Blog | Elder Abuse is Left in the Grey
By Yi Xin Heng The state’s duty to intervene when situations go awry for children has been imprinted in the nation’s consciousness as early as 1890. However, the same recognition has not been extended to a group who experience abuse at a comparable rate – the elderly. Apart from experiencing a brief spike in […]
Blog | The Policy Graveyard: Where Controversial Laws Come to Die
By Jonathan de Jongh Due to continued disagreements and compromises behind the walls of the Beehive, several laws have been stopped in their tracks or have failed to even see the light of day due to party politics. The latest victim is the capital gains tax proposed by the Tax Working Group earlier this year. […]
Blog | Climate Refugees: New Zealand’s New Humanitarian Obligations in the 21st Century.
By Jasper Poole In 2015, the Supreme Court of New Zealand became the unlikely scene of what is perhaps the first of many legal battles regarding the term “climate refugee”. It is this term that may identify one of the largest issues facing the world in the coming years as millions of people flee their […]
Blog | The One Billion Trees Programme: Demystified
By Paul Simperingham What is the One Billion Trees Programme? The incumbent coalition government has set the goal of planting one billion trees in New Zealand by 2028 [1]. The initiative is led by Te Uru Rakau (Forestry New Zealand) and funded by the Provincial Growth Fund, a three billion dollar fund for investment in […]
Blog | The Labour Government’s Minimum Wage Ambitions: A Hindrance or Stimulus for Working-Class Incomes?
By Matt Fletcher Last December, the Labour-led Government of New Zealand announced its intention to raise the national minimum wage to $17.70 per hour, effective on the 1st of April 2019 [1]. This rise of $1.20 serves as the most substantial minimum wage increase in over three decades, and is the most recent step towards […]
2019 Delegate Applications Open
The Public Policy Club is looking for dedicated students to join the club as general delegates, content writers or to be a part of our High School Civics team. You will be working alongside various teams and members of the executive committee. We welcome applications from all faculties and year levels. The following positions in […]
Applications for PPC 2019 Executive Committee
The Public Policy is opening Executive Committee positions for 2019! We are looking for passionate and self-led students to be a part of our team. In this role, you can work with other PPC team members to create content, competitions or events that increase youth engagement with public policy. You should be able to take […]
Blog | New Zealand and the Expanding Global War on Drugs
Last month’s United Nations General Assembly revealed a stark division along New Zealand party lines. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern refused to sign the US-led initiative to reduce the consumption and production of drugs. Ardern cited the incumbent Government’s intention to adopt an approach to drug policy that treats it as a health issue. The National […]
Blog | The Waka-Jumping Bill and the Revival of Unsettled Parliamentary Divisions
By Matt Fletcher The incumbent Government’s proposed Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Bill passed its first and second readings earlier this year and has strengthened its place as a point of contention within Parliament. The colloquially-named “Waka-Jumping Bill”, if signed into law, would seek to drastically alter the face of New Zealand’s legislature, as well as the […]
Suffrage 125: Reflections, and Looking to the Future
By Harshaa Prasad The Public Policy Club was honoured to host four remarkable Kiwi wahine toa last week to celebrate the 125-year anniversary of women’s suffrage in New Zealand. Dame Jenny Shipley, Helen Clark, Chlöe Swarbrick and Louisa Wall spoke to a full room at the Heritage Hotel about intergenerational change in New Zealand’s feminist movement. […]