Oliver is the Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative. Before joining the Initiative, he was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney, the Chief Economist at the Policy Exchange in London, and an advisor in the UK House of Lords.
Oliver holds a master's degree in economics and business administration and a PhD in Law from Bochum University in Germany.
Oliver is available to comment on all of the Initiative’s research areas.
Phone: +64 4 499 0790
On my first morning as Prime Minister, I would deliver a speech. It would contain no slogans or platitudes about becoming the best country in the world. Read more
New Zealand is about to lose a German bread that was never German, and as the only German in the room, I have been invited to grieve. I will pass. Read more
Te Pāti Māori have told supporters to give them their electorate vote and send their party vote elsewhere. Oliver and Damien ask what happens if National voters start doing the same, and whether MMP survives it. Read more
At its campaign launch in Gisborne on Sunday, Te Pāti Māori asked its supporters for something no party had requested so openly before: candidate votes for the party, party votes for its allies on the left. The request rests on MMP’s overhang rule. Read more
In this episode, Nick talks with Oliver Hartwich about how the 2026 election could break MMP from two sides. Oliver's latest research note traces Te Pāti Māori's call for supporters to split their votes, why current polling could leave National with an overhang, and how the absence of compensation for overhang seats in New Zealand, unlike the German system it copied, could produce a Parliament that does not match the popular vote. Read more
Wellington (Thursday, 20 August 2026) – At its campaign launch in Gisborne on Sunday, Te Pāti Māori told its supporters to split their votes: candidate votes for the party, party votes for its allies on the left. A new research note by The New Zealand Initiative warns this call could set off a chain of tactical voting that kills MMP. Read more
At its campaign launch in Gisborne on Sunday, Te Pāti Māori told its supporters to split their votes: candidate votes for the party, party votes for its allies on the left. A new research note by The New Zealand Initiative warns this call could set off a chain of tactical voting that kills MMP. Read more
When New Zealanders go to the polls on 7 November, they will be spoilt for choice. In the main, there are two larger (Labour and National) and five smaller parties (ACT, Greens, NZ First, Opportunity, Te Pāti Māori). Read more
In this episode, Oliver talks to John Howard about New Zealand's changing security environment, from the firing of Defence Minister Chris Penk to the Semtex drone at Leipzig Airport and the SIS threat assessment naming China. John argues New Zealand does not need to become fearful, but it does need to become more alert, better prepared and more serious about protecting sensitive information. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich talked to Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB about Act's promise to reset government agencies Parliament's already written merits into the Public Service Act, yet departments are still pursuing the diversity agenda. He says they can explain how much an individual ethnic group is paid, yet Treasury can't say how many economists it employs - so there's still work to do. Read more
Bürgen is leaving New Zealand. After decades on our supermarket shelves, the grainy loaves with the German name will soon be gone. Read more
One day after Christopher Luxon survived a confidence vote, Oliver and Damien ask whether he has finally shown the country who he really is. Next, they discuss Chris Penk's departure from politics and what it costs National. Read more
Free to Disagree is a new weekly podcast produced by The New Zealand Initaitive. Join Oliver Hartwich and Damien Grant as they talk about New Zealand politics and economics. Read more
Drones near airports, at least in New Zealand, are usually a nuisance rather than a threat. They are often flown by careless amateurs who have not read the rules. Read more
The cover of MBIE’s new Workforce Diversity Action Plan shows nine staff holding signs reading “I belong” in several languages. Inside, it declares itself “People-centred | Performance-driven | Evidence-informed”. Read more