Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick says her party is the only one proposing solutions to tax issues at a time when communities are crying out for alternatives to the status quo.
The co-leader, who spoke to the Herald as she prepared for the Greens’ Annual General Meeting (AGM) this weekend, has also suggested her party is currently leading the Opposition in driving the political agenda.
Over the past few months, the Greens have produced an alternative budget, a fiscal strategy, identified a “hole” in the Government’s books, and commissioned legal advice finding gas field contingency funding could breach an international trade agreement (the latter two have both been disputed by ministers).
Meanwhile, the Greens’ natural partner Labour has generalities, such as its “Jobs, Health, Homes” slogan and has indicated it would repeal some Government policies, like pay equity changes.
Labour is mostly keeping tight-lipped on any policy proposals, wanting to leave that to closer to the election to ensure its ideas reflect the latest circumstances.
Asked by the Herald whether she felt the Green Party was therefore currently leading the Opposition with its offerings rather than Labour, Swarbrick replied that she felt that was a “pretty evidence-based position, yeah”.
“I’m stoked with the mahi that we have done to show people the issues that this Government is creating for us, but also how we would solve those issues,” she said.
“I’m proud of the work that we’ve done. That can only be a positive thing. We are setting the agenda, we are contributing positively to the debate, and that is exciting people. That’s a good thing.”
Throughout the Herald’s interview with Swarbrick, she noted it is the Green Party that is holding a consistent policy position, pointing to the wealth tax offering at the 2020 and 2023 election campaign.
“We’ve put it in our budget document for 2025. People know exactly where we sit,” she said.
That budget document proposed to generate about $89 billion through the likes of a wealth tax, an inheritance tax and reinstating the 10-year bright-line test.
While it also would have cut income tax for many workers, it was criticised by governing parties as being Marxist in nature, while Labour’s Chris Hipkins said it was “unrealistic”.
Swarbrick is convinced there is a need to make change, noting a recent report from Inland Revenue in June which flagged that New Zealanders would likely need to pay more tax to cover the cost of an ageing population.
It said an alternative could be to cut spending, but with so much uncertainty in the future, the tax system should be designed so revenue is generated fairly and efficiently if required.
The Green co-leader said that showed it shouldn’t be a “matter of if, but how we fix the tax system”.
“I think that any responsible political party needs to be able to put forward a solution to deal with that issue. From where we’re sitting very clearly, the only party who has so far done that is the Greens.”
Labour is expected to unveil its closely guarded tax policy later this year. Nothing has been confirmed, but there are indications it will settle on a Capital Gains Tax (CGT).
The Greens favour a wealth tax, which Swarbrick said was in part down to how much revenue the respective taxes would generate and “fairness”.
A CGT would take several years to ramp up.
Swarbrick believes a wealth tax would allow an important “redistribution” of wealth.
“That redistribution of the burden of our tax system also unlocks all of that resource necessary for that investment, but it also deals with that rapidly growing inequality if we’re applying the wealth tax instead of the capital gains tax,” she said.
She said the Greens were offering “solutions” to respond to a “very clear need from communities”.
“[Like] so many people across this country, we are angry. We are not happy with the status quo. We are not happy with what this Government is doing. But we need to have an alternative.”
The co-leader believed it “would be great if every political party could come to the table with some evidence-based positions on anything”.
One of her clear frustrations with the current Government is it going forward with proposals despite risks being identified by officials.
That isn’t new to governments, but there have been numerous reports showing concern from agencies about various policies. Ministers say they’ve been elected to push the agenda New Zealanders voted for and to cut through bureaucracy.
Swarbrick said: “They’ve taken that legislation through select committee and had overwhelming opposition, and they’ve still decided to go ahead with doing that stuff anyway”.
She believes any future government her party is a part of would be the most progressive or left-leaning New Zealand has seen under MMP.
“I think that that’s obviously desperately what we need. You look at the socioeconomic political history of this country and every 40 or so years, we have a form of economic transformation.”
Economic transformation looks like moving away from “man-made metrics” such as “the likes of GDP” and instead focusing on policies that “support the wellbeing of people and planet”.
She said we are about four decades on from the “era of neoliberalism” beginning in the 1980s and “we can see the wheels are falling off”.
“A new system is desperately being cried out for.”
The Herald asked whether she would push Labour left, away from a political centre ground.
“This takes me back to the core proposition that I have been harping on about since I first got involved in politics, which is, I don’t just think it’s a matter of what the political parties are saying and doing. It’s what New Zealanders want and need.”
As for the AGM this week, Swarbrick appears confident the party has moved on from the troubles of 2024, which included MPs resigning and a walkout from their conference. She said her current party was “forged in fire” through that experience.
“Here we are stronger than ever, putting out tangible solutions to the issues that New Zealanders face.”
She spoke about the “new alliances” the Greens are trying to develop. They include coal miners on the West Coast of the South Island, which also happens to be the birthplace of the Labour Party.
“I think it’s really important for people to understand that the Green Party and the actual coal miners on the ground have a lot more in common than you might otherwise think.
“What these coal miners really want at the end of the day is a decent income to be able to stay in their community and to feel a sense of pride. Those are things that we can work together on.”
Wouldn’t that just take votes away from Labour, who the Greens would need to enter government?
“It’s something that I’ve said for time immemorial that I’ve been doing this gig, is no politician and no political party is entitled to anything. It is New Zealanders who get to decide the direction of travel for this country.
“I just actually want all of us to take a step back, take a deep breath, and challenge the assumptions that we make around who by default gets access to certain voters. That’s just not the way that I think that things should work.”
Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald press gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub press gallery office. In 2025, he was a finalist for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.