The New Zealand Institute

The New Zealand Institute to introduce new thinking

18 Aug 2004

The New Zealand Institute is a new independent “think tank” that has been established to generate new debate, ideas and solutions that contribute to a better and more prosperous New Zealand for all New Zealanders.

Chief executive Dr David Skilling said the Institute is committed to creative, provocative and independent thinking, focusing on issues that will have a major impact on New Zealand’s economic and social future, and engaging with New Zealanders in order to develop solutions to address these issues.

Publicly launched in Auckland on July 26, the Institute is made up of leading New Zealanders from a wide range of backgrounds including business, education and community service.  A list of the initial Board members of the New Zealand Institute, and their biographies, is attached.

Chief executive Dr David Skilling said that “The New Zealand Institute has received a very encouraging welcome since its public launch.  We are delighted by the response given by New Zealanders: leaders from the business, community and education sectors, the media, and the general public have all expressed strong interest in the Institute and our work”

The Institute is holding an event in Christchurch on August 18 to introduce itself to leaders from across the South Island.  “As our name suggests, the New Zealand Institute is a national organisation, and we want to engage with people from across the country.  We are looking forward to starting a conversation with leaders from the South Island.”

Dr Skilling said that the Institute’s unique strength lies in the diversity of its members’ talents and experience.

“Our members are all leaders in their fields and come from many different walks of life. Together we offer a richness of experience that I believe will make the Institute a hugely valuable resource for New Zealand.“

Dr Skilling said that all the Institute’s members were driven by the belief that New Zealand is a country with vast potential and opportunity ahead of it.

“We live in a fantastic country but we have to overcome a number of challenges if we are going to make it even better. Those challenges won’t be met by recycling the same old solutions. We need new solutions and new ideas. We need a new generation of thinking.”

To refresh the national debate, the Institute will draw on the best ideas and practice from around the world and feed these into the New Zealand “conversation”.

One of the Institute’s guiding principles is its political neutrality. “We recognise that great ideas can come from anywhere on the political spectrum - left, right or centre. We are interested in ideas that work in the real world, not just ideas that have a certain political pedigree. And so we expect to surprise rather than run a predictable party line,” said Dr Skilling.

The New Zealand Institute released its first report on July 26. The report, called “The Wealth of a Nation: The Level and Distribution of Wealth in New Zealand”, examines the wealth of New Zealand households and compares the outcomes with other countries. The report is the first in a series of reports that will be released by the New Zealand Institute over the next several months around the central theme of Creating an Ownership Society in New Zealand.

A full list of board members and their biographies are attached (205kb PDF document):
The New Zealand Institute Biographies