Do today's politicians have the courage to make hard choices? Or has the furious pace of modern politics put an end to the age of reform?

In Quiet Achievers, Oliver Hartwich looks at New Zealand's record on spending, tax and welfare.

He discovers that while Australia has been avoiding difficult decisions, the New Zealanders have been silently forging ahead.

The R.G. Menzies Essay series is a forum for enlightened public debate commissioned by the Menzies Research Centre

Oliver Hartwich is Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative.

Series Editor: Nick Cater

"A perceptive analysis of the Key playbook" - Ruth Richardson

"A message that resonates across the Tasman" - Henry Ergas