The New Zealand Initiative

In this episode, Nick talks with Oliver Hartwich about how the 2026 election could break MMP from two sides. Oliver's latest research note traces Te Pāti Māori's call for supporters to split their votes, why current polling could leave National with an overhang, and how the absence of compensation for overhang seats in New Zealand, unlike the German system it copied, could produce a Parliament that does not match the popular vote.

In this episode, Oliver talks to John Howard about New Zealand's changing security environment, from the firing of Defence Minister Chris Penk to the Semtex drone at Leipzig Airport and the SIS threat assessment naming China. John argues New Zealand does not need to become fearful, but it does need to become more alert, better prepared and more serious about protecting sensitive information.

Recorded on 13 August 2026

Here is the full second episode of Free to Disagree, our new weekly show with Oliver Hartwich and Damien Grant.

One day after Christopher Luxon survived a confidence vote, Oliver and Damien ask whether he has finally shown the country who he really is. Next, they discuss Chris Penk's departure from politics and what it costs National. And finally, overseas, a drone carrying 800 grams of Semtex was found beside a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig Airport, and they ask why no Western government will say who put it there.

Free to Disagree is a weekly conversation about New Zealand politics and economics with Oliver Hartwich and Damien Grant. Two friends on broadly the same side of politics who find plenty to disagree about anyway. Each week they discuss three big issues, leading up to the election.

Free to Disagree lives on its own feed where you will find every episode. So if you are enjoying it, follow the show directly. Search Free to Disagree in your podcast app and follow it there.

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/free-to-disagree/id6800576606
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/03465zUGiOtfO38Yg0wVip?si=23A-Wh7GTxWpxDJtgNG-Wg

Produced by The New Zealand Initiative.

Free to Disagree is a new weekly podcast produced by The New Zealand Initaitive. Join Oliver Hartwich and Damien Grant as they talk about New Zealand politics and economics. Two friends on broadly the same side of politics who find plenty to disagree about anyway. Each week they discuss three big issues, leading up to the election.

In this episode they start with the economy, where unemployment is at its highest since 2015 and inflation is running hot, so what should the Reserve Bank do? They turn to TOP, polling at 8 per cent when almost nobody has read its policies, and ask whether voters are just going on vibes. And with 7 November closing in, they debate whether the coalition is really coming back.

Recorded on Thursday 6 August 2026.

In this episode, Oliver talks with Dr Sarah Irving-Stonebraker, associate professor of history at the Australian Catholic University, about why the West has largely lost the ability to think meaningfully about its own past. She calls this the ahistoric age and argues that the statues we topple and the national days we fight over are evidence of it rather than signs of real engagement with history.