With the election only days away and early voting open, the Herald has created an interactive to explore the key policies of our top six polling political parties.
It includes political promises from Labour, National, Te Pāti Māori, New Zealand First and Act across five areas: education, transport, climate change, social development, law and order, and health. The interactive will be updated right up until election day so check back in for the latest policy additions.
Each section of the interactive includes a link to more detailed coverage of the topic from the Herald’s political and specialist journalists.
Click on a topic from the menu bar and scroll down to compare the parties’ policies.
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Policies
Select a topic to compare
Labour Party
Implement new resource management and freshwater reforms
Ban bottom-trawling in most of Hauraki Gulf and set up six new marine reserves in South Island.
Implement the Predator Free 2050 strategy and the National Predator Control programme.
Develop a "biodiversity credit system" to incentivise and reward landowners for protecting native flora and fauna.
Pass new waste legislation and work toward goals including a 10 per cent per person reduction of material entering the waste management system, along with a 30 per cent reduction in biogenic methane emissions from waste.
National Party
Repeal and replace the three waters reforms with a plan putting water services back in council hands, while refocusing the new regulator solely on water quality and requiring councils to deliver plans on water infrastructure.
Reduce stock exclusion zones for small water bodies.
Create a minister for hunting and fishing, designate herds of special interest, change the law so game animals are not pests, and guarantee access to public land for hunting and fishing.
Set up a new partnership programme between DoC and volunteer clubs to manage and maintain back country huts.
Narrow the scope of what can be designated Significant Natural Areas
Require DoC to make concession decisions for tourism businesses within a year
Reform laws around gene-editing technology
Green Party
Ban synthetic nitrogen fertilisers over time, set limits on nitrogen in waterways and implement stricter standards for nitrate-nitrogen in drinking water
Implement Te Mana o te Wai for water management and "a fair system" for commercial water allocation
Reform the Wildlife and Reserves Acts, including to give effect to te Tiriti o Waitangi, and ringfence all proceeds of the visitor levy for conservation and biodiversity projects.
Boost funding and support for Predator Free 2050 and review and continue funding for Jobs for Nature
Ban new mining on conservation land, including stewardship land, as well as at sea
Double the extent of natural wetlands (by 2050) and expand marine protected areas to cover 30 per cent of New Zealand's oceans
Ban set netting and dredging by 2028, require cameras on all commercial fishing vessels and establish an independent ocean commission
Establish a zero waste agency and a beverage container return scheme, implement a right to repair for consumer products and increase the landfill levy.
ACT
Reverse the three water reforms so that water assets are retained by councils, introduce a pricing system for water allocation, remove Te Mana o te Wai from freshwater resource consenting
Reform resource management laws to lower restrictions on private property
Develop a nationally coordinated environmental monitoring system
Abolish Significant Natural Areas and set up a fund for councils and the QEII Trust helping landowners to put land into covenants
Grant access to hunting on conservation land, along with "economic activities" like mining, within limits
Support regional council-administered, catchment-level farm environment plans and establish catchment boards
Remove Te Mana o te Wai from freshwater resource consenting and reinstate the "four wellbeing" provisions into resource management reforms
Continue to support the Jobs for Nature programme
Halt creation of any new landfills and advance work on the development of rubbish disposal alternatives through a nationwide recycling and recovery strategy
Fund the Kauri dieback response to include more monitoring, research, compliance staff, and disease control
Give the West Coast access to DoC-held stewardship land for "sustainable and environmentally approved" mining
Te Pāti Māori
Acknowledge Māori rights over fresh water and ensure that water rights are allocated fairly
Boost funding for Te Mana o te Wai and put a moratorium on new water bottling plants until allocations system developed
Return conservation land to whānau, hapū and iwi
Ban seabed mining and expand the coverage of a ban on mining in conservation land
Phase out synthetic nitrogen fertiliser on farms by 2025
Establish a $300m fund to incentivise Māori farmers to transition to regenerative farming practices
For more coverage of environment policies
click here.
Labour Party
Make it easier to use KiwiSaver to purchase newbuild first homes and boost the home ownership and first home grant schemes.
Build 6000 more public housing places during the next parliamentary term
Require tenancy managers to be licensed and meet standards of conduct.
Boost housing supply through $1b Infrastructure Acceleration Fund's focus on water reforms, flood management and more roading.
