Oliver is the Executive Director of The New Zealand Initiative. Before joining the Initiative, he was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney, the Chief Economist at Policy Exchange in London, and an advisor in the UK House of Lords. Oliver holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Business administration and a PhD in Law from Bochum University in Germany.
Oliver is available to comment on all of the Initiative’s research areas.
Submission: A New Zealand Income Insurance Scheme (2022)
Policy Essay: Effective and affordable – Why the ETS is sufficient to deal with the climate emergency (2020)
Research Note: The Unreserved Bank of New Zealand: Why unorthodox monetary policy needs boundaries (2019)
#localismNZ: Bringing power to the people (2019)
Submission: Future of Tax (2018)
Submission: Overseas Investment Amendment Bill (2018)
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Phone: +64 4 499 0790
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown is worried, and rightly so. His city is battling an invasion of road cones, and something must be done about it. Read more
There are many pressing problems facing New Zealand, but none more urgent than the decay of our once great education system. For more than two decades, the literacy and numeracy achievement of our young people has been declining. Read more
ast Thursday, most of New Zealand’s teachers were on strike. Teachers’ unions representatives say that the action was necessary to press their claim for better pay and working conditions. Read more
No matter how good an idea, it takes time for the entire country to hear about it. But that time has now come for localism. Read more
For years, The New Zealand Initiative has argued for the case for localism in New Zealand, which is one of the most centralised countries in the world. According to a recent tax sharing poll, 70% of people support keeping tax revenue in their communities. Read more
New Zealand is confronted with numerous serious issues; economic, financial, social, governance, and more. In his latest podcast, Leighton Smith and Oliver Hartwich analyse what’s wrong and what needs to be done, starting with the Public Service and Education. Read more
After becoming Prime Minister in May last year, Anthony Albanese got straight to work. Within the first few weeks in office, he fired the heads of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Prime Minister and Cabinet, and Defence. Read more
The New Zealand Herald this week revealed a government-commissioned research report – just as the opposition called for fewer external consultants. The University of Auckland report for the Ministry of Transport seeks to identify public support for new methods of financing transport infrastructure. Read more
The public service, and the neutrality of its leaders, has become a recent issue. In this episode, Drs Oliver Hartwich and Michael Johnston discuss New Zealand's public service, how it is run, and the importance of public servants being impartial and objective in their work. Read more
It was a big political story last week when the Hipkins Government sacked Rob Campbell from his prominent public service roles. The statements Campbell made on LinkedIn were blatantly political. Read more
After Jacinda Ardern's resignation, New Zealand's new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins faces a challenging year ahead. The country is grappling with the devastating impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle, while cost-of-living pressures continue to rise. Read more
The sacking of Rob Campbell from his role as chair of Te Whatu Ora/Health NZ and the Environmental Protection Authority highlights an urgent need to reform New Zealand’s public service. Campbell’s partisan comments on his LinkedIn profile were inexcusable for someone in his position. Read more
The Charities Amendment Bill is currently before Parliament, but it is flawed and full of unintended consequences. As promised in the Labour Party manifesto, charities in New Zealand are demanding a proper first principles review with a better process and more public participation. Read more
When politicians talk nonsense about economics, it often goes unnoticed. This is likely both because nonsense is such a routine occurrence in democratic politics, and because many people cannot distinguish economic sense from nonsense. Read more
Few people attend business functions because of the speeches. No matter the speaker, these events are usually networking opportunities. Read more