Policy-making Under Pressure : Rethinking the Policy Process in Aotearoa New Zealand

Public policy-making in Aotearoa New Zealand has a patchy track record. In many policy sectors New Zealand performs no worse than many other advanced democracies, and in some it is recognised as world leading. But it is clear that the system is under pressure, confronted with an endless conveyor belt of problems. By international standards, New Zealand ranks poorly in some sectors, notably child poverty, affordable housing, youth suicide, water pollution and obesity. To better serve the team of five million, how can the public policy process be improved?

Sonia Mazey and Jeremy Richardson, academics whose working lives have been spent researching the policy-making process, sought to answer this question with the help of people with extensive policy-making experience. Policy-making Under Pressure features a diverse team of contributors including former government ministers, senior public servants, commentators and representatives of key stakeholder groups. Their reflections and perspectives provide expert insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the New Zealand policy process, and offer new angles on persistent problems and policy processes. Drawing upon these first-hand accounts and linking them to classic theories of public policy-making, Mazey and Richardson explain in an accessible way why government stuff-ups happen, and suggest practical steps the policy establishment could take to improve policy-making in New Zealand. Written for a wide audience, the book will be of interest to anyone interested in how we might be better served by our government, as well as to public policy practitioners, researchers, and students taking undergraduate and postgraduate courses in government, politics and public policy.