Past Seminars
2023 Seminars
2022 Seminars
2021 Seminars
2020 seminars
2019 Seminars
2018 Seminars
2017 Seminars
LEANZ Visiting Scholar 2017
2016 Seminars
2015 Seminars
2011-2013 Seminars
2009-2010 Seminars
2007-2008 Seminars
2002-2006 Seminars
2023 Seminars
- LEANZ Seminar: New Zealand Ports and Mixed Ownership. TDB Director Phil Barry and former TDB Analyst Simon McSweeney-Harte presented the findings of their pro bono research that examined the comparative financial performance of the seven ports in New Zealand that are 100% local government-owned and the four ports that have a mix of private and public ownership. Wednesday 16 August 2023.
- Webinar: Resource Management Reform: Navigating The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly. A panel discussion by Eric Crampton of NZI, Paul Melville, Federated Farmers Principal Advisor Water & Environment Strategy, Kevin Counsell, Associate Director at NERA and Andreas Heuser, Managing Director of Castalia Advisors. Thursday 16 March 2023
- LEANZ Seminar: How to fix the Emissions Trading Scheme. Presentation by Dr James Every-Palmer KC, Wednesday 22 March 2023.
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LEANZ Lunchtime Webinar: A conversation on disaster recovery and resilience. Discussion between Eric Crampton and Lianne Dalziel about recovery and resilience, and how it applies to economic and legal frameworks. 13 April 2023. Link to recording.
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LEANZ Lunchtime Webinar: Charities Amendment Bill – its impact and risks. Sue Barker, an expert in charity law, will discuss the role of charities in democracies and the importance of the legal framework in NZ. 27 April 2023. Link to recording. Link to slides.
2022 Seminars
2022 Seminars
- Alan Bollard and Bill Mitchell discuss inflation – 23 February 2022
- Vaccine Mandates – a law and economics perspective – 11 March 2022
- “Democracy” as a non-economic consideration of competition law – 6 April 2022
- Autonomous Vehicles – an economics and regulatory perspective – 5th May 2022
- European regulation of Big Tech: objectives, challanges and global impact – 25 May 2022
- Menno Cox’s presentation
- Dr Peter Gibbard’s presentation
- LEANZ AGM and Seminar on the role of the firm – 28 June 2022
- LEANZ Seminar: How can NZ transition to a clean energy vehicle fleet? – 4 August 2022
- Andreas Heuser’s presentation
- Dr Richard Meade’s presentation
- LEANZ Seminar: Presentation from Essay Competition Winners – 8th September 2022
- Co-Governance: Prof Jacinta Ruru and the Hon. Christopher Finlayson – 20th September 2022
- Prof Jacinta Ruru’s presentation
2021 Seminars
2021 Seminars
- Resource management review panel recommendations for RMA reform – 29 March 2021
- Amelia Linzey and Dean Kimpton’s presentation
- Bryce Wilkinson’s economic comment
- Basil Sharp’s economic comment
- Andreas Heuser, Reform of three waters sector: risks and opportunities – 13 April 2021
- Stephanie Honey and Stephen Jacobi, The future of global trade institutions – 29 April 2021
- Presentation
- Written remarks
- LEANZ AGM 2021 and Carl Hansen, New Zealand’s electricity market: past, present and future – 24 June 2021
- Presentation
- Recording (Access Passcode: M%E3*U*c)
- The future direction of climate policy in Aotearoa – 17 August 2021
- The causes and consequences of rising regional housing prices in NZ – 30 September 2021
- The Metaverse: What is it & why it matters – a law and economics perspective – 30 November 2021
2020 seminars
2020 Seminars
- Mark Berry, Commerce Commission policy challenges and institutional design issues – 11 March 2020
- Panel Discussion on Limiting COVID Economic Fallout – 27 May 2020
- Eric Crampton’s presentation
- Andreas Heuser’s presentation
- Richard Meade’s presentation
- Adrian Orr, Delivering on Great and Best at Te Pūtea Matua – 29 June 2020
A recording of this event is available here. - New Zealand’s COVID19 Emerency Response Measures and the Rule of Law – Have we struck the right balance? – 21 August 2020
- External Event: Digital Dystopia – Nobel Laureate, Jean Tirole (TSE)
Post event discussion by Donal Curtin - Arthur Grimes, Intergenerational issues: principles and practice in NZ – 2 October 2020
- Colin Gavaghan, Thinking outside the (black) box. Artificial intelligence in New Zealand’s Government – 27 October 2020
- Andrew Johnson, Joanne Gabrynowicz, Maria Pozza, “Outer space: a frontier-style land grab?” – 11 December 2020
- NZ Space Agency’s presentation
- Halfway there? Covid policy trade-offs to inform NZ’s approach in 2021 – 17 December 2020
- Dave Heatley’s presentation
- Martin Lally’s presentation and paper
LEANZ invited Michael Baker and Nick Wilson to present their analysis on this topic at this event. Unfortunately they were not available. We extend another invitation to them to respond to the analysis raised by the speakers at this seminar.
