Podcast: Wrapping up 2025: policy wins and what's ahead for New Zealand

Dr Oliver Hartwich
Dr Michael Johnston
17 December, 2025

In this episode, Oliver and Michael reflect on a packed 2025 that brought major policy wins in education, housing, and regulation, while looking ahead to the bigger picture challenges shaping 2026.

They cover everything from the Initiative’s Dutch delegation and Prof Barbara Oakley’s visit, to the dramatic early gains in literacy and numeracy under Minister Erica Stanford, the new Resource Management Act, and the work ahead on AI, demographic change, and political polarisation.

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