Develop a papakāinga planning standard and investment in more Māori housing.
Install solar panels on 1000 Kāinga Ora homes each year.
Provide tax rebates for energy efficiency upgrades to existing homes.
National Party
Require councils to zone enough land ready for development to meet their 30-year long-term demand estimates.
Incentivise development by paying councils that consent an above average amount of homes
Change the bright-line test to two years so most home owners don't pay income tax on capital gains.
Allow foreign buyers to purchase houses worth $2 million or more if they pay a 15 per cent tax.
Allow interest paid on home loans for rental properties to be deducted from income tax.
Allow landlords to evict tenants without giving a reason so as long as there is 90 days' notice.
Make Kāinga Ora compete with other social housing providers for funding to build public houses.
Green Party
Give a bonus to developers that meet energy efficiency and other standards that allow them to build taller apartments.
Build 35,000 affordable homes over five years.
Strip away regulations so Māori find it easier to build on their land.
Introduce a Rental Warrant of Fitness forcing rentals to meet healthy standards.
Give tax breaks to landlords making clean energy or home efficiency upgrades.
Set the maximum annual rent increase to 3 per cent or lower.
Require landlords to tell prospective tenants the amount of rent paid by previous tenants.
ACT
Abolish the bright line test so home owners who sell do not pay tax on capital gains.
Allow interest paid on home loans for rental properties to be deducted from income tax.
Share 50 per cent of the GST income from newly built homes and apartments with the councils that consented them so they have incentive to issue more consents.
Introduce an alternative to council consents in which builders purchase building insurance for new developments. This would aim to have more homes built because councils would no longer be worried about being liable for defective developments.
Te Pāti Māori
Te Pāti Māori has previously campaigned to tax homes that remain unoccupied.
Build 2000 houses on Māori ancestral lands.
Require all new houses to be fully accessible.
Require 50 per cent of new social housing to be made available for Māori.
New Zealand First
Develop seniors housing plan to support the increasing number of seniors in rental homes.
Raise the accommodation supplement paid to Super Gold Card holders to help with rents.
For more coverage of housing policies
click here.
Labour Party
Remove GST from fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables, enforced by a Groceries Commissioner at the Commerce Commission -- costs $2.2b over four years
Boost the In-Work Tax credit by $25 a week to $97.50 on April 1, 2024. The IWTC is received by 160,000 low-income families -- costs $795m
Lift the Working for Families abatement threshold from $42,700 to $50,000 on April 1, 2026 -- costs $555m
Remove the ability for commercial and industrial property owners to write off depreciation as an expense -- raises $2.1b
Keep the bright line test at 10 years for existing investment property and five years for new builds -- raises $200m
Continue phasing out interest deductibility for landlords (excluding new builds) by 2025
National Party
Lift all income tax brackets (except for the top one) by 11.5 per cent, delivering tax cuts that max out at $20 a week -- costs $9.0b
Broaden eligibility for the Independent Earner Tax Credit, for modest income earners, to compensate for the impact of inflation -- costs $707m
Introduce the FamilyBoost childcare tax credit, worth up to $150 per fortnight, for families with young children -- costs $996m
Boost the In-Work Tax credit by $25 a week to $97.50 on April 1, 2024. The IWTC is received by 160,000 low-income families -- costs $795m
Boost the In-Work Tax credit by $25 a week to $97.50 on April 1, 2024. The IWTC is received by 160,000 low-income families, but excludes those on a benefit -- costs $795m.
Lift the Working for Families abatement threshold from $42,700 to $50,000 on April 1, 2026 -- costs $555m
Restore the ability of landlords to deduct interest costs from tax bills -- costs $2.1b.
Ditch changes made by Labour to extend GST to services like Uber -- costs $206m
Reduce the bright line capital gains tax from 10 to two years - costs $200m
Introduce a 15 per cent tax on residential property, worth more than $2m, bought by non-tax residents - raises $3b
Remove the ability for commercial and industrial property owners to write off depreciation as an expense -- raises $2.1b
Index main benefits to consumer price inflation, rather than wage inflation -- raises $2.0b.