2019 Seminars
2019 Seminars
- Simon Upton, New Zealand’s climate change targets and policies: an alternative approach – 20 November 2019
- Morag Bond, Regulating big tech: Key findings from the ACCC’s digital platforms inquiry – 16 October 2019
- Tobacco and smokefree policies – should the Smokefree Aotearoa 2025 goal be achieved, and if so how? – 24 September 2019
- Eric Crampton’s presentation
- Nick Wilson’s presentation
- Richard Edward’s presentation
- Robin Oliver’s presentation
- Alex Duncan, Phil Barry, Tony Baldwin: What’s working and what can be improved with New Zealand dairy sector institutions? – 4 September 2019
- Chris Finlayson and Phil Barry: Treaty of Waitangi Settlements: Discussion of economic aspects (good and bad) – 24 June 2019
- Jeroen van der Heijden: Behavioural science and regulatory governance – 29 May 2019
- Gary D. Libecap: How to make New Zealand a world leader in marine conservation – 16 May 2019
- Bill Rosenberg, Peter Cranney: Low wages: is competition a factor? – 2 May 2019
- Murray Sherwin: Transition to a Low-Emissions Economy – 28 March 2019
2018 Seminars
2018 Seminars
Tax reform and the housing market: why retirement income taxes are key
Presentation by Dr Andrew Coleman on 3 April 2018 at KPMG Auckland.
Slides
2017 Seminars
Lessons from the Sky/Vodafone Merger
Presentations by Dr Bronwyn Howell of Victoria University of Wellington, and Sara Keene of Russell McVeagh, on Tuesday 21 November 2017 at Russell McVeagh Auckland.
Innovations and Incentives in the Blue Economy
Presented by Professor Quentin Grafton at Russell McVeagh, Wellington on Monday, 6 November 2017
The lecture describes the Blue Economy and the role of innovations and incentives, especially in terms of water pricing and water markets, to promote human water security. The presentation focuseses on the global water challenges, but an ‘outsider’ perspective of the issues and possible ways forward are proposed for New Zealand.
Concentration in the tech and telecoms sector: Is it necessary to regulate oligopoly?
Presented by Tim Cowen, Preiskel & Co on 16 October 2017
Sky-Vodafone – Never a Sporting Chance: bundling red herrings in the Sky-Vodafone merger analysis
Presented by Dr Bronwyn Howell of Victoria University of Wellington, at Bell Gully on 18 October 2017
New Wine in an Old Wineskin? – How Technology Changes affect both How and Why we Regulate
Presented by Dr Richard Meade of Cognitus Economic Insight, at KPMG.
6 June 2017 (Wellington), 27 April 2017 (Auckland).
LEANZ Visiting Scholar 2017
The LEANZ Visiting Scholar for 2017 was Professor Justus Haucap from the Duesseldorf Institute for Competition Economics. Professor Haucap’s visit to New Zealand was funded by the Friedlander Foundation. Additional support was received from: Treasury, the Commerce Commission, the Electricity Authority and the Government Economics Network.
Competition and Antitrust in Digital Markets
Commerce Commission, Wellington
8 March 2017
Telecommunications Policy in Europe
Commerce Commission, Wellington
8 March 2017
On the Philosophy of Regulation
Treasury, Wellington
8 March 2017
How Mergers Affect Innovation: Theory and Evidence from the Pharmaceutical Industry
Victoria University of Wellington
8 March 2017
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Wellington
9 March 2017
The Sharing Economy: Potential Efficiency Gains and Regulatory Requirements
LEANZ Seminar, Auckland
15 March 2017
Electricity Policy Developments in Europe
Electricity Authority, Wellington
21 March 2017
Electricity Authority, Wellington
22 March 2017
2016 Seminars
22 November 2016
The Inequality Paradox: Why Inequality Matters Even Though Its Barely Changed – Bryce Wilkinson
Slides: The Inequality Paradox
Venue: MinterEllisonRuddWatts, Wellington
About the topic:
New Zealanders are endlessly told that economic inequality is rising with dire consequences. Newspaper articles featuring inequality have risen over 8-fold in recent years. We are told that it has risen faster than in almost any developed country and has cut our rate of economic growth by one third in the last 30 years. Moreover, the growth we have had has not “trickled down”. The New Zealand Initiative’s report casts doubt on the robustness of many such findings and assertions. Yet the degree of hardship in the community and rising house values and costs are matters of real concern.
About the speaker:
Bryce Wilkinson is a former president of LEANZ and is a LEANZ Fellow. He is a Senior Research Fellow with The New Zealand Initiative and a Director of Capital Economics Limited, a Wellington-based economic consultancy firm. This year the New Zealand Initiative has published two reports he has co-authored with Jenesa Jeram: Poorly Understood: The state of poverty in New Zealand, and The Inequality Paradox: Why inequality matters even though it has barely changed.
Blog posts relating to the debate about the inequality topic from Bryce Wilkinson are here:
https://initiativeblog.com/2016/10/21/21-messages-on-inequality-and-poverty/
https://initiativeblog.com/2016/10/25/poor-reasons-for-dismissing-spending-inequality-evidence/
25 October 2016
Health and Safety at Work Act: Implications of “Grossly Disproportionate”
Slides: HSWA ACT: Implications of “grossly disproportionate”
Venue: Chapman Tripp, Wellington
About the topic:
“Grossly disproportionate” is part of the cost element of “reasonably practicable” in section 22 of the HSWA. Because the costs of dealing with a risk need to be “grossly disproportionate” to the risk before cost can be used as a reason for not taking an action, it is “reasonably practicable” to spend many times the benefit in the pursuit of ameliorating a risk, and still be caught by the HSWA. One might say the test is unreasonable. In any case it values safety well above any other resource, which might have economy-wide implications, and in particular introduces distortions as between roading investments and those in rail, potentially giving road a cost advantage.
About the speaker:
Murray King is the principal of Murray King and Francis Small Consultancy Ltd, which deals with transport and transport policy issues. Amongst other work, he was one of the joint authors of the National Freight Demand Study in 2014, and of the 2008 equivalent. He has also been a director of Land Transport NZ, a predecessor body to the NZ Transport Agency. Prior to setting up the consultancy in 2000, Murray was a senior executive at Tranz Rail. He holds BA (Hons) and PhD degrees in Geography, and an LLM (Distinction), all from Victoria University of Wellington. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, and of the NZ Institute of Management, and a Companion of the Institution of Engineers NZ. In addition, he is a member of both LEANZ and the NZ Association of Economists.
