Head to head
Compare parties
Pick two parties and read their commitments on the same issue, side by side, in their own published words. Both parties have a position on 40 of the 40 issues shown.
Beneficiaries
Employment, Welfare & Retirement Labour
- No results
National
- Use a traffic-light compliance system, sanctions, money management and community work requirements for beneficiaries who do not meet work obligations
- Contract community providers and job coaches to help young Jobseekers into sustained work, with a $1,000 incentive for eligible under-25s who remain off benefit for 12 months
Bike lanes
Transport & Infrastructure Labour
- No results
National
- No results
Capital Gains Tax
Tax & Fiscal Policy Labour
- Simple targeted capital gains tax on investment property profits to fund health
National
- No new taxes if re-elected
Child Poverty
Education & Children Labour
- Reduce family costs through three free GP visits, free prescriptions, free maternity scans and a weekly public-transport fare cap
National
- Extend paid parental leave from 26 to 30 weeks and automatically enrol newborns in KiwiSaver with a $1,500 Baby Boost
Children
Education & Children Labour
- [Stuff news source] Support legislation banning social-media access for children under 16
National
- Automatically enrol every newborn in KiwiSaver and provide a $1,500 Baby Boost from 1 July 2027
- Extend paid parental leave from 26 to 30 weeks by 2029, allow parents to share or overlap leave, and protect full holiday pay after parental leave
- [Stuff news source] Introduce legislation banning social-media access for children under 16
Climate Change
Energy, Climate & Environment Labour
- [RNZ news source] Fund climate adaptation through a mix of beneficiary pays, exacerbator pays, central and local government funding, with banks and insurers also involved; a fuller policy was still to be announced
- Use SolarSaver to remove the upfront cost of solar for homeowners, renters and communities
- [Newsroom source] Reinstate explicit climate-change teaching in science and social-science curricula
National
- [RNZ news source] Continue a practical National Adaptation Framework focused on clear risk information, planning certainty and lower societal costs; develop national standards for river-gravel extraction and on-farm quarrying for resilience projects
- Accelerate renewable-energy and backup-generation projects to improve energy security and lower bills
Compulsory Military Service
Foreign Affairs, Immigration & Defence Labour
- No results
- Keep New Zealand out of AUKUS Pillar Two, arguing equivalent defence and technology cooperation can be pursued through other international relationships
National
- No results
Cost of Living
Economy & Cost of Living Labour
- $20 weekly public transport fare cap
- Three free doctor's visits each year for every New Zealander
- Free prescriptions from July 2027
- Free maternity scans from July 2028
- Free cervical screening for ages 25–69 from 1 October 2027
- Solar without the upfront cost for homeowners, renters and communities
- [RNZ news source] Freeze fuel excise duty increases for the full parliamentary term
National
- Home Energy Fund offering low-interest, long-term loans for solar, batteries, insulation and other home-energy upgrades to help lower power bills
- No new taxes if re-elected
- [Stuff news source] Delay the scheduled January 2027 fuel-excise increase; positions on the planned 2028 and 2029 increases were still to be announced
- [1News source] Make cervical screening free for all women aged 25–69 from March 2027, removing the screening charge for about 786,000 more women
Crime
Justice & Public Safety Labour
- No results
- Scrap military-style youth boot camps and replace them with evidence-based programmes that reduce reoffending and support rehabilitation
- Remove rough sleeping and begging from the Move On Orders Bill and prioritise stable housing rather than criminalisation
National
- [RNZ news source] Toughen sentencing for sexual offending by removing good-character assessments at sentencing for all sexual crimes
Debt Ratio
Tax & Fiscal Policy Labour
- Reduce net debt to around 20% of GDP over time
National
- Bend debt below 40% of GDP and maintain it below that level over time
Economy
Economy & Cost of Living Labour
- Fiscal strategy to return to surplus by 2029/30 and reduce debt while growing the economy
- New Zealand Future Fund to invest in Kiwi businesses
- Small Business Action Plan covering payment times, an asset write-off and a higher GST threshold
- Put Small Business first with a fair shot at work and less time dealing with government
National
- Three Budget Responsibility Rules: prioritise surplus in 2028/29, reduce debt below 40% of GDP, and lower core Crown spending towards 30% of GDP
- No new taxes if re-elected
- [RNZ news source] Prioritise trade deals with seven countries, pursue essential-supplies agreements, expand paperless trade and digital customs, and direct NZTE to identify high-value FTA opportunities
- [Stuff news source] Deliver a South Island growth package covering hospital capacity, school upgrades, energy reform, freight infrastructure and Queenstown transport investment
