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
Last Wednesday, at 9.46am, an email reached the Berlin office of Der Spiegel, Germany’s leading news magazine. Elif Eralp, the left-wing politician most likely to become Berlin’s next mayor, will wish it had never been sent. Read more
Our Executive Director Dr Oliver Hartwich joined Wallace Chapman and the panel on RNZ’s The Panel to make the case for an independent body to cost election promises. He traced the idea back to a 2007 paper he helped write at the London think tank Policy Exchange, which became the UK’s Office for Budget Responsibility under George Osborne in 2010. Read more
With National polling below 25 per cent just days before the election, is the Luxon government being unfairly punished despite delivering meaningful reforms, or has it failed to tackle the problems that matter most? Oliver and Damien assess the government’s record, from falling crime and the new Planning Act to its failure to address New Zealand’s fiscal challenges, and ask whether Christopher Luxon can overcome his unpopularity to win re-election. Read more
In April 1638, guards in London tied a young man to a cart and whipped him through the streets to Westminster. There they locked his head and hands in a wooden frame for all to see. Read more
Dr Oliver Hartwich joined Ryan Bridge on Newstalk ZB to assess ACT’s manifesto, which proposes $22 billion in savings over four years. He said it stands apart because ACT is the only party that wants to shrink government back to 2017 levels, while the other parties merely promise to cut debt and return to surplus. Read more
In Quadrant’s April 2024 issue, I began a column with Enoch Powell’s observation that all political lives, unless cut off at a happy juncture, end in failure. New Zealand’s Labour Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had recently proved the exception by leaving in time. Read more
Christopher Luxon is struggling to impress his former business peers, with this year’s Mood of the Boardroom survey giving him poor marks for political management and uniting the country. Oliver and Damien discuss the business community’s dissatisfaction with Luxon and Nicola Willis, along with the survey’s findings on AI adoption and whether businesses are turning their enthusiasm for the technology into real productivity gains. Read more
The Herald's 'Mood of the Boardroom' survey has become a fixture in New Zealand's media calendar. Once a year, the chief executives and chairs of the country's largest companies deliver their verdict on political leaders. Read more
In this episode, Oliver talks with Major General (Ret) John Howard about the White House reversing its own sanctions to import Russian diesel and pressuring Ukraine to replace its president, even as Russia continues striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure. They discuss the protests and debt pressure destabilising France, and what a weakening Europe would mean for New Zealand's trade and energy. Read more
When I first visited Sydney in 1999, what struck me most were the cranes. They stood over the city in every direction, building towers, stadiums and rail lines for the Olympic Games. Read more
Chris Bishop passed the new Planning Act with one working day to spare, and may not be in the next Parliament to see it work. Damien accused him of regulatory capture earlier this year and now says he has achieved more in three years than most politicians manage in a career. Read more
Last week, we co-hosted a dinner with the Selwyn Foundation. Its chair, former Labour health minister David Cunliffe, led the Government's aged care advisory group and presented their report, A place to grow old. Read more
It is election time in New Zealand and as such, political tragics like myself cannot have any meetings without the conversation turning to the question “And, who will win on 7 November?” But something is different this year. Not just because the election is so tight with both the centre-left and the centre-right bloc neck and neck in the polls. Read more
Three polls landed this week, with National under 30 per cent on the party vote while holding 44 electorate seats, and Opportunity sitting either side of the threshold depending on which poll you read. The question is whether National’s voters have gone tactical or left the party altogether. Read more
Donald Trump’s second term has given Europe one fight after another. Tariffs, Greenland, Ukraine and Iran have all had their turn. Read more