12 September 2016
Disruptive Technologies and the Electricity Market – Lew Evans
Slides: Disruptive Technology: the case of electricity
Venue: Simpson Grierson Wellington
About the topic:
There are a number of rapidly changing technologies that are inducing pressures for change in the organisation of the electricity market. The seminar will consider these technologies and speculate about their effects and implications for regulation.
About the speaker:
Lewis Evans is Professor (Emeritus) of the School of Economics and Finance, Victoria University. He has a PhD in economics from the University of Wisconsin, and has more than 50 refereed articles in international and local economics journal, and other publications. Awards include the NZIER-Qantas Economist-of-the-Year 1996, Distinguished Fellow of NZ Association of Economists, and Fellow of the Law and Economics Association. His Interests lie in industrial, financial economics, and law and economics. Appointments relating to electricity include, the Electricity Market Surveillance Committee for the period of its existence, and the Government-appointed Electricity Technical Advisory Group 2009. He has consulted on a wide range of economic issues, and is a consultant to NERA Economic Consulting.
2 August 2016
Going Places: Migration, Economics and the Future of New Zealand – Julie Fry
Venue: Bell Gully Wellington, Level 21 ANZ Centre, 171 Featherston Street
Time: 5:30 p.m. for refreshments with a 6 p.m. seminar start
Date: Tuesday, 2 August 2016
About the topic:
Migration and the movement of people is one of the critical issues confronting the world’s nations in the twenty-first-century. It is a tough time for optimists. Europe is experiencing its largest inflows of refugees since the Second World War. Countries that were previously welcoming are increasing restrictions even for the most economically-desirable migrants. Migration is an even more contentious topic than usual.
“Going Places” by Julie Fry and Hayden Glass is a book about a small piece of a very large debate: the economic contribution of migration to and from New Zealand. Can immigration, in economic terms, be more than a gap filler for the labour market and help as well with national economic transformation? And does the substantial population of New Zealanders living in other countries help out economically? Building on Sir Paul Callaghan’s vision of New Zealand as a place ‘where talent wants to live’, Going Places explores how it can attract skilled, creative and entrepreneurial people born in other countries, and whether its ‘seventeenth region’ – the more than 600,000 New Zealanders living abroad – can be a greater national asset.
About the speaker:
Julie Fry is a consulting economist who divides her time between New York and a family farm near Motueka. She has worked on migration policy issues since the early 1990s, designing programmes and advising agencies including The Treasury, MBIE Te Puni Kōkiri, and HM Treasury in London. Julie has Masters degrees in economics from both the University of Canterbury and Lincoln University, and she received a Nuffield Fellowship to research discrimination issues at the University of Warwick in Coventry.
28 June 2016 – An Insider’s Reflections on Merger Clearances – Speaker: David Blacktop
Date: 5.15pm, 28 June 2016 (note earlier start time than usual)
At: Buddle Findlay, State Insurance Tower, 1 Willis Street, Wellington
About the topic:
The last four years have seen merger clearance activity recover from the low levels experienced immediately post the GFC. In that time, the Commerce Commission has released revised merger guidelines setting out how it thinks about mergers and the process it follows. This presentation will outline some of the issues that the Commission has had to grapple with in the mergers it has considered in that time, and provide some insight on the way the Commission goes about reaching its decisions.
About the speaker:
David Blacktop is Principal Counsel, Competition, at the Commerce Commission. David’s team of competition lawyers is responsible for providing legal advice on the Commission’s cartel work, as well as all the Commission’s other competition work. Prior to joining the Commission, David worked as a competition lawyer in private practice.
22 March 2016 – Tax Evasion and Welfare Fraud in New Zealand – Lisa Marriott
Venue/date: Luke Cunningham Clere, Level 10, 89 The Terrace, Wellington, 22 March 2016
About the topic:
Individuals in New Zealand are likely to receive different treatments in the justice system depending on whether their crime is ‘white-collar’ or ‘blue-collar’. This presentation will report on some of these differences, using tax evasion and welfare fraud as proxies for white- and blue-collar crime, respectively. The presentation will also outline the findings from a large scale survey with 3,000 respondents across New Zealand and Australia that captures attitudes towards welfare fraud and tax evasion.
About the speaker:
Lisa Marriott is an Associate Professor of Taxation at Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Accounting and Commercial Law. Lisa’s research interests include social justice and inequality, and the behavioural impacts of taxation. Lisa has publications in a range of refereed journals and is the author of The Politics of Retirement Savings Taxation: A Trans-Tasman Perspective. In 2013 Lisa was awarded a Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden Grant to investigate the different treatments of tax evasion and welfare fraud in the New Zealand justice system. Lisa has worked in industry in the private sector in the United Kingdom and in the New Zealand public sector. For the past eight years, Lisa has worked in academia.
22 March 2016 – Daniel Kalderimis – Investor-State Arbitration and the TPP: How the Final Deal Stacks Up
Speaker: Daniel Kalderimis
Date: 22 March 2016
Venue: Chapman Tripp (Auckland)
A copy of the presentation is here
About the topic:
The TPP negotiations have now been concluded and the deal signed.
One of the thorniest issues in those negotiations was the investment chapter, which provides a mechanism for US and other investors to sue the New Zealand Government for breach of international investment rules. Why include this mechanism? How novel is it? What risks does it present? How does its drafting stack up?
Daniel Kalderimis discusses current issues in investor-state claims and offers accessible thoughts on what the TPP investment chapter may mean for New Zealand.
