on 23 August. 
Return of the rock star
Dr Oliver Hartwich | Executive Director | oliver.hartwich@nzinitiative.org.nz
Ever since HSBC’s Paul Bloxham first called New Zealand a “rock star economy” back in 2014, I have been wondering what he had meant.  

It was not entirely clear, even back then when the economy was doing a lot better. But then again, ‘rock star’ is not a well-defined vocation.  

And so, I was puzzled when, over the weekend, I read Thomas Coughlan’s column in the New Zealand Herald announcing the New Zealand economy’s return to the stage. He even suggested the Prime Minister should get out his dancing shoes. 

I initially dismissed the article as being a bit premature. But on Monday, when I was interviewed on The Platform, Sean Plunket asked what I made of the return of the rock star economy.  

My answer was a bit glib. If New Zealand’s economy right now reminded me of any rockstar, it would be Ozzy Osbourne, not Taylor Swift, I said. 

Still, all this rockstar stuff got me thinking. What if the kiwi economy really was a rock star? What might it sound like?  

The fiscal situation is the easiest part. It is clearly in Dire Straits. Money for Nothing was the obvious soundtrack for the Reserve Bank’s monetary stimulus during the Covid years. 

Staying with the fiscal policy theme, as a Tom Petty fan, I cannot go past a few of his classics. Free Falling makes me think of fiscal cliffs, and Runnin’ Down a Dream reminds me of past ‘wellbeing budgets.’ 

As for the housing market, we should listen to The Beatles. Can’t Buy Me Love captures the experience of many would-be first-time buyers. 

This brings us to inflation – and to another 1960s super band. As The Rolling Stones put it: You Can’t Always Get What You Want. Mind you, at 81, Mick Jagger is still trying to get what he needs. 

Foreign direct investment, meanwhile, gets us back to The Beatles. They nailed New Zealand’s ‘Yeah, nah’ attitude to foreign capital in two words: Hello, Goodbye. 

Which leads us to our poor productivity – and to Simon & Garfunkel. However much we might keep talking about improving productivity, when it comes to actual progress, it is: “Hello darkness, my old friend.” 

So, does all of this sound like Paul Bloxham’s rock star economy comeback tour?  

I am not so sure. Or, as Elton John sang, “Sad Songs Say So Much.” 

Dr Oliver Hartwich's interview with Sean Plunket on The Platform, 19 August 2024. 
 
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