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 the 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.
Phone: +64 4 499 0790
International junkets for public servants are not my cup of tea. But I will make an exception for the New Zealand Transport Agency, Waka Kotahi. Read more
As they say, it is better to learn from other people’s mistakes than to make them all yourself. It is one of those truisms so obviously correct it has been falsely attributed to at least a dozen people. Read more
Chelsy Killick talks to Oliver Hartwich about his new column in The Australian and what New Zealand should learn from Germany’s foreign policy mistakes. To listen to our latest podcasts, please subscribe to The New Zealand Initiative podcast on iTunes, Spotify or The Podcast App. Read more
Successful economies have low unemployment. However, these are no ordinary times, and New Zealand’s ultra-low unemployment rate of 3.2% should worry everyone. Read more
Let’s start with a quiz. Over the past 12 months, which of these currencies performed the worst against the US dollar: the Zimbabwe dollar, the Russian Rouble, or the Euro? Read more
The government’s Te Hurihanganui sketches a radically different version of education in New Zealand. But what is it based on? Read more
If only the Government’s public relations staff were as good as Lotto New Zealand’s. Twice each week, Lotto asks us to imagine those millions of dollars coming our way in the Powerball draw. Read more
Several large companies recently received hefty government handouts to install new boilers and heaters. This was all under the guise of decarbonisation, using money earmarked for the country’s Covid recovery. Read more
Putin’s influence has helped the rise of Marine Le Pen. But his political vehicles are not limited to the Far Right. Read more
As the 2022 French election reaches fever point, Wallace Chapman talks to Oliver Hartwich about why this particular election is so significant.
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A few years ago, the Prime Minister visiting foreign countries would have barely been news. However, after two years of borders closed because of Covid, Jacinda Ardern’s trip to Singapore and Japan is more than just noteworthy. Read more
As Putin’s soldiers fight in eastern Ukraine, he is also involved in a battle much further west. Tragically, that western battle may even go his way. Read more
Oliver Hartwich talks to Alex Sundakov from Castalia Advisors about his experiences in both countries, how the Soviet era cast a long shadow over their national identities, and why there might be some small positive to come out of the terrible conflict in Ukraine. Mr Sundakov was previously the International Monetary Fund’s resident representative to Ukraine and maintains strong connections to the country. Read more
Five hundred and twenty-five days. This is how long the Reserve Bank of Australia had kept its interest rate steady when Australian opposition leader Anthony Albanese was asked about it by a journalist on the campaign trail. Read more
The more things change, the more they stay the same. This is how Germany’s foreign and defence policy appears these days. Read more