At a glance: Policies shaping NZ for the next three years

Saturday, 25 November 2023

Incoming prime minister Christopher Luxon, David Seymour, and Winston Peters announce that they are in coalition together, and signed the documents formally.

After weeks of negotiations, the governing parties have put pen to paper on the policy platforms, indicating the shape of New Zealand for the next three years.

Policy programmes at a glance:

Tax

• The tax cut plan is still on the table to the level National promised during the election, coming into force in July next year, but it won’t be paid for in part by the repeal of the foreign buyer’s ban. That proposal has gone to the scrap yard.

The Treaty

• Review legislation, except treaty settlement acts, that mention 'the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi' and 'replace all such references with specific words relating to the relevance and application of the Treaty, or repeal the references“.

Happy families - National, ACT and NZ First MPs watch the signing ceremony.

• Introduce a bill on the Treaty Principles based on ACT policy and support it through the first reading.

First year fees free

• To encourage students to finish their study, the Fees Free tertiary programme will be flipped from its first year, to the last year being free.

Workers

• Repeal the Fair Pay Agreement regime by Christmas and bring the 90-day trial period back for all businesses.

• Increase the minimum wage each year.

Superannuation

• Despite both ACT and National keen to slowly increase the age, NZ First’s agreement with National keeps it at 65.

Public service

• Create a new government department on regulation, to look at the ‘quality of new and existing legislation and regulation’, paid for by disestablishing the Productivity Commission.

• Keep National’s 6.5% average cut across public service spending, create expenditure reduction targets for each agency ‘informed by the increase in back office head count at that agency since 2017’.

• Stop-work notices on programmes such as Auckland Light Rail, Three Waters and Let’s Get Wellington Moving and disestablish the Māori Health Authority.

Transport

• Repeal the Clean Car Discount.

• Work with Auckland Council to bring in congestion charges.

• Bring in road user charges for all vehicles, replacing fuel excise taxes.

Housing

• Scrap the new RMA reform laws by Christmas.

• Phase back mortgage interest deductibility for rental properties to 100% by 2025/26.

• Bring back 90-day notices for landlords to end periodic tenancies without reason or applying to the Tenancy Tribunal, and introduce ‘pet bonds’, so a tenant can pay a higher bond to have an animal living at the property in a bid to increase pet-friendly rentals.

Justice

• Restore Three Strikes law and tighten the definition of strike offences, amend the Sentencing Act and bring back the sale of pseudoephedrine in cold medicine.

Read NZ First’s agreement with National here, and read ACT’s agreement with National here.