- Pursue average economic growth of 2.7% annually over four years, with 220,000 additional jobs and wages forecast to grow faster than inflation
Education
Education & Children Labour
- Expand Apprenticeship Boost to support more tradies and young people
- Back Māori into skilled work with Māori-led training
- [Newsroom source] Reinstate school boards’ legal obligation to give effect to Te Tiriti, take a less prescriptive approach to teaching, reintegrate charter schools and restore locally delivered healthy school lunches
National
- Reduce the compulsory student-loan repayment rate from 12% to 10% from 1 April 2027 and strengthen recovery from overseas borrowers
- Expand maths, reading and writing resources and replace NCEA with a new national qualification
- Lower domestic student-loan repayment rates while strengthening recovery from borrowers living overseas
- Double Trades Academy places from 10,000 to 20,000, add Youth Guarantee places and integrate new vocational subjects into national secondary qualifications
Energy Sector
Energy, Climate & Environment Labour
- Solar without the upfront cost for homeowners, renters and communities
National
- Launch a Home Energy Fund for low-interest loans repaid through rates for solar, batteries, insulation and other energy-resilience upgrades
- Make small-scale solar, batteries and micro-hydro largely permitted without resource consent
- Accelerate renewable generation and backup-energy projects to strengthen energy security and lower bills
Excise Tax
Tax & Fiscal Policy Labour
- Freeze fuel excise duty at its current rate for the full three-year parliamentary term
- [RNZ news source] Reinstate the Smokefree Generation policy and reverse the 50% excise-duty reduction for heated tobacco products
National
- [Stuff news source] Cancel the scheduled 12-cent-per-litre fuel-excise rise in January 2027, then introduce four 5-cent increases at six-month intervals from January 2028
- Continue transitioning petrol vehicles from fuel excise duty to electronic road-user charges based on distance and vehicle weight
First Home Buyers
Housing Labour
- Make it easier for people to buy their first home as part of a broader housing plan focused on affordability, secure renting and additional supply; detailed implementation settings remain to be announced
National
- Allow workers in service tenancies, including farm workers and rural teachers, to use KiwiSaver for a first home without immediately living in it; allow first-time farm buyers to purchase through a company, trust or partnership they control
- [Stuff news source] Raise the First Home Loan income cap to $300,000 for all applicants, including sole buyers, expanding access to the government-backed 5% deposit scheme
Health
Health & Care Labour
- Three free doctor's visits each year for every New Zealander
- Free prescriptions from July 2027
- Free cervical screening for ages 25–69 from 1 October 2027
- Family Doctor Loan Scheme to create 4.5 million new GP visits
- Job guarantee for every eligible graduate nurse
- [RNZ news source] Reinstate the Smokefree Generation policy, reverse the heated-tobacco excise reduction, and introduce tobacco and vape licensing
- [1News source] Prioritise direct funding for Māori health providers rather than reviving the former Māori Health Authority, according to Labour Māori campaign chair Willie Jackson
National
- [Stuff news source] Fit out Christchurch Hospital’s third tower to provide 96 additional beds
- Continue expanding frontline healthcare through more medicines, palliative-care centres for seriously ill children, three-day postnatal stays and a lower bowel-screening age of 56
- [1News source] Make cervical screening free for all women aged 25–69 from March 2027, extending free access to about 786,000 more women
Homecare Health
Health & Care Labour
- Make primary and community healthcare more affordable through three free doctor visits, free prescriptions and expanded local GP capacity
- Repeal the Disability Support Services Act and replace it with rights-based legislation co-designed with disabled people and carers
National
- Temporarily increase mileage reimbursement for home and community support workers by 30%, from 63.5 cents to 82.5 cents per kilometre, while high fuel prices persist
Housing Affordability
Housing Labour
- Put housing affordability first by making first-home ownership easier, renting fairer and more secure, and building additional homes; detailed implementation settings remain to be announced
National
- Unlock 30 years of zoned housing capacity, expand urban land supply, standardise planning rules, reform infrastructure financing and reward councils that deliver housing growth
Immigration Policy
Foreign Affairs, Immigration & Defence Labour
- No results
National
- No results
- Introduce specialist visas for top-university graduates, highly paid global technology workers and digital nomads as part of a technology-growth package
Inflation
Economy & Cost of Living Labour
- Return to surplus by 2029/30, reduce net debt to 20% of GDP and keep spending and revenue sustainable
- Freeze fuel-excise increases for the parliamentary term to limit household transport-cost pressure
National
- Apply Budget Responsibility Rules targeting surplus in 2028/29, debt below 40% of GDP and core Crown spending toward 30% of GDP