Raise taxes on online gambling -- raises $716m
Hike immigration fees - raises $492m
Green Party
Change income tax brackets so those who earn less than $125,000 a year get a tax cut and those who earn more, pay more. The shake-up sees income under $10,000 not taxed at all, and a new top tax rate of 45 per cent introduced for income above $180,000
Lift the corporate tax rate from 28 per cent to 33 per cent
Tax an individual's net wealth above $2m (and a couple's net wealth above $4m) at a rate of 2.5 per cent a year.
Introduce an "income guarantee" for those studying or looking for work of $385 per week for individuals, $770 for couples, and $735 for single parents. Payments replace existing welfare
Replace Working for Families with a payment to parents or caregivers of $215 every week for the first child, and $135 a week for every other child, with an extra $140 a week for every child under three years of age
ACT
Progressively reduce the number of income tax rates from five to three by 2026, so that eventually people pay 17.5 per cent on the first $60,000 they earn, 30 per cent on income between $70,000 and $180,000, and 33 per cent on income above this level
Introduce a tax credit for low and middle income earners to offset some of the increase in tax they'd pay under a flatter system
Use revenue collected from carbon emitters under the Emissions Trading Scheme to pay individuals about $100-$200 a year, rather than leave the Government to decide how to use that money to try to reduce emissions.
Abolish the bright-line test and interest limitation rule (residential property investor taxes)
Te Pāti Māori
Remove GST from all food.
Completely change income tax thresholds to the benefit of lower income earners, including by introducing a tax-free threshold for income below $30,000, and two new top income tax rates of 42 and 48 per cent for income between $180,000 and $300,000 and above $300,000
Tax net wealth above $2m per person at between 2 and 8 per cent a year, depending on the level of wealth
Increase the corporate tax rate from 28 per cent to 33 per cent
Introduce an "overseas financial transfer tax" that would tax foreign-owned company profits at an additional rate of 2 per cent above the corporate tax rate
Introduce an "undeveloped land tax" applicable on land where development hasn't begun within four years of purchase. A 33 per cent tax would be applied to the difference between the land's purchase price and market value. Exemptions would apply for Māori freehold and customary land
Introduce a "vacant house tax" of 33 per cent applied to the difference between a property's purchase price and its market value
New Zealand First
Adjust income tax brackets for inflation starting April 1, 2024, with the first adjustment taking place in 2027, and every three years thereafter
Reduce the lowest tax rate, on income below $14,000, to zero by April 1, 2017
Allow residential property investors to once again deduct interest as an expense when paying tax
For more coverage of tax policies policies
click here.
Labour Party
Ensure Te Aka Whai Ora/Māori Health Authority is protected and is able to deliver equitable health outcomes for Māori
Continue Māori housing initiative Whai Kāinga Whai Oranga, a four-year, $730 million commitment to speed up the delivery of Māori-led housing
Continue the expansion of Te Ahu o Te Reo to ensure all tamariki have the option to learn Te Reo Māori
Continue to fund Te Matatini
Continue to fund Matariki events and celebrations for the national holiday
Continue with United Nations United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and He Puapua consultation
Continue with approach to Treaty settlements, focus on ensuring enduring settlements reached and relationship with iwi restored rather than speed
National Party
National believes the establishing of Māori Wards is decision for local councils and ratepayers
Repeal law establishing Māori wards in local councils, revert back to system where referendum needed
Abolish Māori Health Authority and reduce power of iwi-Māori partnership boards, replace with a "strong Māori health directorate" inside the Ministry of Health
Repeal the Canterbury Regional Council (Ngāi Tahu Representation) Act, which gives Ngāi Tahu will get guaranteed representation and decision-making powers on the Canterbury regional council
Generally does not support co-governing arrangements between the Crown and iwi in public services, but does over natural resource management including Treaty settlements
Wants to complete all Treaty settlements by 2030 with "those that are willing"
Supports maintaining current Te Matatini kapahaka festival funding levels
Unclear what policy is on future of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Green Party
Hoki Whenua Mai policy, which focuses on returning whenua that was wrongfully alienated from tangata whenua, including through exploring a right of first refusal process that enables the return of private land to iwi, hapū and whānau at point of sale
End perpetual leases on whenua Māori
Ensure that tikanga Māori and te reo Māori education under Maihi Karauna and Maihi Māori - Māori language strategies - receive funding and support needed to meet aspirations of reo revival, while retaining Māori control
End the "large natural grouping" approach to Treaty settlements and validate hapū rangatiratanga
Implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
Reform the Waitangi Tribunal, giving it more resources and necessary powers to make findings and recommendations in relation to private land and binding recommendations for the return of Crown Land
Increase funding of Whānau Ora to improve whānau outcomes across multiple areas, including health
ACT
Act would legislate the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi through a Treaty Principles Act and invite citizens to submit on it and ratify it before putting it to a binding referendum
Act would work to remove equity-focused initiatives in the public service specifically for Māori and instead rely on individualised data
Act would repeal recent laws that grant iwi co-governing powers, such as within the Water Services Reform Programme - formerly Three Waters, local government legislation such as Māori wards, and elements of health legislation such as Te Aka Whai Ora
Act has stated it respects the Treaty of Waitangi settlement process and the property and customary rights associated with it
New Zealand First
Withdraw New Zealand from the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and end consultation on He Puapua, a report produced to guide New Zealand towards adhering to the declaration.