About the speaker:
Daniel Kalderimis is a litigation partner at Chapman Tripp and is a recognised expert in international investment law. He has appeared as counsel in the only investment treaty case heard in New Zealand.
9 and 11 February 2016 – Prof John Kay – Why has financial regulation failed?
Speaker: Professor John Kay
Date: 9 (Wellington) and 11 (Auckland) February 2016
Venue: Minter Ellison Rudd Watts (Wellington) and Simpson Grierson (Auckland)
A copy of the presentation is here
About the topic:
Financial regulation failed around the world in 2007-08 not due to regulators “asleep at the wheel”, but because of the incentives at play that discouraged pre-emptive action in addition to the influence over regulators by industry and an inequality of arms. There has been little change since. In John Kay’s view the guiding purpose of long-term response to the regulatory failure should be to “impose and enforce the obligations of loyalty and prudence, personal and institutional, that go with the management of other people’s money.”
About the speaker: John Kay is a visiting Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics and a Fellow of St John’s College, Oxford. He is a critic of the current structure of the finance sector and proposes reforms to return finance to its core functions. He advocates via his frequent columns in the Financial Times and in his numerous popular books on finance. He is in New Zealand to promote his latest book “Other People’s Money: Masters of the Universe or Servants of the People?” which has received high praise from the Economist, Financial Times, New York Times and other prominent critics.
2015 Seminars
2015 Seminars
18 and 24 November 2015 – Environmental Markets: Lessons from and for Fisheries Management
Speaker: Professor Terry Anderson
Date: 18 (Wellington) and 24 (Auckland) November 2015
Venue: Chapman Tripp Wellington and Auckland
A copy of the presentation is here
A YouTube of Professor Anderson’s presentation given at Canterbury University is available here: http://www.econ.canterbury.ac.nz/condliffe/
About the topic:
Increased demand for environmental amenities and competition for scarce natural resources require rethinking how we manage our natural environment. The dominant management institutions have focused on top-down command-and-control regulations. Though some of these regulations have been successful in picking low-hanging environmental fruit – especially in reducing air and water emissions – they have not harnessed private initiative by using property rights and markets. This approach under the banner of “free market environmentalism” shows remarkable promise for dealing with a variety of environmental problems. Fisheries management in New Zealand illustrates the potential for this approach if the necessary market institutions can be buttressed and improved. In short, environmental markets offer a promising alternative for the next generation of environmentalism.
About the speaker: Terry Anderson is the William A. Dunn Distinguished Senior Fellow and former President and Executive Director of PERC, as well as the John and Jean De Nault Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He believes that market approaches can be both economically sound and environmentally sensitive. His research helped launch the idea of free market environmentalism and has prompted public debate over the proper role of government in managing natural resources. He is the co-chair of Hoover’s Property Rights, Freedom, and Prosperity Task Force.
20 October 2015 – Should Customer-owned Monopolies face Different Regulation than Investor-owned Firms?
Speaker: Richard Meade
Date: Tuesday, 20 October 2015
Venue: Meredith Connell, Wellington
A copy of the presentation is here: Presentation
About the topic:
Electricity regulators recognise that regulating for efficiency can cause sacrifices in service quality. However, they are yet to determine how to trade off efficiency and quality. Also, many regulated firms are customer-owned, such as electricity lines companies in New Zealand. This means they pursue different objectives to investor-owned firms, changing the rationale for regulation, and its effectiveness. This seminar shows that customer ownership changes the efficiency-quality regulation of network monopolies, such as electricity, gas or water distributors. Customer-owned firms optimally set weaker performance incentives for their managers than investor-owned firms. This predicts higher quality but lower efficiency in customer-owned firms, although regulation can serve to reverse this. Such firms also present regulators with extra paths to influence managers. Failing to account for these ownership differences risks regulation creating unnecessary distortions. On the flipside, the presence of customer ownership suggests a way to optimally determine regulators’ efficiency-quality trade-off.
About the speaker:
Richard is Principal of economic consultancy Cognitus Advisory Services Limited, a Senior Research Fellow at AUT University, and lecturer at University of Auckland. He founded Cognitus in 2002, which provides economic advice, analysis, research and representation, including in antitrust and regulation. This followed a first career in investment banking, working mainly in M&A and valuation. Richard’s AUT research focuses on antitrust and regulation, as well as contracting and incentives. Previously he was a Research Principal at the New Zealand Institute for the Study of Competition and Regulation (ISCR). His main research there was on electricity sector organisation and regulation. Richard recently returned to New Zealand after completing five years at Toulouse School of Economics. There he was awarded a PhD in industrial organisation and regulation, with Distinction.
14 September 2015: Re-thinking New Zealand Dairy
Speaker: Keith Woodford
Date: Monday, 14 September 2015
Venue: Bell Gully, Wellington
A copy of the presentation is here: Presentation
The New Zealand dairy environment is changing. Markets are changing due to changing consumer demand and disruptive technologies. In addition, new regulator systems will mean that the physical environment will no longer be an unpriced externality. However, currently much of the New Zealand dairy industry is caught like a possum in the headlights, with key industry groups paralysed by group think and an apparent inability to reshape to face the future. There is need for an informed debate as to alternative strategies.
About the speaker:
Keith Woodford is an independent consultant and Honorary Professor of Agri-Food Systems at Lincoln University. Previously he was Professor of Farm Management and Agribusiness at Lincoln University. His interests span from human nutrition and consumer demand back to animal production and system sustainability. He has worked in more than 20 countries on rural development and related projects, and he has a particular interest in the transition of the Chinese economy and the implications for New Zealand. He is a regular commentator in the media and also writes at his own website http://keithwoodford.wordpress.com. His current projects range from grassland systems on the Tibetan Plateau to innovative dairy systems in New Zealand. His book Devil in the Milk has been published both in New Zealand and the USA.
