🎧 Coherent podcast with Melanie Nelson
In this episode of Coherent, economist and former Productivity Commissioner Dr Bill Rosenberg joins Melanie Nelson to unpack the deep ideological drivers and real-world risks of the Regulatory Standards Bill (RSB). Drawing on decades of work in employment law, productivity policy, and public economics, Bill warns that the RSB is less about good regulation and more about embedding a bill of rights for wealth into New Zealand’s legal system.
Together, they explore:
The origins of the RSB in the extreme property rights ideology of Richard Epstein
How the Bill privileges vested interests over public wellbeing and democratic lawmaking
The dangers of the 'regulatory takings' principle — from undermining public health to obstructing pro-competition reforms
The risks of cost-benefit analysis being weaponised to erode equity, public services, and environmental protections
How the Bill could reinforce inequality, deregulation, and privatisation — all while masquerading as transparency
The broader cultural and economic shift the RSB aims to engineer, echoing 1990s-style neoliberalism
Practical examples of how the RSB could gut workplace safety laws, make pay equity claims harder to pursue, and chill collective action on climate change
What better regulation could look like — and why enforcement, equity, and te Tiriti o Waitangi must be part of the conversation
This wide-ranging conversation offers a sharp and accessible critique of one of the most sweeping legislative proposals in recent New Zealand history.
Watch the video podcast above. Or listen to the audio here on Substack, or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms (once uploaded).
Resources:
Sector Specific RSB Tool: https://tinyurl.com/RSBTool
Linktree with a wide range of historic and contemporary information on the RSB, including submission guides and builders.
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