Change all government department names to English
Te Pāti Māori
Entrench all Māori electorates
Establish a Māori Parliament, fulfilling right to self-governance and self-determination - similar to Scotland and Wales within the United Kingdom
Implement all Matike Mai recommendations for constitutional transformation
Overhaul the Te Tiriti settlement process and ensure it is fair, durable and considers new precedents with more focus on reconciliation and relationship-building
Insert relativity clauses into all Te Tiriti settlements, to ensure all iwi have parity with Ngāi Tahu and Waikato-Tainui
Make Waitangi Tribunal recommendations binding on the Crown, and implement all unaddressed claim recommendations
Abolish "full and final" settlements and the "large natural groupings" approach to recognising mana whenua groups
Return conservation land to whānau, hapū and iwi Māori
Introduce a first right of refusal policy for mana whenua when private land of historical significance comes up for sale -- like Ihumātao
Establish a Parliamentary Commissioner for Te Tiriti o Waitangi to provide oversight of the Crown
For more coverage of māori priorities policies
click here.
Labour Party
Increase medical school places by 335 by 2027 and nursing places by 700 next year
Increase dental and psychiatry places and settle midwives' pay equity claim
Free dental care for under-30s, introduced gradually between 2025-26
Free cervical screening for 25-69 year-olds
Raise free breast cancer screening age from 69 to 74
Implement a national endometriosis action plan
Cap number of vape stores to 600 licensed stores, with stricter advertising requirements and penalties
Build a new hospital in Hawke's Bay
National Party
Reintroduce national health targets for ED wait times, cancer treatment, immunisation, specialist wait times and surgery wait times
Pay GPs $10 per patient if they lift immunisation rates by 5 percentage points
Reinstate $5 prescription fee, use income to pay for 13 cancer treatments not available in NZ
Pay nurses and midwives up to $4500 a year for their first five years if they agree to stay in NZ for five years, and make it easier for foreign nurses to come to NZ to look for a job
Lift medical school places by 225 a year by 2030 by establishing new medical school at Waikato University
Scrap Māori Health Authority and reduce power of iwi-Māori partnership boards
Lift psychiatric registrar places from around 37 to 50 a year and double psychologist trainees from 40 to 80 over four years
Increase free postnatal care from two days to three days
Make continuous glucose monitors free for under-18s with Type 1 diabetes
Green Party
Universal, fully funded care for all illnesses and injuries, paid for through wealth tax
Transform ACC into a comprehensive care system, paying 80% of minimum wage for anyone who cannot work
Implement remaining recommendations of He Ara Oranga mental health inquiry and integrate mental health services with social services
Implement recommendations of the 2021 Pharmac review and ban direct-to-public marketing by drug companies
Phase out alcohol advertising -- except at point of sale -- and alcohol sponsorship
ACT
Order an independent review of Pharmac's operating model
Pay private practices to carry out elective surgeries through a competitive tender
Redirect $2b in annual mental health funding into a centralised commissioning agency which will be in charge of assessing patients and contracting with providers
Create easier immigration pathway for doctors from similar jurisdictions
Increase GP funding by 13 per cent
Te Pāti Māori
Free primary and dental care for whānau earning less than $60,000 a year
Māori Health Authority funding lifted to 25 per cent of total health budget
Create a Māori Health Card which allows funding to be tied to the patient, not the provider
$1b to train more doctors, nurses and medical staff and train non-clinical staff to do clinical tasks
Establish a dedicated Māori mental health service and free mental health care for all
Establish a dedicated Māori Accident Compensation Authority
Drop cancer screening age for Māori by 10 years
Lift Pharmac funding
Accelerate and protect Matauranga Māori models of healthcare
New Zealand First
Reinstate and compensate workers who lost their jobs because of vaccine mandates
Raise Pharmac funding by $1.3b and review funding model
Abolish Māori Health Authority
Meet funding demands of St John Ambulance and Plunket
For more coverage of health policies
click here.
