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In this episode, Michael talks with Oliver Hartwich, Executive Director of the New Zealand Initiative, about two new reports, New Zealand by Comparison and New Zealand by Numbers, which chart how New Zealand measures up against 28 other countries and how it has changed over recent decades. They discuss why a country that attracts migrants from around the world keeps losing so many of its own people, how Australia matches New Zealand on almost everything but the economy, the Eastern European economies closing in, and wellbeing rankings that still sit near the top of the world but are slipping. Read more

Wellington (Wednesday, 22 July 2026) – Two weeks ago, New Zealand by Numbers asked whether New Zealand was improving. A new report from The New Zealand Initiative asks a harder question: is it keeping up? Read more

Wellington (Wednesday, 8 July 2026) – Is New Zealand a country in decline or a quiet success story? A new report from The New Zealand Initiative argues it is neither. Read more

Dr Oliver Hartwich talked to Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB about the New Zealand Initiative's new report tracking the country's progress across more than 100 measures. Dr Hartwich explained that gains like fewer road deaths and longer life expectancy have happened almost automatically through better technology and medicine, while the areas that need bold reform, such as housing affordability and productivity, keep lagging, with Erica Stanford's education changes a rare exception. Read more

Wellington (Tuesday, 30 June 2026) – The Government wants to merge New Zealand’s councils into a smaller number of big councils. A new report from The New Zealand Initiative says this is the wrong fix. Read more

New Zealand spends more on infrastructure than almost any developed country, yet still cannot build the pipes and roads new housing needs. Why? Read more

Wellington (Wednesday, 17 June 2026) – New Zealand cannot build enough houses because councils cannot afford the pipes and roads that new suburbs need. That is the conclusion of a new report by The New Zealand Initiative. Read more