Dr Oliver Hartwich was featured in Newstalk ZB's news segments on Adrian Orr's resignation as Governor of RBNZ. Listen below. Read more
New Zealand has one of the world’s most centralised governments. Centralisation has some advantages. Read more
This is a fascinating journey into the art of learning with Professor Barbara Oakley, the brilliant mind behind the popular online course "Learning How to Learn" and New York Times bestselling author, as she joins us as our new Senior Fellow. Over the next 5 months, Barbara will embark on an exciting mission across New Zealand, collaborating directly with Primary and Secondary schools to transform how teachers approach education, particularly in mathematics. Read more
The Kremlin’s poisoning of democratic discourse has reached New Zealand. What would once have seemed unthinkable is now plain to see: Russian propaganda narratives have infiltrated our public debate, even on this distant shore. Read more
Donald Trump rode to office pledging to “drain the swamp,” fight runaway bureaucracy, and defend ordinary Americans against elite-driven progressivism. In a world of “woke” excess and activist courts, these promises resonated deeply with conservatives who believe in smaller government, individual liberty, and strong national defence. Read more
Sir Geoffrey Palmer’s critique in the December New Zealand Law Journal of my report, Who Makes the Law? Reining in the Supreme Court,i is remarkable in what it fails to address.ii Rather than engaging with the substantive constitutional arguments about concerning trends in our highest court’s jurisprudence, his response amounts to ‘nothing to see here, trust the judges.’ More remarkably still, he resorts to ad hominem argument, suggesting critics can be dismissed as simply serving business interests. Read more
Every student of game theory knows that madness can have its advantages. If your enemy believes you will retaliate, regardless of the cost to yourself, they may think twice before crossing you. Read more
How should the government fund the billions more dollars needed to improve New Zealand’s infrastructure, boost defence spending and much else? It must be done by some combination of cutting other spending, raising taxes, borrowing, or selling assets. Read more
Roger talked to Sean Plunket on The Platform, articulating principled concerns about Donald Trump's approach to governance, warning that despite identifying legitimate problems, Trump threatens democratic institutions by systematically undermining constitutional checks and balances. Watch below. Read more
In this episode, Oliver talks to Bryce about his new report "The People's Portfolio", which examines New Zealand's $571 billion in Crown-owned assets and makes the case for privatising many of them to improve economic efficiency rather than simply raising funds. They discuss how current government ownership of these assets is actually costing taxpayers money, the historical success of privatisations like Telecom, and the challenges of implementing a politically viable privatisation strategy. Read more
Much of my work for The New Zealand Initiative is on local government. I am interested in how local government can contribute to a growing economy. Read more
In this episode, Eric talks to Marko Garlick about how New Zealand's local government planning and zoning regulations create anti-competitive conditions in the retail sector, particularly for supermarkets. They explore specific examples of bizarre regulatory barriers to market entry and discuss potential solutions to enable more competition, such as national policy statements and amendments to the Commerce Act. Read more
Imagine if your household owned a share in many valuable things - houses, businesses, forests, and more - worth about $275,000. But the income you were getting was meagre. Read more
“New Zealand is the best country on Planet Earth,” Christopher Luxon keeps telling anyone. Indeed, he has been saying this since before becoming Prime Minister. Read more
This report shows the government owns $571 billion in assets - equivalent to $275,000 for every Kiwi household. "The returns from these government-owned assets don't even cover the interest costs on the money borrowed to buy them," says Dr Bryce Wilkinson, author of The People's Portfolio: A $571 Billion Question. Read more