Follow the decisions.
Understand the outcomes.
These overviews are designed to trace the major actions successive governments have taken over roughly 2006–2026, why they took them, and what the evidence says happened next. They are research frameworks—not verdicts on a party.
Choose a policy area
Each page separates announced promises from funded and implemented actions, identifies measures for tracking outcomes, and highlights where further evidence is needed.
Health
Access, workforce, service quality, prevention, equity and the long-term sustainability of care.
OpportunityEducation
Participation, learning, attendance, workforce, costs and fair outcomes across the education system.
Long-term investmentInfrastructure
How transport, water, energy and public facilities are planned, funded, delivered and maintained.
Homes and communitiesHousing
Affordability, supply, quality, security and access to stable homes across regions and generations.
Ownership, prices and rentsHousing market
Compare home ownership, house-price performance, rental-property returns and rent over the last 20 years.
Household budgetsCost of living
Prices, incomes, essential costs and the distributional effects of policy on different households.
Work and migrationJobs and migration
Track unemployment, employment policy and people arriving in or departing from New Zealand over two decades.
Across every portfolioMajor public projects
Examine project rationale, funding, delivery changes and outcomes using a consistent evidence framework.