Posted in NEWS by Tory Relf | October 4, 2026
Germany’s politics are fracturing, its economy is stalling, and once-dominant parties are being squeezed by populist challengers on both the left and right. Jordan is joined by Oliver Hartwich from the New Zealand Initiative for a special look at what is going wrong in...
Read more about Taxpayer Talk: Oliver Hartwich on Germany’s Political Meltdown and What NZ Can LearnPosted in NEWS by Tory Relf | September 21, 2026
Jordan Williams sits down with Simon Watts, Minister of Local Government, for a frank conversation on the Government’s local government reforms. From scrapping Three Waters and introducing rates caps to co-governance in water entities, councillor access to information, unelected committee members, and council...
Read more about Taxpayer Talk: “You’re not special!” - Simon Watts on the local government reforms failing ratepayersPosted in NEWS by Tory Relf | September 12, 2026
This week, Jordan is joined by Grover Norquist, founder of Americans for Tax Reform and the man behind the original Taxpayer Protection Pledge, to talk about how a simple promise not to raise taxes became one of the most powerful forces in...
Read more about Taxpayer Talk: Grover Norquist on No New Taxes and holding politicians to itPosted in NEWS by Tory Relf | August 31, 2026
In this episode of Taxpayer Talk, Peter Williams is joined by broadcaster-turned-ACT candidate Paul Henry for a lively, wide-ranging conversation on the campaign, the state of the centre-right, and why he thinks this election is too important to sit out. From ACT’s push...
Read more about Taxpayer Talk: Paul Henry on ACT, Tax Cuts, and Taking an Axe to WellingtonPosted in NEWS by Tory Relf | July 13, 2026
In this episode of Taxpayer Talk, Peter Williams is joined by Eric Crampton from the New Zealand Initiative and former Finance Minister (and Taxpayers’ Union Chair) Ruth Richardson to tackle the renewed debate over compulsory KiwiSaver and New Zealand’s looming superannuation crunch. Is...
Read more about Taxpayer Talk: Ruth Richardson and Eric Crampton on the KiwiSaver TrapPosted in NEWS by Tory Relf | May 25, 2026
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...
Read more about Taxpayer Talk: Nick Clark and Jordan Williams on why council amalgamation could make town halls even worsePosted in NEWS by Tory Relf | April 23, 2026
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...
Read more about Taxpayer Talk: Professor Elizabeth Rata on the decline of education in New ZealandPosted in NEWS by Tory Relf | April 16, 2026
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...
Read more about Taxpayer Talk: Oliver Hartwich on Restoring Democratic Control of the Public ServicePosted in NEWS by NZTU Media | April 11, 2026
Read more about Taxpayer Talk: Eric Crampton
Posted in NEWS by Tory Relf | March 19, 2026
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...
Read more about Taxpayer Talk: David Farrar on the methodology and influence of political polling