Latest from the Policy Commons
How to get suburbanites out of their cars – Dr. Timothy Welch on realising the potential of public transport in Auckland
We have to bridge the gulf between suburban front doors and cheap public transport if we want more people on buses and trains. Timothy Welch looks at how.
PPI Seminar: Critical Reflections on Samoan and Māori Rangatahi Engagement with Criminal Justice Policies and Interventions
Speakers: Associate Professor Tamasailau Suaalli-Sauni Naomi Fuamatu Dr Robert Webb Associate Professor Juan Tauri When: Friday 29 July, 1-2pm Where: OGGB Case Room 2 (260-057), University of Auckland Independent research on Samoan and Māori rangatahi experiences...
Fire Protection Orders and the proposed anti-gang laws care about votes, not people – AP Juan Tauri
The University of Auckland’s Public Policy Institute deputy director, Juan Tauri (Ngāti Porou), comments on the proposed firearms protection order and anti-gang legislation in this article by Laura Walters on Stuff.co.nz. In the article, Tauri speaks to the failure of such laws to help people and reduce crime in the face of root issues such as social deprivation.
Reflections on ATEPS 2021
Launched in 2019 with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the University of Auckland’s Public Policy Institute hosts an annual Auckland Trade and Economic Policy School (ATEPS). In December 2021, we hosted our first fully-online Auckland Trade...
Public transport is the future for Tāmaki Makaurau – so why not make it fare-free? – Dr Jen McArthur
Transport funding is a famously dry subject. Regardless, mayoral candidate Efeso Collins’ promise to introduce fare-free public transport has sparked much debate over who pays for bus and rail services. There is a lot at stake in this debate. Your commute or experience of travelling around the city is an integral part of everyday life in Tāmaki Makaurau. The costs of transport, and what it gives you access to, influence your opportunities for education, jobs and staying in touch with family and friends.
Over the past three months, I interviewed local officials, campaigners and advocates in cities with fare-free public transport to learn from their experiences, for a research report commissioned by FIRST Union and the Public Service Association, with the support of Efeso Collins' campaign. This research showed how fare-free policies have emerged as a pragmatic solution to the challenges facing many cities in 2022: inequalities shaped by unaffordable transport services, ambitious emissions-reduction targets, and the need to attract riders back to public transport after the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions. The growth of public transport use in Tāmaki Makaurau since the early 2000s, paired with the city’s ambitious climate change targets, points to a future where high quality, frequent and affordable public transport can and should be a normal part of life. But bold decisions must be taken now to make that future possible. Going fare-free, in conjunction with reforms to ensure that public transport operators and staff have fair pay and decent working conditions, can help make this future a reality.
The only trade-off that matters: Susan St John on Working For Families
Amidst the current Working for Families review, Susan St. John discusses the conflicting objectives of the Working for Families ‘In Work Tax Credit’ (IWTC) in this Newsroom piece, ‘The only trade-off that matters’. Probing at recent claims by Eric Crampton that...
What the Australian election result means for New Zealand
University of Auckland Public Policy Institute director Jennifer Curtin provided comments on the outcome of the Australian Federal election outcomes as the final ballots were counted. Speaking on Newshub's AM show, Professor Curtin discussed the impact of the Labor...
A comment on MBIE’s decision to change its practice of detaining asylum claimants Part 2
By Tim Fadgen --Part II— In my last post, I summarised the Victoria Casey QC’s assessment of the New Zealand government’s practice of detaining asylum seekers and MBIE’s recent choice to (largely) accept this criticism and to enact changes to improve New Zealand’s...
A comment on MBIE’s decision to change its practice of detaining asylum claimants
By Tim Fadgen --Part I-- On 3 May 2022, the Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) accepted recommendations made in review of its practice of detaining asylum seekers. The review, conducted by Victoria Casey QC, was initiated at the request of the...
Healthier Lives National Science Challenge: Policy Inventory
A report commissioned by the Healthier Lives–He Oranga Hauora National Science Challenge Authors: Cameron Leaky, Jennifer Curtin, and Lara Greaves This report represents a ‘landscape’ of government health policy documents in Aotearoa New Zealand specific to the...
Panel Discussion – Pandemic precarity: Exposing our Inequities
Around the world, Covid-19 has exposed and deepened existing social inequities. Frontline workers are typically low paid and often from disadvantaged groups. Women have borne the brunt of caring responsibilities during the pandemic which has had negative effects on...
NZ Budget 2021
Hon Grant Robertson presented the NZ Budget 2021 to Parliament on Thursday 20 May. Public Policy Institute Director, Professor Jennifer Curtin and the Gender Responsive Analysis and Budgeting team have provided detailed commentary on the new budget. From The...
Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand’s Deportation Policy and Practice in Regional Context
By Dr Tim Fadgen Deportation policy is a regional dilemma that won’t be solved by Australia and New Zealand trading diplomatic insults. Both nations must recognise their complicity in a system of regional dislocation and their joint responsibility to address it....
Commentary: New Zealand’s Proposed Health Reforms
Health Minister has announced a major overhaul of the healthcare system in Aotearoa New Zealand, following the Health and Disability Review. The changes will prioritise primary care and accessibility by removing all District Health Boards and replacing them with a...
Prioritising a National Women’s Health & Wellbeing Strategy and Action Plan
Gender Analysis Briefing 1/2021 Sarah Bickerton, Jennifer Curtin, University of Auckland Gender Justice Collective www.genderjustice.nz Background In 2020 a group of individuals and organisations, committed to a vision for Aotearoa as a place of leadership in...
ICYMI: Ecological decline can no longer prop our economy
Stephen Knight-Lenihan Dr Stephen Knight-Lenihan is a senior lecturer in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Auckland. The fundamental nature of our economic system is to benefit from ecological decline. Dr Stephen Knight-Lenihan makes the...
ICYMI: Stop the behaviour change talk, give us better systems
By Jess Berentson-Shaw We need to be talking about changing the structure of our systems and built environments so that climate-positive behaviour isn't a tough personal choice, it's the easy default I count myself incredibly privileged each year over summer to be...
ICYMI: Why we’re not ready for a vaccine rollout
By Helen Petousis-Harris Dr Helen Petousis-Harris is a vaccinologist and Associate Professor in the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences Helen Petousis-Harris looks at the potential complications of vaccinating older New Zealanders - and...
ATEPS2020: Rachel Tauleilei’s Speech
APEC BUSINESS ADVISORY COUNCIL ADDRESS TO AUCKLAND TRADE AND ECONOMIC POLICY SCHOOL SESSION TWO: THE NEW TRADE ENVIRONMENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND FRIDAY 4 DECEMBER 2020 RACHEL TAULELEI ABAC NZ and CEO, KONO ‘THE NEW TRADE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH...
Carrie Stoddart: Speech to ATEPS2020
Deconstructing the patriarchy through the habitual practice of radical inclusion in international trade Prepared for Auckland Trade and Economic Policy School. Text republished from OpinioNative. Gender and Trade Panel University of Auckland Saturday 5 December...
