Issues
Thirteen groupings, one template; strong answers cluster on household issues
Thirteen policy groupings, each with what is at stake now and by 2050, the options on the table, where every party stands, and statements to place yourself. The groupings follow Policy.nz's topics, so you can move between the two, with tax and retirement drawn together so the long-run budget is visible in one place.
Each party gets two scores per grouping. Voter priorities (out of 15): the four core tests plus relief this term. Readiness (out of 21): the four core tests plus the three long-run tests. The heatmap shows readiness. Current settings are the first row, the bar to beat. The groupings follow Policy.nz's topics, with tax and retirement drawn together so the long-run budget sits in one place (the Method page shows the mapping).
How to read each grouping
- What is at stake: the problem this term and by 2050, with one number to know.
- Current settings and the 2050 test: the bar to beat, and whose answers build or borrow.
- The options on the table: the main approaches, and who backs each.
- Place yourself: four or five statements; agreeing sometimes means change and sometimes keeping current settings. Tick the ones you agree with and compare.
- Where each party stands: its stance, main policies and its voter priorities score (out of 15) and its readiness score (out of 21).
The 13 groupings
Cost of living and incomes
National's plan scores best, but most answers ease this year's bills, not their causes
Health
National and Labour lead with costed plans; nobody says how to fund demand from an older population
Economy, jobs and productivity
No plan does much better than current settings, and nobody sets a target for output per worker
Housing
Opportunity's land and zoning plan scores highest; most others add demand, not supply
Crime and justice
ACT and National match current settings; nobody costs the projected rise in prisoners
Climate, energy and environment
Opportunity and the Greens build for 2050; ACT and NZ First would unwind current settings
Education and skills
National and Labour lead; the bigger risk is the curriculum changing with every government
Migration and population
Few plans say how many people New Zealand will need by 2050
Tax, public finances and retirement
ACT is the only party that bends the long-run budget, and its key policy is the most at risk
Transport, infrastructure and local government
Opportunity's 30-year funding plan leads; NZ First's unfunded borrowing scores among the lowest
Te Tiriti, Māori and the constitution
Labour and ACT score highest with very different offers; every Te Tiriti proposal rests on a bare majority
Defence, foreign affairs and trade
Only current settings and National have funded answers; Opportunity is silent
Community, inclusion and culture
Offers are narrow, and almost none plans for an older, more disabled population
Readiness to 2050 by grouping, out of 21
Current settings are the first row, the bar to beat. Voter priorities scores (out of 15) are on each grouping's page.
| Party | Cost of living | Health | Economy and jobs | Housing | Crime and justice | Climate and energy | Education | Migration | Tax and retirement | Infrastructure | Te Tiriti | Defence and trade | Community and culture |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current settings | 11 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 12 |
| National | 17 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 15 | 13 |
| Labour | 11 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 6 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 14 | 8 | 11 |
| Greens | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 9 | 6 | 12 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 11 |
| ACT | 12 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 12 |
| NZ First | 10 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 9 |
| Te Pāti Māori | 11 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 6 |
| Opportunity | 13 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 8 | 16 | 11 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 9 |
Issues
This term's money: only three parties publish full costings, and none are independently checked
National and Labour spend mostly from the envelope Treasury already set aside; ACT shrinks it. The Greens, Te Pāti Māori and Opportunity cost their taxes, not their whole platform. NZ First publishes no plan.