Labour Party
Continue working through recommendations from the Welfare Expert Advisory Group, including a new Welfare Overhaul Bill
Index benefit increases to average wage increases
Continue with the Winter Energy Payment at current settings
Consider increases to family tax credits, based on Working For Families review recommendations due in November
Increase abatement thresholds for people on main benefits to incentivise people to take up part-time work, with annual increases on $160 from 2025 based on minimum wage rise
Increase the in-work tax credit by $25 per week (from $72.50 to $97.50), from April 1, 2024, and increase abatement thresholds from $42,700 to $50,000 by 2026
Introduce four weeks Paid Partner's Leave, to be taken concurrently or after paid primary carer leave of 26 weeks
Leave is additional to current statutory entitlement of two weeks unpaid leave
Keep superannuation at 65 and continue indexing to wage growth
Review the impact of relationship status on benefit entitlements
Make the Apprenticeship Boost Initiative permanent
Continue commitment to child poverty reduction targets
National Party
Won't continue working through recommendations from the Welfare Expert Advisory Group
Target young people on Jobseeker benefit for at least three months with assessment and contract not-for-profit community providers, with sanctions if they fail to undertake activities
In tackling long-term benefits, National will also introduce a bonus payment of $1000 for under 25-year-olds who have been on the Jobseeker benefit for longer than a year who find work and remain off benefit for 12 months
Increase the value of the in-work tax credit by $25 a week (from $72.50 to $97.50), from April 1, 2024, and increase abatement thresholds from $42,700 to $50,000 by 2026
Keep the automatic increases to Working for Families payments that currently exist in law
Keep the Winter Energy Payment at current settings
Increase NZ Super payments every year each year based on the after-tax average wage
Continue commitment to child poverty reduction targets
Peg benefit increases to inflation rather than average wage rise as currently
Gradually increase the age of eligibility to 67, with adjustments not beginning until 2044
Greater focus on benefit sanctions to move people into employment, introducing a traffic light system and non-financial measures like community service
Green Party
Committed to working through recommendations of the Welfare Expert Advisory Group, including a Welfare Overhaul Bill with a focus on ending hardship, not just alleviating it
A guaranteed income of $385 to anyone out of work or studying, and an $135 a week top-up for sole parents. This will replace Jobseeker, the Student Allowance, and Sole Parent Support - with full individualisation; and universal eligibility for students.
Provide payments of at least 80 per cent of the full-time minimum wage to anyone limited in their capacity to work due to a disability or health condition through expanding ACC into the Agency for Comprehensive Care.
Overhaul recoverable assistance so that grants are available as an alternative for urgent needs. This will prevent people going into debt when they are seeking help; and work towards writing off existing debt to MSD.
Reform the Social Security Act to uphold the dignity of those who need support
End all sanctions applied to beneficiaries and cancel beneficiary debt
Double the Best Start payment from $69 a week, to $140, and make it universal for all children under 3 years
Keep the Winter Energy Payment at current settings
ACT
Introduce a range of policies to help sick and drug-addicted people off benefits and into work
Require benefit case managers to consider whether all reasonable treatment options have been pursued before deciding whether a medical condition should be accepted as permanent
Expand the roles of regional health advisers and "designated doctors" to pick up on fraud and ineligibility, ensure people are on the correct benefit, and are supported to meet any job-seeking obligations
Enable doctors to complete work capacity certificates privately to avoid having to provide advice under duress
Require electronic income management for long-term dependents.
Restrict the Winter Energy Payment to over-65s who hold Community Services Cards and recipients of main benefits.
Leave annual benefit increases indexed to average wage rises
Gradually increase the NZ Super age to 67, at a rate of 3 months per year from fiscal year 2024/25. Once the age reached 67, it would be indexed to life expectancy, ensuring that each generation was entitled to the same proportion of their life on the pension as previous generations.