9 September 2015: Quantitative Techniques for Competition Analysis: An Overview, and Application to the Z Energy / Chevron Merger
Speaker: Dr Lydia Cheung, AUT University Department of Economics
Date: Wednesday, 9 September 2015
Venue: AUT, Auckland
A copy of the presentation is here: Presentation
This seminar provides a summary, for non-economists as well as economists, of the state of the art on quantitative techniques used internationally in competition analysis. Topics include demand estimation, market definition, market structure and conduct, and merger simulation. The discussion emphasises how each of these tools can be practically used to support competition analysis. The proposed Z Energy / Chevron merger is used to demonstrate how these tools can be applied.
About the speaker:
Lydia has been a lecturer in Economics at AUT since 2013. She has a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Minnesota. During her graduate studies, she spent a year at Amazon.com in Seattle as research scientist, working under the chief economist. She conducts research in empirical Industrial Organization, including on the Upward Pricing Pressure test, a new screen for proposed mergers.
24 August 2015: Inequality in New Zealand
Speaker: Max Rashbrooke
Date: Monday, 24 August 2015
Venue: Russell McVeagh, Wellington
A copy of the presentation is here: Presentation
Between the mid-1980s and the mid-2000s, New Zealand experienced the biggest increase in income gaps of any developed country. As the country has become increasingly aware of that dramatic shift, incomeinequality has turned into one of the key political and economic issues of our time. In this talk, Max Rashbrooke explains just how unequal New Zealand has become, why it has happened and why we might be concerned. He also discusses the competing visions for addressing income inequality. There will be time for questions and debate after the presentation.
About the speaker:
Max Rashbrooke is the editor of Inequality: A New Zealand Crisis, published in June 2013 by Bridget Williams Books, and the author of ‘The Inequality Debate: An Introduction’, published in July 2014. A research associate at the Institute for Governance and Policy Studies, he has also written stories for national newspapers and magazines in Britain and New Zealand, including the National Business Review, the Guardian and Metro. He is also a 2015 Winston Churchill fellow.
28 July 2015: Investor/State Arbitration, the Trans-Pacific Partnership and New Zealand
Speaker: Daniel Kalderimis
Date: Tuesday 28 July 2015
Venue: Chapman Tripp, Wellington
A copy of the presentation is here: Presentation
The TPP negotiations are set to conclude later this year, following the US Congress’ decision to grant fast-track authority to President Obama.
One of the thorniest issues in those negotiations is the investment chapter, which is likely to provide a mechanism for US and other investors to sue the New Zealand Government for breach of international investment rules. Why include this mechanism? How novel is it? How risky is it for the Government? Should it cause New Zealand to rethink its participation in the TPP?
Daniel Kalderimis will discuss current issues in investor-state claims and offer accessible thoughts on what the TPP investment chapter may mean for New Zealand.
About the speaker:
Daniel Kalderimis is a litigation partner at Chapman Tripp and is a recognised expert in international investment law. He has appeared as counsel in the only investor-state case heard in New Zealand.
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25 June 2015: Housing Affordability and the Reserve Bank
Speaker: Michael Reddell
Date: Thursday 25 June 2015
Venue: Buddle Findlay, State Insurance Building, 1 Willis Street, Wellington
A copy of the presentation is here: Housing Affordability and the Reserve Bank
House prices, especially in Auckland, have become increasingly unaffordable. This is largely the outcome of the collision between two sets of public policies: restrictions on land use which impede new housing supply, and high target levels of inward migration of non-citizens. One or other policy might make sense, but the combination has very adverse effects on the younger and poorer elements of the population of our largest city. It is a real phenomenon rather than a financial one, and the pressures can only be sustainably alleviated by government action in these policy areas. The Reserve Bank appears to have taken on itself some responsibility for trying to manage house price fluctuations. However, the Bank’s involvement appears to be based on a misconception of what is going on, and a misapplication of insights from financial crises abroad, notably that in the United States last decade. There is little or no evidence that financial stability in New Zealand is in any way threatened. The LVR restrictions – and others the Bank appears to be contemplating – undermine the efficiency of the financial system. They may also be slightly impairing its soundness. Parliament should be asking harder questions about whether such uses of regulatory powers, especially by a single unelected official, are appropriate.
About the speaker:
Michael Reddell spent 30+ years on the staff of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. In that time he worked in a wide range of the Bank’s areas of responsibility, including as manager responsible for economic forecasting and as Head of Financial Markets. He was a long-term member of key internal committees responsible for advising the Governor on monetary policy, and on financial regulatory matters.
In the course of his career, Michael spent two years each as resident economic adviser to the central banks of Papua New Guinea and Zambia, and from 2003 to 2005 he was Alternate Executive Director on the Board of the International Monetary Fund. He also spent two years from 2008 to 2010 on secondment to the Treasury involved in issues from the design of the guarantee schemes during the crisis to assisting the 2025 Taskforce on identifying possible policy options to close the income gap with Australia.
Michael now blogs on economics and policy issues at www.croakingcassandra.com
21 April 2015: Retirement income policies in New Zealand – what really matters
Speakers: Michael Littlewood and Andrew Coleman
Date: Tuesday 21 April 2015
Venue: Simpson Grierson, Level 24 HSBC Tower, 195 Lambton Quay, Wellington
Two experts, Michael Littlewood from the University of Auckland and Andrew Coleman from the New Zealand Treasury and the University of Otago, will each speak about their vision for New Zealand’s retirement income policies. This will be followed by an opportunity for audience engagement.
