Wondering about who stands for what? Welcome to RNZ’s go-to guide for party policy this election. We’ve put together a directory with some brief information about what the parties represented in the last Parliament would do if they were re-elected.

Labour leader Jacinda Ardern, National leader Judith Collins, NZ First leader Winston Peters, Green Party co-leader James Shaw and ACT leader David Seymour.Labour leader Jacinda Ardern, National leader Judith Collins, NZ First leader Winston Peters, Green Party co-leader James Shaw and ACT leader David Seymour. Photo: RNZ
It’s not an exhaustive resource, but a launching pad – you’ll be able to find out a bit about policies on a range of issues and from here, click through to RNZ coverage or party websites to do a deep dive if you’re interested.

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We’ll keep updating this as further policies are announced – including stand-out policies from parties or subjects not included – so keep checking back if what you’re looking for isn’t here yet.

Where TBA is present, the policy either hasn’t been publicly announced yet, or may have only been published online and not detailed. We’ll update this story as that changes. If you’re looking for a particular party policy, try using the ctrl + f buttons – there’s a lot of information to sort through.

Covid-19
Labour

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So far, Labour’s Covid-19 response policy states it has a five-point recovery plan.

It’ll continue to focus on a tight border with testing and quarantining, rolling out its surveillance strategy with strengthened testing, and improving the contact tracing system including other technology options.

National

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National says it will “inject some steel into our first line of defence against Covid-19” with a border security plan.

It would establish “Te Korowai Whakamaru/NZ Border Protection Agency”, for a start. That agency would be set up within 100 days if National were elected.

Green Party

TBA

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NZ First

New Zealand First wants a new Border Protection Force, a centralised agency to “focus our government efforts in a single line of attack” on the virus.

The party also wants a new quarantine policy that would include moving quarantining to military facilities.

ACT

ACT wants a wellbeing approach to the coronavirus that extends past the border with “deeper layers of defence”.

Part of that approach to the virus will be a “multi-disciplinary Epidemic Response Centre”.

ACT wants the country to copy Taiwan – “the clear winner on a wellbeing basis”.

Climate change
Labour

Labour Party is promising to bring forward its goal of 100 percent renewable electricity generation by five years to 2030.

National

So far, the party’s electric vehicle policy is available here. It would exempt EVs from fringe benefit tax until 2025, exempt EVs from Road User Charges until at least 2023 and allow EVs to use bus lanes and high-occupancy lanes.

Green Party

If elected, the Green Party wants to establish a $297 million fund to help farmers transition to regenerative and organic farming.

Under its Clean Energy Plan, the party is proposing to bring forward the government’s 100 percent renewable energy target by five years to 2030.

It’s got far more detail on its climate policies here.

NZ First

TBA

ACT

ACT has announced a range of plans for climate change.

It would ask politicians to pledge to cut flights to Wellington by 25 percent, tie New Zealand’s carbon price to that of our trading partners, and remove all subsidies for commercial forestry investments.

Economy
Labour

Labour says it’ll introduce a support package to help businesses hire at least 40,000 Kiwis whose jobs were affected by the pandemic.

It’s also promising to progressively extend living wage guarantees to public service contractors.

The party is promising to extend the Small Business Cashflow Loan Scheme and to invest $311 million to help unemployed New Zealanders into jobs.

National

You can view all of National’s economic policy here.

It has announced its BusinessStart scheme and plans to create a new bank among other policies.

National’s JobStart scheme would also provide a $10,000 cash payment to businesses for all additional new employees.

Green Party

The Greens kick off their economic policy section of their website with a clear indicator of their position: “Success should be measured by human and environmental wellbeing”.

They want a “progressive, comprehensive” tax system that should “encourage sustainability”.

NZ First

Back in March, NZ First leader Winston Peters named his first bottom line for any post-election coalition talks – the provincial growth fund in its current form.

ACT

ACT has pitched its economic policies as a “five-point plan for economic recovery”.

It wants to “balance the books” by returning the government books to surplus by 2024 and start repaying debt, cutting $7.6 billion of what it calls wasteful spending and delivering $3.1b in tax cuts – including reducing tax rates.

Tax
Labour

Labour is promising to increase tax on the country’s highest 2 percent of earners and close loopholes so multinationals pay their fair share of tax.

A new top rate of 39 percent on earnings over $180,000 is the sole change to its tax policy. It’s forecast to generate $550m of revenue a year.

National

So far, National has said it would hold taxes at the current levels but adjust thresholds for inflation.

Green Party

Under its Poverty Action Plan, the Greens would create two new tax brackets for those earning over $100,000 and $150,000.

It has proposed taxing those who have a net wealth of more than $1 million or $2m at 1 percent and 2 percent, respectively, on money that was over and above that amount.

You can look at more of the Greens’ tax plan here.

NZ First

TBA

ACT

ACT says it will cut taxes. It would temporarily cut GST to 10 percent and permanently cut the marginal tax rate paid by those on the median wage from 30 percent to 17.5 percent, simplifying the tax system to three rates.

On your first $14,000, you would pay 10.5 percent. On your next $56,000 you would pay only 17.5 percent, while the rate on income above $70,000 would remain 33 percent, under ACT’s plan.

Health
Labour

TBA

National

National has proposed to spend an extra $20 million over four years protecting women from gynaecological cancer.

National is also promising to spend an extra $30m on improving dental services for children, including a free toothbrush, toothpaste and information pack each year.

It’s also promising record funding increases for Pharmac, a new cancer agency, faster elective surgeries and primary care ‘navigators’ in its health policy.

