Dr Oliver Hartwich

Notes from New Zealand

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Christopher Luxon

David Seymour, Cindy Kiro, Christopher Luxon 2025.
The Australian

Christopher Luxon has his work cut out to fix NZ’s fiscal hole

13 March 2024

New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film.

lake and mountain
The Australian

How Luxon can drag NZ out of mediocrity

21 November 2023

Everyone has a story: where they come from, what they believe in, what they strive for.

brown wooden dock on seashore
The New Zealand Herald

Localism: The common thread in New Zealand’s emerging coalition

26 October 2023

New Zealand politics is in limbo right now.

Christopher Luxon in Delhi giving presentation.
The Australian

Christopher Luxon and a new era of political leadership for NZ

24 October 2023

New Zealand’s election marked the end of Labour’s six-year Government.

Ballot Boxes for several electorates at Polling Place for 2008 New Zealand general Election.
Other publications

New Zealand’s cliffhanger election could be a major surprise

11 October 2023

With only a few days left until New Zealand’s general election, you might think the outcome should be easy to predict.

aerial photography of great wall of china
Newsroom

Italy has left China’s Belt and Road Initiative – Luxon should consider why

8 August 2023

In the world of politics, timing is everything.

Power pylon, Bryant Range, New Zealand.
The Australian

When politicians get caught in economics denialism

28 February 2023

When politicians talk nonsense about economics, it often goes unnoticed.

Mongolia visit by the United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Cameron on 26 April 2024 - 37.
The Australian

Lightweight Cameron the wrong role model for NZ’s National party

18 August 2022

If New Zealand’s opposition politicians want to prepare themselves for the brutal and thankless tasks that lie ahead, David Cameron’s memoirs won’t help.

Coins pouring into a drain
Insights

Focus on price stability

29 July 2022

We need central banks globally to refocus on their core task: price stability.

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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

  • 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
  • Initiative podcast · 5 November 2026 · 32 min

    Why an ageing New Zealand is an opportunity, not a burden

    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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