Michael Littlewood will speak about how New Zealand faces an ageing population but has one of the most sustainable and effective sets of retirement income policies in the developed world. That does not mean those policies are ‘right’. We need to discuss all aspects of the public policy environment from first principles to test their suitability for the 21st century. The government should focus its public policy attention on the things that only governments can do. That does not include building up a pool of investments or forcing people to save or offering incentives to save for retirement. So, what can (should) governments do? How do we get a discussion going on the things that actually matter?
A copy of Michael Littlewood’s presentation is here
Andrew Coleman will outline the framework developed fifty years ago by several Nobel prize winning economists that focussed on the intergenerational consequences of government expenditure programmes. This framework has been central to the analysis of government retirement income programmes as it established two principles:
(i) The government has a comparative advantage over the private sector in managing the risks associated with retirement income: as it is indefinitely lived, it can use its balance sheet to absorb asset market fluctuations, and as it has the power of taxation it can transfer risk within generations and between generations in a manner that is not otherwise possible.
(ii) Retirement incomes can be funded on a pay-as-you-go or a save-as-you-go basis. If the economy is dynamically efficient (ie if the return to capital exceeds the growth rate of the economy), government programmes funded on a pay-as-you-go basis result in large transfers between generations as they impose large opportunity costs on young and future generations.
In this talk, Andrew will go on to discuss how these two principles should shape the structure of retirement income policies in New Zealand. He argues that while the benefits structure of New Zealand Superannuation has many desirable features, when it is largely funded on a pay-as-you-go basis it imposes costs on future generations that seem unduly onerous, and which may not reflect the desires of a majority of New Zealanders. Different means to reduce the extent of pay-as-you-go funding (and increase save-as-you go funding) are examined. He will also consider the potential advantages of the government assisting individuals to better manage the risks they face by providing them with the option to purchase annuities from the government at actuarially fair rates.
A copy of Andrew Coleman’s presentation is here
2011-2013 Seminars
2013 Seminars – Auckland
| Date | Location | Speaker | Topic | Host |
| Feburary | Auckland | Ralph Chivers | Directors duties & liabilities | |
| March | Auckland | Sacha Judd | Startups, venture capital, crowd funding & policy | |
| April | Auckland | Suzie Greenhalgh | Markets for water quality & biodiversity | |
| May | Auckland | John Ong | Arts funding models | |
| June | Auckland | Luke Malpass | NZ’s FDI performance & overseas investment act | Mayne Wetherell |
2013 Seminars – Wellington
|
Date |
Location |
Speaker |
Topic |
Host |
|
February |
Wellington |
Tim Smith and Dale La Hood |
Leaky buildings, failed finance companies, and Pike River |
Luke Cunningham &Clere |
|
March |
Wellington |
Ross Young & Hayden Glass |
Policies for internet innovation & growth |
NZX |
|
April |
Wellington |
Catherine Isaac |
Partnership Schools |
Chapman Tripp |
|
May |
Wellington |
Matt Smith |
Disclosure-based regulation |
Kensington Swan |
|
June |
Wellington |
Toby Fiennes |
Regulation of the financial system |
Reserve Bank |
|
August |
Wellington |
Tim Smith |
Contractual remedies |
Chapman Tripp |
|
September |
Wellington |
Luke Malpass |
Foreign Direct Investment |
Buddle Findlay |
2012 Seminars
|
Date |
Location |
Speaker |
Topic |
Host |
|
April |
Wellington |
Murray Sherwin |
Housing Affordability inquiry |
Bell Gully |
|
May |
Wellington |
Tim Smith |
Contract law and economics – divided by a common language |
Chapman Tripp |
|
June |
Wellington |
Peter Watts |
Criminal liability for professional negligence |
DLA Phillips Fox |
|
June |
Wellington |
David Harpur |
Entrepreneurship and intellectual property (also AGM) |
Kensington Swan |
|
August |
Wellington |
Tim Hazeldine |
RMA and land use issues |
Russell McVeagh |
|
September |
Wellington |
Phil Veal |
Investment rules for KiwiSaver funds |
Simpson Grierson |
|
October |
Wellington |
Oliver Hartwich |
Euro crisis |
Buddle Findlay |
|
November |
Wellington |
Stephen Hickson |
Health and Safety in Employment Guidelines and the Composition of Sentences in New Zealand |
Bell Gully |
2011 Seminars
| Date | Location | Speaker | Topic | Host |
| February | Wellington | Toby Fiennes | Financial stability | Bell Gully |
| February | Auckland | Dr Don Brash | In pursuit of Australia: the work of the 2025 Taskforce | Bell Gully |
| March | Auckland | Bevan Wallace | Perspectives on financial markets reform | Mayne Wetherell |
| March | Wellington | Phil Barry and Stephen Franks | Merits and legal issues of partial privatisation | Chapman Tripp |
| April | Wellington | Alastair Cameron and Alastair Hercus | The NZ ETS: A review of New Zealand’s first year of emissions trading | Chapman Tripp |
| May | Auckland | Dr Cento Veljanovski | Prosecuting and Punishing Cartels | Buddle Findlay |
| May | Wellington | Mike Wilkinson | People, payments and public policy | DLA Phillips Fox |
| June | Wellington and Auckland | Russel Norman (NZ Green Party) and Dr Jason Potts (Queensland University) | Debate on the utility of happiness indices as opposed to GDP | Russel McVeagh |
| July | Auckland | Gary Hughes (Wilson Harle) and Steve Condie (MED) | Major Events Management Act and RWC | Ministry of Economic Development |