| Party | Plan | New spending a year (main source) | Surplus | Debt by 2030/31 | Fiscal rules | Costings reviewed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Status quo | PREFU 2026 | 2028/29 (about $2.1b) | About 39.5% of GDP | Current Government rules | Treasury | |
| National | Full plan | $6.7b by 2030/31 (allowance, a little from cuts) | 2028/29 ($4.0b) | 39.5% of GDP | Debt below 40%; spending towards 30% of GDP | No |
| Labour | Full plan | $7.3b by 2030/31 (allowance and new tax, about half each) | $2.0b in 2028/29 (fiscal plan); 2029/30 on its strategy page | $96b; no % given | Debt below 20% of GDP over time | Party-commissioned |
| Greens | Tax package | $2.8b by 2030/31 (new tax raising $5.7b) | Not stated | Not stated | No "arbitrary limits" | Taxes by Parliamentary Library |
| ACT | Full plan | $2.4b by 2030/31 (from cuts totalling $6.6b) | 2027/28 (excluding ACC) | $12.4b below forecast | No tax cuts by borrowing | No |
| NZ First | None | $2.3b (source not stated) | Not stated | Not stated | None stated | No |
| Te Pāti Māori | Tax package | $3.8b (new tax; the party states a net $4.1b) | Not stated | Not stated | None stated | No |
| Opportunity | Tax package | $5.2b at full rollout (new tax, the rest borrowed) | Not stated | Adds up to 15% of GDP ($60b over ten years) | None stated; interest under 1% of GDP | Unnamed economists |
All figures nominal, four-year forecast period 2027/28 to 2030/31, against Treasury's pre-election forecast (PREFU 2026) where the party uses it. Party figures; our arithmetic is labelled.
Issues
What the costed plans add or save: National and Labour add to spending; ACT and the Greens come out ahead on their own figures
Four-year totals for the four parties with fully costed plans or tax packages, built from each party's own lines.
What sits behind the bars
- National: all inside $24b of allowances already in Treasury's forecast. No new taxes, but fuel excise rises in 5c steps from 2028. [10]
- Labour: inside the same allowances, leaving $10.5b unallocated; costings reviewed by Hall Chadwick, commissioned by Labour. [12]
- ACT: back-office cuts of $9.9b name no departments; debt is $12.4b lower by June 2031. [14]
- Greens: many large promises are uncosted, and KiwiMart ($2.8b) has no stated funding. [13]
Issues
NZ First, Te Pāti Māori and Opportunity cost only parts of their plans
None of the three gives years for its figures, so each line is a full-year amount. Minus signs raise revenue.
| Party | Line ($m a year) | Amount | Confidence | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ First | 20% company tax for small firms | 1,000 | Low | Party estimate, "initial" |
| NZ First | In-work tax credit up $70 a week, to $120 | 500 to 600 | Low | Party range |
| NZ First | Kiwi Kids Grant (year three) | 400 | Low | Party estimate |
| NZ First | Subsurface survey ($1b over the term) | 333 | Low | Spread evenly by us |
| NZ First | BNZ buy-back | Price not stated | Low | Funded from ACC, banking bonds, Crown debt and KiwiSaver capital |
| NZ First | Funding stated | None | [15] | |
| Te Pāti Māori | Taxes raised (wealth, company, land, stamp duty, offshore profits, anti-fraud) | -20,800 | Low | Our sum of the party's line items |
| Te Pāti Māori | Income tax cuts and food credit | 16,700 | Low | Our sum of the party's line items |
| Te Pāti Māori | Stated spending, plus funds spread over three years | 3,800 | Low | Our sum of party figures |
| Te Pāti Māori | Headroom | 200 spare | 800 short if the anti-fraud line is spending [16] | |
| Opportunity | Land value tax (gross) and admin savings | -26,065 | Low | Party table, 2024 numbers, full rollout |
| Opportunity | Citizen's Income and tax changes | 21,916 | Low | Party table |
| Opportunity | Costed spending, and its own infrastructure interest estimate | 4,675 to 5,675 | Low | Our sum of party figures |
| Opportunity | Balance | 594 to 1,594 short | Before its health target ($6.4b to $7.3b by year ten) [17] |
NZ First
No fiscal plan. Its largest promises, including a BNZ buy-back and an up to $100b Future Fund, have no stated price or funding.
Te Pāti Māori
The party states a net $4.1b. Its "$1 billion" anti-fraud line is an investment in ending tax avoidance, booked as revenue. Its 5% stamp duty applies to residential sales, with first-home buyers under $1m exempt. Doubling benefits, free primary and dental care, phased free public transport and a universal student allowance carry no cost.
Opportunity
Its health target costs about $1.3b a year; $60b of infrastructure borrowing over ten years runs through a new Infrastructure Fund. Its Citizen's Income pays up to $370 a week to almost all adults and replaces NZ Super, with a top-up to current Super rates.