The parties · 5 of 7, by current seats
NZ First
At a glance
- Poll average (%)
- 9.9
- Readiness to 2050 /100
- 33 poor
- Voter priorities /100
- 39 weak
- Confidence it happens
- Low
- Fiscal detail
- None
Current settings score 58 on Readiness to 2050 and 55 on Voter priorities. Confidence is shown beside the scores, never added to them.
Grouping scores
| Grouping | Readiness to 2050 /21 | Voter priorities /15 |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | 10 | 7 |
| Health | 7 | 5 |
| Economy and jobs | 7 | 6 |
| Housing | 7 | 4 |
| Crime and justice | 6 | 4 |
| Climate and energy | 7 | 6 |
| Education | 6 | 3 |
| Migration | 9 | 6 |
| Tax and retirement | 6 | 5 |
| Infrastructure | 6 | 6 |
| Te Tiriti | 9 | 7 |
| Defence and trade | 6 | 4 |
| Community and culture | 9 | 7 |
| Score | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Readiness to 2050 /21 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 9 |
| Voter priorities /15 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 7 |
Select a grouping for the rationale and sources behind each score.
Who
Founded by Winston Peters in 1993. In the current coalition, with four ministers. Says it brings "balance and stability to government".
The pitch
Economic nationalism and tighter citizenship. The "two old parties" have no economic strategy; New Zealand must "double the economy by 2050".
Coalition stance and bottom lines
Rules out Labour, and says it will "never" deal with Te Pāti Māori. No explicit 2026 commitment to National or ACT. Bottom lines: an NZ First Immigration minister, no asset sales, no Super age rise, leave Paris.
Five headline policies
- Buys back BNZ and merges it with Kiwibank
- Creates a Future Fund of up to $100b for infrastructure
- Splits power companies into generators and retailers
- Pays $5,000 a year for each child's first three years
- Restricts voting and NZ Super to citizens from 2029
Who gains / Who pays
| Who gains | Who pays |
|---|---|
| Parents of young children | Not stated |
| Small firms | Future taxpayers, through borrowing |
| Regions with mines and drilling | Non-citizen residents |
On the long game
- Borrows: all four pressures
- Global risks with a concrete plan: 2 of 5 (Great-power conflict, including nuclear war; Erosion of trust and governance)
- Governing for the long term: Four-year term: Plans · With other parties: Silent · Institutions: Acknowledges · Inheritance: Weakens
| Pressure | Effect | Would it last? |
|---|---|---|
| Ageing and the fiscal gap | Borrows | Partly |
| Productivity and incomes | Borrows | Unlikely |
| Climate and resilience | Borrows | Unlikely |
| The infrastructure deficit | Borrows | Unlikely |
| Risk | At home | With others |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced AI going badly | Acknowledges | Silent |
| Climate change and ecological breakdown | Silent | Acknowledges |
| Engineered pandemics | Acknowledges | Acknowledges |
| Great-power conflict, including nuclear war | Plans | Silent |
| Erosion of trust and governance | Plans | Silent |
Governing for the long term
NZ First: governing for the long term
Rating on each count, Rated, never added to the scores. Rests on a stated value: long-term plans should survive a change of government.
Rated, never added to the scores. Rests on a stated value: long-term plans should survive a change of government. NZ First: Four-year term Plans, Plans with other parties Silent, Long-term institutions Acknowledges, Honours what it inherits Weakens.
Sources for these ratings
- Wikipedia, Term of Parliament (Enabling 4-year Term) Legislation Amendment Bill, citing Hansard Vol. 780, 5 March 2025 ('Voting: Te Pāti Māori Votes'; National 49, Labour 34, Green 15, ACT 11, NZ First 8 for; Te Pāti Māori 6 against) (5 March 2025)
- RNZ, Government scraps plans for referendum on four-year term ('both coalition agreements secured support to get the bill to select committee but no further') (18 February 2026)
- 1News, 'You poor thing': Six big moments from the Multi-Party Debate (debate 13 October 2026) (13 October 2026)
- NZ First, The $100bn New Zealand Future Fund (13 August 2026)
- NZ First, NZ First Announces Immigration Reform Policies (30-year Population Plan) (11 September 2026)
- NZ First, Policy index (includes 'We Will Withdraw From The Paris Accord') (19 October 2026)
- 1News, Peters takes crack at Luxon over Paris climate agreement stance (1 September 2026)
Watch for
On 28 August it said Super eligibility would not change; on 6 September it said Super would be for citizens only from 2029. About $2.3b a year of costed spending has no funding source. If the $100b fund were borrowed, interest at 4.5% would be about $4.5b a year. The BNZ buy-back would be funded from ACC, banking bonds, Crown debt and KiwiSaver capital, with BNZ profits paying it back; the price is not stated. Its Real score (27 of 100) is the lowest of any party, because almost nothing is paid for. Its spending plans sit awkwardly with a coalition goal of shrinking government.
Party order is by seats in the current Parliament. 7 parties, the same template each.