| July | Wellington | Michael Gousmett | Charities and Economic Development | Simpson Greirson |
| July | Auckland | Mike Wilkinson | People, payments and public policy | Ernst & Young |
| August | Wellington | Prof Neil Quigley | ACC stocktake | Kensington Swan |
| August | Auckland | Dr George Barker | Copyright and digital economy | Kensington Swan |
| September | Wellington | Brent Layton | Leaky Buildings | Buddle Findlay |
| September | Auckland | Prof. Lew Evans | SOE Partial Sales: Statism v Participatory Democracy | Simpson Grierson |
2009-2010 Seminars
2010 Seminars
| Date | Location | Speaker | Topic | Host |
| February | Wellington | Peter Holle, Frontier Center for Public Policy, Canada | What New Zealand Can Learn From Local Government Amalgamation in Canada | Buddle Findlay |
| February | Auckland | Peter Holle, Frontier Center for Public Policy, Canada | “Supercity” – What New Zealand might learn from Local Government Amalgamation in Canada | Bell Gully |
| March | Wellington | Lewis Evans, Victoria University of Wellington | Efficiency of Collusion and Criminal Sanctions in New Zealand | Bell Gully |
| March | Wellington | Geoff McLay, Victoria University of Wellington | Tort, theory, anti-theory and ACC | Chapman Tripp |
| March | Auckland | Mike Burrell, CEO Aquaculture New Zealand | Governing the commons: the case of aquaculture | Kensington Swan |
| April | Auckland | Toby Stevenson, LECG | Electricity Industry Governance and Reform | MED Business Centre |
| May | Wellington | Michael Littlewood, University of Auckland | Tax Reforms in Hong Kong | Kensington Swan |
| May | Auckland | A debate: Dr John Small, Covec vs Professor Lew Evans, NERA and Victoria University | Whether New Zealand would be wise to criminalise cartel behaviour | Wilson Harle |
| June | Wellington | Ralph Chivers, Telecom | Governments and telecommunications – a match made in heaven or shot-gun wedding? | DLA Phillips Fox |
| June | Auckland | LEANZ Conference and LEANZ AGM | Keynote Speaker: Wolfgang Kasper | University of Auckland |
| July | Wellington | Brownwyn Howell and Dave Heatley, ISCR | Overseas Investment Act: Is New Zealand ‘Open For business’? | Russell McVeagh |
| July | Auckland | Dr Michael Littlewood, University of Auckland Law School | Tax Reform and the Instructive Case of Hong Kong | Ernst & Young |
| August | Wellington | Prof. Max Stearns, University of Maryland | Social Choice Theory and direct democracy | Government Buildings Lecture Theatre< |
| August | Auckland | Prof. Max Stearns, University of Maryland | Public Choice Theory – (Anti) Democracy | Russell McVeagh |
| September | Wellington | Michael Littlewood | Compulsory savings | Simpson Grierson |
| September | Auckland (held jointly with University of Auckland Business School) | Professor Geoffrey Wood, University of Auckland Business School | How economists mislead regulators | University of Auckland Business School |
| October | Wellington | Prof. Neil Quigley, Victoria University | ACC reforms | TBC |
| October | Auckland | Rick Boven, New Zealand Institute | Economic prosperity: ensuring capital availability for expanding international businesses | TBC |
| November | Auckland and Wellington | Greg Houston, NERA | Shareholder Class Actions: A Rising Trend in Australia: On Its Way Here? | Simpson Grierson (Auckland) and Luke, Cunningham and Clere (Wellington) |
| November | Wellington | Justice Forrie Miller | Reforming Civil Litigation | Minter Ellison |
2009 Seminars
| Date | Location | Speaker | Topic | Host |
| February | Wellington | Frederic Sautet, George Mason University | Obama’s bail-out: the long term impact | Bell Gully |
| March | Auckland | Brendan O’Donovan | Perspectives on the credit crunch and how the state of finance markets | Chapman Tripp |
| March | Wellington | Matt Burgess, iPredict | Seeing the future: Prediction markets and the wisdom of crowds | Chapman Tripp |
| April | Auckland | Dr Eric Crampton, Canterbury University Economics Department | Elections and Political Ignorance: the myth of the rational voter | Ernst & Young |
| April | Wellington | Dr Bryce Wilkinson, Capital Economics | A primer on Property Rights, Takings and Compensation | Kensington Swan |
| June | Auckland | Ralph Townsend, Chief Economist, Ministry of Fisheries | New Zealand’s Quota Management System, Successes, Challenges and Good Governance for our Fisheries Resournce | Russell McVeagh |
| June | Wellington | Brendan O’Donovan, Westpac | Perspectives on the ‘credit crunch’ and the state of finance markets | Chapman Tripp |
| July | Wellington | LEANZ held a one day conference alongside the New Zealand Association of Economists | Speakers included: Hon Rodney Hide, Alan Woodfield, Tanira Kingi and Susy Frankel | James Cook Grand Chancellor Hotel |
| August | Auckland | Alex Tan, Director, PwC forensics services and Gary Hughes, Wilson Harle | The Anti-Money Laundering & Countering Financing of Terrorism Bill – the law and economics of financial crime | Pricewaterhouse Coopers |
| August | Wellington | Kesten Green, Monash University and Decisions Research Ltd | Public policy lessons from history: Using structured analogies to predict the effects of the manmade global warming movement | Russell McVeagh |
| September | Wellington | Peter Fraser, Senior Advisor, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry | No Crying over Regulated Milk? Competition policy in the Dairy Industry and Auctioning Raw Milk | Simpson Grierson |
| September | Auckland | Professor David Mayes, University of Auckland | Smarter not tougher regulation for the financial system | Mayne Wetherell |
| October | Wellington | Dr George Barker, Director of the Centre for Law & Economics, Australian National University | Intellectual Property 2.0: The Role of Intellectual Property in the New Digital Economy | Ernst & Young |
