We're the voice for Kiwi taxpayers in the corridors of power. With our 200,000 subscribed members and supporters we fight for Lower Taxes, Less Waste, and More Accountability across all levels of government. Join or support the Taxpayers' Union at www.taxpayers.org.nz
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In this episode of Taxpayer Talk, Peter Williams is joined by ACT’s infrastructure and resource management spokesman Simon Court to take aim at the planning rules he says are stopping New Zealand from building the homes, roads, ports, quarries, power lines, and infrastructure we desperately need. From eye-watering consent costs and “cultural shakedowns” to lizard surveys, gold-plated planning…
In this episode of Taxpayer Talk, Peter Williams is joined by ACT Leader and Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour for a wide-ranging pre-election interview on coalition tensions, regulatory overreach, free speech, KiwiSaver, Treaty politics, and ACT’s record in Government. From “political neutrality” rules for regulators and the Ministry of Regulation’s war on red tape, to compulsory savings, bond…
Jordan is fresh out of the Budget 2026 lockup and joined by economist Cam Bagrie to unpack whether the Government’s numbers really stack up. They warn the Budget is heavy on promises, light on proof, and may rely too much on inflation, backloaded savings, and heroic assumptions to get back to surplus. From rising borrowing costs and “promise-enomics” to the demographic time bomb of superannuation…
In this episode of Taxpayer Talk, Peter Williams is joined by Nick Clark from the New Zealand Initiative and Jordan Williams (Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director) to break down the Government’s plan to slash New Zealand’s 78 local authorities down to as few as 15. They explain why bigger councils do not necessarily mean lower rates, better services, or fewer bureaucrats — and why amalgamation…
In this episode of Taxpayer Talk, Peter Williams is joined by former Finance Minister and Taxpayers’ Union Chair Ruth Richardson for a no-holds-barred warning about New Zealand’s worsening fiscal mess. From exploding debt and runaway interest costs to bloated bureaucracy, superannuation reform, and a Government that still hasn’t found its “brave pills”, Ruth lays out why the country may be…
Why did New Zealand’s education system "turn to custard" in 1971? In this episode of Taxpayer Talk, host Peter Williams sits down with Professor Elizabeth Rata to explore how the nation moved from a world-class, knowledge-rich curriculum to one dominated by "social constructivism" and "learnification”. Elizabeth also lifts the lid on how the rejection of liberalism and nation-building has failed…
In this episode of Taxpayer Talk, Peter Williams sits down with Oliver Hartwich, Executive Director of the New Zealand Initiative, to discuss why he believes the country’s public service is "fundamentally broken" and incompatible with implementing good policy. Oliver explains how the 1988 reforms inadvertently created a state where department heads are more beholden to the Public Service…
What if the world is actually getting better — and we just can't see it? In this episode, host Jordan Williams sits down with Marian Tupy, senior fellow at the Cato Institute and founder of HumanProgress.org, to challenge the doom and gloom dominating today's headlines. Drawing on his books Super Abundance and 10 Global Trends Every Smart Person Should Know , Tupy makes a data-driven case that…
Our latest Taxpayers’ Union–Curia poll sent Wellington into a frenzy at the beginning of March. But in this week’s Taxpayer Talk, Peter Williams sits down with Curia founder - and Taxpayers’ Union co-founder - David Farrar to separate the signal from the spin. Are polls actually driving political decisions, or just measuring them? And why do politicians pay attention, even when they ignore the…
The New Zealand Initiative Chair Roger Partridge joins Taxpayer Talk with Peter Williams to discuss a new report arguing New Zealand could unlock more than $24 billion for essential infrastructure by recycling mature Crown-owned commercial assets. Roger explains how redirecting capital tied up in government-owned companies such as Air New Zealand, Kiwibank and the mixed ownership electricity…