Green Party

The Greens’ health policy states that there should be no financial barriers to accessing healthcare. Dental care should be extended and mental health funding increased, and Māori health services supported. Health funding should keep pace with the growing population and need.

NZ First

NZ First would provide St John’s Ambulance with all the funding it requires if the party is elected, up from what it already gets from the Ministry of Health and ACC.

ACT

The ACT Party wants to take mental health funding away from the Ministry of Health and district health boards and instead channel it to patients and providers through a mental health and addiction commission.

Education
Labour

Labour has announced a $1.7 billion education package.

It would replace the decile system with the Equality Index, close the pay gap for teachers working in education and care centres, continue rolling out free lunches programme to a quarter of all school-aged children and target funding areas such as trades training and apprenticeships.

National

National is promising to spend $4.8 billion on fast-tracking education infrastructure if elected in October.

It is also promising another $1.9b education package over four years, with a focus on learning support, teacher aides, and new special character schools.

Green Party

The Green’s education policy kicks off by stating “every child is entitled to a high-quality, free, accessible public education that gives them the best possible start in life”.

They want state schools adequately funded, private school funding phased out, no public-private partnerships for schools, NCEA improved and National Standards replaced “with a system developed by teachers using national data to inform and support individual learning”.

NZ First

TBA

ACT

ACT’s education policy proposes to provide every child with a student education account – $250,000 which parents can use “at any registered educational institution that will accept their child’s enrolment, public or private”.

In addition, ACT would cut back Ministry of Education staff by 50 percent, a move it says would save “$240 million a year”.

Environment
Labour

TBA

National

The National Party has promised to recommit to making New Zealand predator-free by 2050 and fully fund efforts to achieve the target if elected in October.

It also says in its access to outdoor environment policy it will begin work to establish two new National Parks and build two new Great Walks.

Green Party

The Greens say strong legal structures should protect the environment.

They want the Resource Management Act reformed to ensure its original principles are upheld, environmental legal aid funding increased, DOC’s role as advocate for nature strengthened, and the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment better funded.

They also have a marine environment policy.

NZ First

TBA

ACT

Among its environment policies, ACT says it will replace the Resource Management Act with new law and strengthen environmental reporting system at local, regional and national levels.

Housing
Labour

TBA

National

TBA

Green Party

The Greens want to clear the social housing waiting list – which had about 18,000 people in August – within five years.

They also want to create a non-profit rental sector.

NZ First

TBA

ACT

ACT’s approach to housing says that it would “Replace the Resource Management Act with a law that lets people build without restrictive zoning such as the Metropolitan Urban Limit”.

ACT would remove councils from the building consent and inspection business and introduce mandatory private insurance for new housing.

Justice
Labour

TBA

National

National would set up a police unit to disrupt gangs.

It would also roll out an intensive rehab programme for meth addicts.

Its full set of law and order policies are here.

Green Party

The Greens’ justice policy says the first priority of the justice system should be to heal the harm caused by a crime.

Funding for restorative justice and victim support should be increased, they say. They don’t want any new prisons built and are in favour of Tikanga Māori approaches being supported.

NZ First

New Zealand First is promising to fund more prisoner rehabilitation programmes if re-elected.

It has also committed to 1000 new frontline sworn officers over the next three years.

ACT

The party, as stated in its law and order policy, intends to add burglary to the three strikes regime.

It would also reward prisoners who complete literacy programmes and driver licensing tests – and prisoners who offer to teach the programmes – with reduced sentences, and scrap red tape that stops ordinary New Zealanders from volunteering in prison education and rehabilitation programmes.

Welfare and social development

Labour

Under Labour’s welfare plan, the training incentive allowance for higher skilled courses would be reinstated, and people on a benefit and working part-time would be able to earn more.

Labour also intends to bring in the Fair Pay Agreement system this time around if re-elected.

National

Every pregnant woman would be given $3000 of extra support such as additional parental leave or a longer postnatal stay under a National Party proposal.

Back in May, the party said it was not looking at cutting welfare payments if elected.

It reiterated that message in August.

Green Party

The Greens’ Poverty Action Plan includes a proposed Guaranteed Minimum Income, which would provide anyone out of work with at least $325 a week after tax – and those working part-time would also be able to access further help.

There are a range of other initiatives and ACC would also be reformed into an “Agency for Comprehensive Care”.

NZ First

New Zealand First has announced a policy to bring in a universal family benefit which would allow families to use the money to put down a deposit on a first home.

ACT

ACT wants a new “employment insurance” scheme that would pay out based on input. There would still be welfare for those who don’t qualify for the scheme.

ACT also wants to introduce electronic income management with an Australian trial as an example – tracked and restricted spending on alcohol, gambling and tobacco with welfare money.

Transport/infrastructure
Labour

So far, Labour has confirmed the $5 billion of lower North Island infrastructure projects it is promising if re-elected, including projects worth more than $1.2b within 18 months.

National

National has put a $31 billion price tag on the infrastructure upgrade required to fix the country’s transport network and Auckland and the upper North Island’s congestion crisis.

National has also made a range of smaller transport announcements.

It also has an electric vehicle policy that’s part of its zero emissions plans.

Green Party

The Greens’ transport policy says government transport funding should prioritise moving people and freight, not cars. They want transport options that reduce pollution, electric vehicles and affordable public transport, as well as make streets safe for all users.

NZ First

TBA

ACT

ACT would take infrastructure decision making away from government ministers and create an independent “New Zealand Infrastructure Corporation”.

Source: rnz.co.nz Republished by arrangement.

Leith Huffadine, Digital Journalist
leith.huffadine@rnz.co.nz

RNZ Guide To Party Policy For General Election 2020

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