New Zealand First
There will be no change to the age of eligibility for Superannuation under New Zealand First.
The NZ Herald has been unable to locate other recent policies in this area and the party has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
Te Pāti Māori
Immediately raise the minimum wage to $26 per hour and legislate to index it to the living wage
Eliminate starting-off/youth rate wages and benefit rates
Remove financial penalties, sanctions and work-test obligations for beneficiaries
Double baseline benefit levels
Individualise benefits
Increase the amount people can earn before benefits are cut by raising abatement rates
Cancel income support-related debt and ensure that additional grants do not need to be paid back in future
Ensure the special needs grant recognises additional cultural costs such as with the tangihanga process
Create a universal student allowance and double student allowance rates, in line with benefit increases
Restore full student allowance eligibility for postgraduate, part-time, and long-course students
Raise abatement rates for student allowances
For more coverage of social development policies
click here.
Labour Party
Amend the law to ensure schools - primary, intermediate and secondary - are teaching maths, reading and writing the same way from 2026.
Provide "guidance, professional development and materials" to help teachers implement the new rules.
Introduce compulsory financial literacy lessons in schools from 2025.
National Party
A requirement for students to be taught an hour a day each in reading, writing and maths.
Minimum requirements (in a new curriculum) for what schools must teach every year in reading, writing, maths and science.
Students tested at least twice a year from Year 3 to Year 8.
To make reading, writing, maths and science the focus for teachers' professional development, with support from an online resource that includes lesson plans.
A ban on cellphones in schools.
ACT
A government education account for every child with $307,000 in it, which parents can use to apply for their child to attend any registered school, public or private.
Establish a $250m-a-year fund for teaching excellence, to be distributed at principals' discretion.
Mandatory standardised testing in all schools, with school performance ranked and published online.
Education checks for children at age 4 or 5 and cutting funding or licences for underperforming Early Childhood Education centres.
A traffic light system requiring actions to be taken over persistent truancy; direct funding for truancy officers.
Cut half of the "back office" jobs at the Ministry of Education and move the savings into "front-line education".
Allow any state school to apply to become a Partnership School.
Green Party
More teachers per student across all education levels.
Create school hubs with health and social services on-site, including mental health support.
Increase funding for community-run early childhood education centres, kindergartens, and kōhanga reo.
Support rangatiratanga aspirations of kura kaupapa Māori.
Resource the universal teaching of te reo Māori and tikanga Māori in all public schools.
Expand school lunches to all students at all schools.
Te Pāti Māori
A $200m fund for a new hapū-based wānanga.
Scholarships for young Māori to train as reo Māori language teachers; a new Māori Standards Authority to oversee Māori language funding.
Move at least 25 per cent of the education budget to Māori models of delivery and pastoral care.
Make te reo Māori and Māori history core curriculum subjects up to Year 10; free digital devices and internet for all children from Years 4 to 13.
Remove the power of schools to expel any student younger than 16; all schools to have Māori in staff senior leadership teams.
A $276m fund for lifting Māori student achievement (such as through the Pūhoro Stem Academy) in preparation for university.
New Zealand First
Reverse the introduction of diversity education in schools.
For more coverage of education policies
click here.
Labour Party
Tens of billions of dollars for light rail in Auckland(no start date)
Begin second Auckland Habour crossing by 2029
$20 billionb package next term focused on road maintenance, public transport and cycle investment
Fuel taxes rising 12c a litre over three years
Roading projects include SH1 from Cambridge to Piarere, Wellington CBD to the airport, Christchurch Northern Link, Napier to Hasting SH2, Tauranga to Tauriko SH29
Safety improvements on SH1 between Warkworth and Whangārei
Start work on Northwestern Busway in Auckland
Extra rail lines in Auckland
National Party
Four-lane highways from Whangarei to Tauranga: Whangārei to Port Marsden - $1.3b to start in frist term, Warkworth to Wellsford - $2.2b to start in next four to 10 years, Cambridge to Piarere - $720m to start in first term, Tauriko West State Highway 29 - $1.9b to start in four to 10 years
Begin Auckland's Mill Rd stage one and East-West link and final stage of Eastern Busway in first term
Start second Mt Victoria tunnel in its first term
Scrap plans for light rail and 11.5c a litre Auckland Regional Fuel tax
$500m pothole repair fund in first three years funded by cuts to road safety initiatives
ACT
Increase public-private partnership to build and maintain roads, paid for through tolls
Toll existing roads (as long as there is an alternative route) to maintain them
Green Party
Proritise investment in public transport, walking and cycling, rail and electric vehicles
Encourage intensification along public transport corridors
Avoid building new roads, except where necessary
Build surface light rail in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch
Tax incentives for zero-emission heavy vehicles
Free public transport over time
Restore inter-city rail services
New Zealand First
Support moving Ports of Auckland operations to Northport
Connect rail to Marsden Point and Northport
Build a four-lane highway alternative for the Brynderwyns
Improve Christchurch to Picton rail corridor
Secure funding for a rail spur from Puhinui to Auckland Airport
Incentise businesses to electrify vehicle fleets and depreciation measures to support secondhand electric vehicle market
For more coverage of transport policies
click here.