| November | Wellington | Dr Veronica Jacobsen | Costs, Benefits and Rationality: Economics and Criminal Justice Policy | Luke, Cunningham & Clere |
| November | Auckland | Dr Bryce Wilkinson | How to improve government regulation in the future – the work of the Regulatory Reponsiblity Taskforce | Wilson Harle |
| December | Auckland | Professor Glen Boyle | The role of securitisation in the great credit crunch | BNZ Capital Partners |
2007-2008 Seminars
2008 Seminars
| Date | Location | Speaker | Topic | Host |
| February | Wellington | Bryce Edwards and Andrew Geddis of the University of Otago | Election Campaign Financing | Bell Gully |
| March | Wellington | David Tripe, Centre for Banking Studies, Massey University | Conundra in Banking Regulation | Chapman Tripp |
| March | Auckland | Associate Professor Basil Sharp, University of Auckland Business School | Design and operation of rights based systems of governance: issues for environmental and resource management | Simpson Grierson |
| April | Wellington | Owen McShane | RMA – getting out of the mess | Ernst & Young |
| May | Wellington | Mark Ahn, Victoria University | Biotech as a pillar of economic growth in NZ: sensible or nonsense? | Kensington Swan |
| June | Auckland | Owen McShane | Why Urban Planners love Global Warming: issues for land use, transport and housing affordability in a time of climate change alarmism | Ernst & Young |
| June | Wellington | Professor Lew Evans, Victoria University/ISCR | To Own or Not to Own? Impacts of “Privatisation” and “Nationalisation” of New Zealand’s Railways | Chapman Tripp |
| July | Wellington | Ted Sieper | Prosecuting criminal justice | Minter Ellison Rudd Watts |
| July | Auckland | David Tripe, Centre for Banking Studies, Massey University | Conundra in banking regulation | Mayne Wetherell |
| August | Wellington | Hanna Wilberg, Facullty of Law, University of Auckland | The defensive practice concern in public authority negligence claims: paralysis or conflict of duties? | Buddle Findlay |
| August | Auckland | David Walker and Gus Charteris, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade | The New Zealand – China Free Trade Agreement | Russell McVeagh |
| September | Wellington | Dean Shirley, New Zealand Commerce Commission | The Introduction of Competition Law in Singapore – Reflections from a Kiwi Stranded in the Tropics | Simpson Grierson |
| September | Auckland | Dr Bryce Edwards, Department of Politics, Otago University | Political Finance in an election year | Bell Gully |
| October | Auckland | Dr Lew Evans, Professor of Economics, Victoria University and Dr Mark Berry, Barristers.comm | Price regulation of electricity networks – an update | Chapman Tripp |
| October | Wellington | Ralph Townsend, Chief Economist, Ministry of Fisheries | New Zealand’s Quota Management System, Successes and Challenges | Russell McVeagh |
| November | Auckland | Dr Susan St John, University of Auckland Business School | Using the law as a last resort in policy making: Challenging the “Working for Families” redistributive package | Buddle Findlay |
| November | Wellington | Gus Charteris and Wendy Matthews, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade | The NZ – China FTA | Phillips Fox |
2007 Seminars
| Date | Location | Speaker | Topic | Host |
| February | Auckland | Bronwyn Howell | Paying for the Waiting List Cull at the GP’s Surgery | Bell Gully |
| February | Wellington | Warren Young | Sentencing Guidelines | The Law Commission |
| February | Wellington | Dr Cento Veljanovski | Is Economics Getting More Important to the Law? | Chapman Tripp |
| March | Wellington | David McLay | The Third Sector: Some Thoughts on Definition, Regulation and Taxation | Buddle Findlay |
| March | Auckland | Warren Young | Sentencing Guidelines | Simpson Grierson |
| April | Wellington | Eric Crampton | MPs as Optimising Agents: Pork-Barrel Incentives and MMP | Rutherford House, Victoria University |
| April | Auckland | Andrew Little | Employment and risk: whose is it? | Ernst & Young |
| May | Auckland | Roger Kerr & Chye Ching | Economic constitutions: do we need a Regulatory Responsibility Act? | Chapman Tripp |
| May | Wellington | Stuart Birks | Speculating on the Future | DLA Philips Fox |
| June | Auckland | Michael Littlewood | Retirement saving issues in New Zealand: What has happened to evidence-based policy making? | MayneWetherell |
| July | Wellington | Ann Brower | High Country Leases reform: Who benefits? Landowners, the public, Agents, or Subagents? | Bell Gully |
| July | Auckland | David Mayes | Banking regulation across borders: minding the branch office | Kensington Swan |
| August | Wellington | Julian Morris | The Common Law and the Environment | Kensington Swan |
| August | Auckland | Bryan Leyland | Climate Change | Fonterra |
| September | Wellington | Marie Bismark | Designer Babies | Buddle Findlay |
| September | Auckland | Alistair Marsden | The impact of reforms to continuous disclosure regulation on the NZX financial information environment | PriceWaterhouseCoopers |
| October | Wellington | Brendan Moyle | Do bans on trade in endangered species work? | Russell McVeagh |
| October | Auckland | John Goodman | Globalisation and its myths | KPMG |
| November | Wellington | Blumsky Robb | Ambush Marketing | AJ Park |
| December | Wellington | Oliver Meech | Jail time for cartel offending: the Australian proposals and implications for NZ | Minter Ellison Rudd Watts |
| December | Auckland | Ann Brower | High country land law reform: who benefits? Landowners, the public, Agents or Subagents?” | Buddle Findlay |
Please contact [email protected] if you have any questions or comments
2002-2006 Seminars
Wellington Seminars 2006
Auckland Seminars 2006
2004 and 2005 Seminars
2002 and 2003 Seminars
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