Dr Oliver Hartwich

Notes from New Zealand

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Donald Trump

gas station at dusk
Newsroom

Trump’s diesel squeeze leaves NZ dangerously exposed

6 October 2026

Donald Trump’s second term has given Europe one fight after another.

reykjavik cityscape with expressionist neo gothic style hallgrimskirkja church
Newsroom

Spurred by heat from Trump, Iceland votes on reopening frozen EU talks

25 August 2026

I have always liked Iceland. My first visit was on a cruise ship in the mid-1990s.

Oil refinery silhouette border, industrial
Newsroom

Trump’s Iran war is paying for Putin’s

5 May 2026

Russian power has always sat on a contradiction.

Portrait Thomas Hobbes Samuel Cooper
Quadrant

Nasty, Brutish and Short-Sighted

29 April 2026

Thomas Hobbes published Leviathan in 1651, amid the wreckage of the English Civil War.

President Trump Postlaunch Remarks (NHQ202005300037)
Insights

The art of the contradiction

24 April 2026

On Tuesday morning, President Trump told CNBC he did not want to extend the ceasefire with Iran.

Basilica Saint Peter, Vatican: church
Newsroom

Trump pushes Pope onto world stage in a devilish intervention

21 April 2026

Dealing with hostile political leaders is nothing new for the Catholic church.

President Ronald Reagan Making His Berlin Wall Speech at Brandenburg Gate West Berlin - DPLA - e5f32e4ef48546eeda83f863a08fef32.
Newsroom

Liberal democracy suffers its great leap backward

24 March 2026

I was born in West Germany in 1975.

Erasmus Rotterdam (1526) Albrecht Dürer
Quadrant

The Temptations of Unfreedom Revisited

27 February 2026

In early 2004, I wrote a letter to a man I had never met.

Kaiser Wilhelm II and Donald Trump side by side
Newsroom

Donald Trump, the Kaiser in Mar-a-Lago

27 January 2026

The past month has been difficult to process.

Ratification Peace Münster Spain Dutch
The Australian

Trump aide’s ‘might-makes-right’ doctrine threatens Australia and New Zealand’s claims

20 January 2026

I do not get to Münster often these days, but whenever I am there, I feel drawn to its town hall.

Posts pagination

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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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