Christopher Luxon goes into Saturday’s election as a prime minister few voters ever took to. Oliver and Damien look at why, and whether he would stay leader even if National is returned. Read more
Higher incomes in Australia draw New Zealanders across the Tasman. Many of those who remain here struggle with a high cost of living relative to their income. Read more
Almost 180,000 more New Zealand citizens have left the country than have returned in the past four years. Most have gone to Australia. Read more
In this episode, Oliver talks with Denise Cosgrove, chief executive of the Selwyn Foundation, about why New Zealand should see its ageing population as an opportunity rather than a burden. They discuss how longer, healthier working lives could boost productivity and ease pressure on healthcare, why 65 to 74 year olds are particularly worried about ageing well and why healthy ageing is largely missing from the election debate. Read more
1. INTRODUCTION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 1.1 The New Zealand Initiative (the Initiative) is a Wellington-based think tank supported primarily by chief executives of major New Zealand businesses. Read more
New Zealand heads into the election with two big problems barely mentioned on the 2026 election campaign trail: rising government debt and stalling productivity. Our report says the answer starts with getting value for money. Read more
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
On Saturday, New Zealanders elect a new Parliament and deliver their verdict on the first term of Christopher Luxon’s government. What that verdict will be, nobody can say with any confidence. Read more
Wellington (Tuesday, 3 November 2026) - New Zealand heads into the election with two big problems barely mentioned on the campaign trail: rising government debt and stalling productivity. A new report from The New Zealand Initiative, NZ Unbound: Freeing up growth and fixing the books, says the answer starts with getting value for money. 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
Seven months ago, the Strait of Hormuz closed. For practical purposes, it remains closed. Read more
Elections are supposed to be the moment when the main parties offer voters a choice between grand plans and rival visions. Indeed, that is the whole idea of democracy: to be able to choose between different paths, especially on long-term spending and taxes. Read more
Violent protests have a long history in the French Republic, going back well before the student revolt and general strike of May 1968. What sets this month's unrest apart is the scale of the damage. Read more
I was up doomscrolling late one night, When my eyes beheld an eerie sight. US midterms will be held next week. Read more
In August, two senior coalition politicians in the governing coalition disagreed in public about the officials who serve them. ACT's Simon Court said new governments arrive in office to find 'a wall of people who don't necessarily agree with you'. Read more
