Dr Oliver Hartwich

Notes from New Zealand

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Antitrust

Cover of the submission on Australia’s proposed digital competition regime
Research reports

Submission on Australia’s proposed digital competition regime

14 February 2025

The Government’s proposal rests on the assumption that there exists a broad global consensus on the need for ex-ante rules for digital platforms.

Animals in suits at a meeting table
Insights

Commerce Commission’s green crusade

6 September 2024

No longer content with only overseeing human enterprises, the Commerce Commission has set its eyes on perfecting New Zealand’s flora and fauna.

A conference room in the European Commission's Berlaymont building.
Business Spectator

Caught in Europe’s competition dark ages

14 March 2013

Antitrust law never really made much sense anyway unless you believe in the possibility of economics textbook style ‘perfect competition’.

About me

Oliver Hartwich

I run The New Zealand Initiative, a Wellington think tank that argues for free markets, limited government and institutions that work. I grew up in Germany's Ruhrgebiet and worked in London and Sydney before moving to New Zealand in 2012. This site collects two decades of my columns, reports, speeches and interviews, with the occasional satire.

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Latest video

All TV appearances · Playlist on YouTube

Latest audio

  • Free to Disagree · 12 November 2026 · 59 min

    Can the overhang save National?

    0:00
  • Newstalk ZB · 9 November 2026 · 8 min

    What the 2026 election shows about MMP

    0:00
  • Free to Disagree · 6 November 2026 · 56 min

    Why hasn’t New Zealand warmed to its prime minister?

    0:00

All interviews and podcasts

My books

Cover of The Martian Audit

The Martian Audit (2026)

Two Martian auditors land in the Wairarapa and are promptly fined for parking without consent. A satirical novella, free to download as PDF or EPUB.

Cover of In the Meantime

In the Meantime (2026)

Investing in a more tribal, less rational world. Written for the Da Vinci Lecture at the Portfolio Construction Forum. Free to read online.

Cover of Leonardo's Legacy

Leonardo's Legacy (2025)

Why investment professionals must become civilisational stewards. Written for the first Da Vinci Lecture at the Portfolio Construction Forum. Free to read online.

Free to Disagree

Free to Disagree podcast logo, with Damien Grant and Oliver Hartwich
Weekly podcast with Damien Grant

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