- Pursue economic growth averaging 2.7% over four years, with wages forecast to grow faster than inflation
Israel/Palestine
Foreign Affairs, Immigration & Defence Labour
- No results
National
- No results
Kiwisaver change
Employment, Welfare & Retirement Labour
- No results
National
- Make KiwiSaver compulsory for all workers from 1 July 2028 and lift combined default contributions to 12% by 2032
- Add a $1,500 Baby Boost, parental-leave contributions and employer contributions for workers over 65
Labour rights
Employment, Welfare & Retirement Labour
- [Stuff news source] Extend the living wage to all state-sector workers, covering an estimated 20,000 people
National
- No results
Land Tax
Tax & Fiscal Policy Labour
- No results
National
- Oppose new land taxes under National’s no-new-taxes commitment; pursue housing affordability through land supply, planning and infrastructure reform instead
Maternity Funding
Health & Care Labour
- Free maternity scans from July 2028
National
- Provide a government KiwiSaver contribution during paid parental leave even when the parent is not contributing
- Extend paid parental leave from 26 weeks to 30 weeks
Means Tested Super
Employment, Welfare & Retirement Labour
- No results
- Require retirement-village operators to repay departing residents within a defined timeframe rather than leaving capital tied up indefinitely
National
- No results
Māori-Crown Relations
Māori–Crown Relations Labour
- [Newsroom source] Reinstate school boards’ obligation to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi
National
- No results
No new taxes
Tax & Fiscal Policy Labour
- No results
National
- No new taxes if re-elected, including no accommodation levy or bank tax
Pay Equity
Employment, Welfare & Retirement Labour
- Reverse the 2025 pay-equity restrictions and restore a broader pathway for claims, arguing fiscal savings should not come at the expense of women in female-dominated workforces
National
- Retain a revised pay-equity regime focused on demonstrated sex-based undervaluation, preserve the twelve completed settlements and allow new claims under a clearer and more affordable process
Property Value
Housing Labour
- Introduce a 28% capital gains tax on profits from residential investment and commercial property sold after the 1 July 2027 valuation date, excluding the family home and farms
- [RNZ news source] Economists said the CGT could reduce investors’ expected after-tax return and place gradual downward pressure on land and house values
National
- No results
Public Transport
Transport & Infrastructure Labour
- $20 weekly public transport fare cap
National
- [Stuff news source] Make funding available for Queenstown public-transport solutions, including a possible gondola
Reduction of Government Departments
Governance & Democracy Labour
- No results
National
- Right-size government by reducing core Crown expenditure toward 30% of GDP, prioritising frontline services and reducing lower-priority expenditure
Renewable Energy
Energy, Climate & Environment Labour
- Use SolarSaver subsidies and loan schemes to remove the upfront cost of solar for homeowners, renters and communities
National
- Provide low-interest, rates-repaid loans for solar, batteries, insulation and heat pumps, and ease consenting for small-scale solar and batteries
- Accelerate renewable generation and backup-energy projects
Rental Rights
Housing Labour
- Make renting fairer and more secure as part of Labour’s housing priority; detailed tenancy-law settings remain to be announced
National
- Support rebalanced tenancy laws, restored mortgage-interest deductibility, defined social-housing tenancy durations and regular reviews, with assistance redirected toward low-income private renters
Road Safety
Transport & Infrastructure Labour
- No results
National
- No results
School lunches
Education & Children Labour
- Restore the previous Ka Ora, Ka Ako model using schools and local providers; protect full healthy lunches as a cost-of-living, attendance and learning measure that Labour says saves families about $33 a week per child
National
- Continue the redesigned school-lunch programme within the coalition’s education programme, providing meals to around 242,000 students each school day in 2027 at a weighted average cost of $3.58, with savings also funding meals for up to 10,000 children in early learning services
Tax System Overhaul
Tax & Fiscal Policy Labour
- No results
National
- No results
Transportation Taxes
Tax & Fiscal Policy Labour
- Freeze fuel excise duty at its current rate for the full three-year parliamentary term
National
- [Stuff news source] Cancel the January 2027 fuel-excise rise, then introduce four 5-cent-per-litre increases at six-month intervals from January 2028
- Replace petrol excise with electronic road-user charges based on distance and vehicle weight
Vaccinations for Children
Health & Care Labour
- No results
National
- Target 95% of two-year-olds receiving all age-appropriate immunisations and publish regional progress quarterly
- Incentivise GP clinics to improve childhood and MMR immunisation rates through performance payments
Wealth tax
Tax & Fiscal Policy Labour
- No results
National
- Oppose a wealth tax under National’s commitment not to introduce new taxes