Labour Party
Uphold the Zero Carbon Act, its set five-year carbon budgets and maintain New Zealand's agreed international climate change pledges
Keep in place the Clean Car Discount and Clean Car Standard
Price farm emissions by the end of 2025 or otherwise bring them under the Emissions Trading Scheme by 2026
Further reform the Emissions Trading Scheme to provide a stronger incentive for businesses to transition away from fossil fuels
Maintain funding to help industries phase out coal boilers by 2037 and offer new grants for home insulation and retrofitting
Commit $300m more for NZ Green Investment Finance
National Party
Keep in place the Zero Carbon Act and maintain carbon budgets and New Zealand's agreed international climate change pledges
Maintain the Clean Car Standard but scrap the Clean Car Discount, while building 10,000 new EV charging stations
Price farm emissions by 2030 at the latest, establish an Agricultural Emissions Pricing Board by 2024, and review set 2050 targets for methane
Keep agriculture out of the Emissions Trading Scheme but allow landowners to earn credits through farm-level sequestration
Repeal the ban on offshore oil and gas exploration and scrap pumped hydro plans for Lake Onslow
Require faster decisions and longer consents on new renewable power projects and remove the need for consents for upgrading existing transmission and local lines infrastructure
Green Party
Strengthen the Zero Carbon Act by requiring all government policies, targets and pledges to be consistent with limiting global warming to within 1.5C
Establish a stand-alone Ministry for Climate Change, with functions for mitigation and adaptation
Maintain the Clean Car Discount and introduce a deadline for the end of new or used fossil fuel car imports, at or before 2030
Price farm emissions by 2025, with higher fees to support the sector in making cuts, while phasing out nitrogen fertiliser on farms
Review the Emissions Trading Scheme and empower the independent Climate Change Commission to set the supply of units within it
Ban all offshore oil and gas exploration, along with new fields and coal mines, with renewals prohibited for existing operations
ACT
Repeal the Zero Carbon Act and carbon budgets and replace with a new plan setting the carbon price to the price paid by top five trading partners
Introduce a hard cap on net CO2 emissions while ensuring it created a price to drive reductions, while introducing regulations to provide carbon credits for wood products that store carbon for at least 50 years
Repeal the Clean Car Standard and Clean Car Discount
Keep agriculture out of the Emissions Trading Scheme and cancel plans to price farm emissions, unless competitors start
Repeal the ban on offshore oil and gas exploration
Supports more flexible funding arrangements for local councils to allow for projects to improve climate reliance
New Zealand First
Oppose agricultural emissions pricing unless adopted by trading partners
Support adoption of standardised farm level reporting
Incentivise uptake of the emissions reduction mitigations with Emissions Trading Scheme revenue and funds ear-marked for buying overseas carbon credits
Amend the Emissions Trading Scheme to recognise farm forestry and shelter belts
Te Pāti Māori
End new onshore oil and gas permits and withdraw existing onshore and offshore oil and gas permits within five years
Phase out synthetic nitrogen fertiliser on farms by 2025 and bring methane emissions from agriculture into the Emissions Trading Scheme
Develop a national Māori strategy for renewable energy and clean technology
Establish a dedicated $1bn fund for Māori-owned community energy projects and solar panel and insulation instillations, along with a $300m fund to incentivise Māori farmers to transition to "regenerative and value-add" farming practices
Ensure the Crown works with whānau, hapū and iwi to establish climate change adaptation plans and establish a fund to support Māori with adaptation
For more coverage of climate change policies
click here.
