The guns have paused in the US-Iran conflict but Oliver Hartwich and John Howard argue New Zealand should take little comfort from that. All parties are struggling to find an off-ramp, damage to Qatar's refineries alone means a two-to-three-year rebuild, and New Zealand still lacks the energy strategy promised in 2024. Read more

Bob Davies joined the New Zealand Army at 16 and served 31 years, rising to Sergeant Major of the Army. He deployed to Vietnam in 1968, took shrapnel wounds, caught malaria twice, and was exposed to Agent Orange. Read more

New Zealand's defence investment is landing the same way it always has: slowly, bureaucratically, and after the need has already been declared. In this webinar, retired Major General John Howard presents his new report God Defend New Zealand, which argues the country must move from an industrial-age acquisition model to one that operates at the speed of technological change. Read more

Dr Oliver Hartwich talked to Peter Williams on Taxpayer Talk about his paper arguing New Zealand's public service system is fundamentally broken, with the Public Service Commissioner, not elected ministers, controlling the appointment of department chief executives and shaping their career incentives. Drawing on Germany's model of ministerial responsibility and contrasting it with the American and Australian systems, Dr Hartwich proposed a transition toward giving ministers direct control over their departments while maintaining safeguards such as qualification requirements and a duty to object to unlawful orders. Read more

Dr Oliver Hartwich talked to Ryan Bridge on Newstalk ZB about why ministers should have the power to appoint and dismiss their department chief executives, arguing the current system, where the Public Service Commission makes these appointments, is unusual internationally and can hinder a government's ability to implement its agenda. He pointed to the resource management reforms as an example where bureaucratic resistance may have watered down the government's plans, and highlighted Germany's model, where ministers appoint a qualified state secretary while the rest of the public service remains neutral and protected. Read more

Who runs the country? New Zealand’s system stops elected governments from governing Wellington (Wednesday, 8 April 2026) - New Zealand’s ministers answer to Parliament for departments they cannot control. Read more

Dr Oliver Hartwich was featured on the news segment of Newstalk ZB discussing The New Zealand Initiative's push for legislation allowing ministers to help choose public sector chief executives. Dr Hartwich says New Zealand should look to Germany's system, which gives ministers a say in appointments while including safeguards such as whistleblower protections and a duty to object to unlawful instructions. Read more

In this episode, Michael speaks with Oliver Hartwich about his new research note "Who Runs the Country?", examining the friction between New Zealand's elected government and its permanent public service. They explore how the appointment of chief executives can undermine ministerial control, and why Germany's model of political appointments with institutional safeguards offers a promising alternative. Read more