The United States celebrated its 250th birthday this weekend. Like all those who are told that their glory years are behind them, my country showcased its youth and inexperience with much rejoicing. Read more
Among prosperous nations, New Zealand is relatively a low-income country. That hurts. Read more
In 1973, 843 people died on New Zealand roads. Last year, with far more people driving far more cars, the provisional toll was 272. Read more
Nostalgia is a wonderful state of mind but, almost by definition, it glorifies the past while ignoring things that were not so good. Many older New Zealanders are nostalgic for the 1970s. Read more
In this episode, Oliver talks with retired Major General John Howard about a crowded few weeks in global security, from the NATO summit in Türkiye and Trump's renewed comments about Greenland to Russian pressure on Poland's border. They focus on what China's submarine-launched ballistic missile demonstration on 6 July and Australia's new security agreement with Fiji mean for New Zealand, and why our national security system is not moving at the speed of relevance. 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
Fourteen New Zealand restaurants picked up a Michelin star last week, the first time Michelin had rated New Zealand at all. One reached two stars. 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
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
Every July, members of the New Zealand Association of Economists – academics, practitioners, and officials – meet to tell each other what they’ve been working on. Work presented tends to be work-in-progress. Read more
In this episode, Oliver talks with Michelle Palmer, Executive Director of the Retirement Villages Association, about the retirement village business model and the debate over how quickly operators should repay residents and their estates once a unit is vacated. They discuss the Consumer New Zealand petition, the Government's proposed 12-month repayment rule, and why applying changes retrospectively to existing contracts could raise costs for residents and put pressure on smaller operators. Read more
Ten years ago, the NZ Initiative brought a Canadian diplomat to Wellington to explain how Canada let ordinary citizens sponsor refugees. Dean Barry told us that when Canadian communities pledged to support one more refugee, Canada admitted one more. Read more
Victoria University of Wellington wants the teachers it trains to be ‘agents of change.’ According to the university’s handbook for teacher education programmes, teaching graduates must be committed to “social, cultural, and ecological justice.” Decoded, that means attending protests about political causes the activists lecturers find important. Providing teachers with skills to manage a classroom is not part of the brief. Read more
Choice, competition and open markets provide strong consumer protection. The risk that a customer might shift to a competitor, or to another type of product entirely, provides discipline. Read more
Local government reform has turned into a numbers game. The government’s ‘Head Start’ asks how many councils we should have, and where the lines between their jurisdictions should be drawn. Read more