Labour Party
New ram raid offence applicable to 12 and 13-year-olds in the Youth Court
Two new high-needs units within youth justice residences
Make two new aggravating factors in sentencing: publishing recordings of unlawful behaviour on social media, and inciting or influencing young people to commit crime
Expand the 'circuit breaker' intervention programme, and create new intensive and long-term programme for most serious recidivist young offenders
Empower Family Court to require, instead of recommending, young offenders to undertake community activities
300 additional police constables
Look into making it easier to seize gang vehicles, and restricting gang leaders
National Party
Restore a more moderate version of Three Strikes that takes guilty pleas into account
Limit sentence reductions to 40 per cent; end taxpayer funding for cultural reports
Allow all remand prisoners access to rehabilitation programmes
Ban gang gatherings and gang insignia in public; stop certain gang members from communicating with others; have harsher firearms protection orders making it illegal for some to access firearms
Create a new category for serious young offenders (aged 10 to 17), and send some of them (aged 15 to 17) to boot camps for repeat offending
More funding for victims' access to counselling, mental health services, transport costs for court hearings
ACT
Bring back Three Strikes, with a new and separate regime for burglaries; $1b to build 500 prison beds
Change the Sentencing Act to reduce scope for community sentences; abolish cultural reports; review use of electronic monitoring for violent offenders
Move 17-year-olds back into the adult criminal jurisdiction; ankle bracelets for serious young offenders; build 200 new youth justice beds
New infringement notice offence for shoplifting
Repeal Labour's changes to firearms laws and scrap firearms register
Increase police powers to seize assets of gang members found with illegal firearms; link police staffing budget to population growth
Make the Crown pay victims their entitled reparation as a loan, which offenders will pay back
Minimum literacy standards for parole
Green Party
Fund rehabilitation for anyone convicted of an offence, including mental health and trauma support for young offenders
Expand tikanga-based programmes and Rangatahi and Pasifika Courts
Require regular de-escalation training for police; increase resourcing for Māori and Pasifika wardens
Reform bail and sentencing laws to allow for more non-custodial, community outcomes
Improve community reintegration support for people leaving prisons, including housing
Implement the recommendations - including for hate speech - of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch terrorist attack
New Zealand First
Make being a gang member an automatic aggravating factor in sentencing
A six-month minimum prison sentence for assaulting a police officer, paramedic, firefighter or Corrections officer in the course of their duty
Designate gangs 'Terrorist Entities' under the Terrorism Suppression Act 2022
Establish a dedicated gang prison
Te Pāti Māori
A parallel Māori criminal justice system based on tikanga Māori, created by a Māori Justice Authority and funded by 20 per cent o the budgets from Corrections, Police and Courts
A Māori Legal Aid Service investing in Māori legal units within each community law centre
Repeal the changes to bail laws in 2013 that reversed the onus of proof for being granted bail
Raising the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 16
Reform drug laws so drug use is treated as a health issue, not a criminal one
For more coverage of law and order policies
click here.
Voting is open from now until election day – October 14. Anyone eligible to vote can do so at one of the more than 400 polling booths across the country. The Herald has also created an interactive map displaying the voting locations near you and both general and Māori electorate boundaries – click here to access the map.
If you’re not enrolled or need to update your enrolment details, you will need to fill out an extra form when you vote.
The Herald series, the poll of polls, uses polling data including the recent Newshub Reid Research and 1News Verian Polls to simulate election outcomes to work out the probability of different scenarios. The results are for if the election was held at the time the analysis was produced.
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The September 28 analysis showed National and Act had both slipped in public polls. The poll of polls reckoned they had just a 39.9 per cent chance of being able to form a government without support from other parties, dropping below 50 per cent from the last poll of polls.
That probability rises to 99.7 per cent if you throw NZ First into the mix.
Labour had very slim odds of being able to get over the line. The poll of polls gave Labour, the Greens, and Te Pāti Māori a zero per cent chance of being able to form a government if the election were held the weekend of September 30, rising just slightly to 0.1 per cent for the actual election date.
The poll of polls has National’s likely party vote at 36.1 per cent, Labour at 27.2 per cent, the Greens at 12.2 per cent, Act at 11 per cent, NZ First at 5.2 per cent, Te Pāti Māori at 2.8 per cent, and TOP at 2.1 per cent.
