Rebuilding Better: Political parties on the five ideas to improve New Zealand

As part of the Rebuilding Better series, the Weekend Herald spoke to each political party about its plan to make New Zealand a better country as we recover from the pandemic.

We asked parties for
five fixes they think would improve the country.

National Party – Christopher Luxon

Focusing on what matters

A National government will focus on the purposeful changes that are needed for economic stability and to make New Zealand a safer, more cohesive and more prosperous country where all New Zealanders can get ahead. We’ll competently manage the economy – for example, replacing wasteful spending with disciplined fiscal management that does not fuel inflation. National will be less about rearranging the bureaucracy, and more about supporting the frontline to achieve results that make a meaningful difference to people, for example in health. The culture of excuses will be replaced with a call to responsibility.

World-class education

Nothing disturbs me more than the current abysmal attendance and low academic achievement rates at schools. A pilot of new literacy and numeracy standards for Year 10 saw decile one kids – for whom an education is likely to be the best way to transform their lives – achieve just 2.2 per cent pass rates in writing, 10.1 per cent in numeracy and 24.1 per cent in reading. National will lead parents, schools and education ministries in a turnaround job. It can be done, with parents, schools and the Government working together.

Responsible economic management

All over the country, businesspeople tell me about the layers of central and local government compliance to be met before they can serve a single customer. National’s mindset will be how to help, not hold back, enterprise – because it is businesses and their workers that create more jobs and lift incomes, not bureaucrats in Wellington. New Zealanders work for an hour to earn what Australians do in 45 minutes. Investment is needed in more and better technology that allows businesses to produce more from the effort that’s already going in.

A well-managed economy means more jobs and higher wages. It means more money to invest in public services like health and education. And it means more ability to allow Kiwis to keep more of what they earn by reducing taxes.

Better public services through social investment

Public services need to work better.

National will invest in social housing, health and education – prioritising frontline delivery. It’s not just about pouring more money in and thinking that’s the same as getting better results. It is not. National will set targets like reducing wait times in hospital emergency departments and will hold itself publicly accountable for achieving those targets.

National cares deeply about people and social investment will be a key tool for breaking cycles of dysfunction that exist in our communities. It is about using data to effectively invest early to avert poor long-term social outcomes. That approach has eroded under Labour. National will bring it back.

Deepening international connections

Since shutting itself off during Covid, New Zealand has become more fearful and inward-looking. That mindset, on top of our physical isolation, means New Zealand needs to work hard to make our presence felt in the world. It’s about more than free trade agreements. New Zealand has much to gain, and to offer, by presenting a more confident, positive, ambitious and aspirational face to the world.

Co-leaders of the Green Party Marama Davidson and James Shaw

The Green Party has a plan to move beyond the world as it is, and create a world as it can and must be. A plan to solve long-term problems and set us all up for the future.

Right now the rules of our economy are hurting people and the planet.

Homes are expensive; income support is too low to free people from the constraints of poverty; unique native species are edging closer to extinction; and climate pollution is not yet declining at the pace needed.

These challenges haven’t come out of nowhere, but rather are the result of a series of decisions made by successive governments.

Inflation rules the headlines at the moment. The question, then, is what to do about it – while also setting us up for the future.

Our plan brings together bold action on climate change; action to restore our native wildlife; and income support that ensures everyone in and out of work can make ends meet.

The first and most immediate step is to lift people out of poverty and unlock what everyone needs to live a good life.

A guaranteed minimum income would provide a simple safety net that would ensure everyone in and out of work will always have enough to make ends meet and provide for their families.

And by redesigning the tax system we can raise the revenue to pay for it.

The simplest way to do this is through a Capital Gains Tax or a Wealth Tax targeted at the wealthiest few.

This would redistribute wealth from those with the most, so we can support those with the least.

An excess profit tax would be another simple and effective way to address the impact rising profits are having on inflation, raising money that could be used to provide immediate relief.

There also needs to be a fundamental rethink of housing so everyone has a healthy, safe and affordable place to call home, no matter if they rent or own.

That is why our plan would include a massive increase in the construction of accessible public housing.

A rent freeze, landlord register and rental warrant of fitness would also protect the half-million renters who are most likely to be living in unfit, mouldy and overpriced houses.

We would do all of this hand-in-hand with action to address the climate crisis.

The Greens in government have led the work on a blueprint to cut climate pollution right across Aotearoa.

But the pace of change is still too slow.

We need more clean energy; more public transport and safe options to walk and cycle; thriving natural taonga; and the creation of thousands of new jobs.

How we go about capturing these gains in our communities – and who stands to benefit most – is a question that we all need to be asking ourselves.

Our climate plan will cut emissions in a way that makes life better for everyone, protects nature and improves our communities.

The Greens are the only party that will address the immediate challenges we face while building the better, cleaner and more equal future our children deserve.

A future where all of our energy needs are met by clean power; where the land has healed and wildlife thrives; and where everyone has a liveable income and an affordable home to make their own.

Act leader David Seymour

Share the GST on home building with local councils

If you build a house and it costs $400,000, the Government gets 15 per cent, or $60,000, in GST alone. Then it gets all the income tax from the people who build and live in the house.

The council gets rates, development cost charges, and all of the costs of development. No wonder they hate saying yes. Act says the Government should share half the GST collected on construction with the local council. Not only could they afford to fix the pipes and roads, but it would change their behaviour. They’d have 30,000 reasons to say yes to your consents and we’d all get a lot more homes built.

Make reading mandatory for parole

We have high crime rates and high imprisonment rates because the same people keep reoffending. Half of those released from prison get convicted again within two years, and 70 per cent of those reoffend a third time.

Prisoners who are illiterate and unskilled, have no driver licence, and probably no bank account, should not be let out early on parole. We can’t keep sending half-rehabilitated people down the road, then wonder why they reoffend. Making literacy and learning a non-negotiable requirement for parole would make prisons places where self-improvement is the fastest way out.

Make Child Youth and Family colourblind

Like most agencies, Oranga Tamariki is governed by its own law, and this one contains Section 7AA. 7AA says OT must apply the “principles of the Treaty”’ They think taking kids out of Māori homes and putting them in Pākehā ones could breach the Treaty.

Under 7AA, OT will take kids out of safe Pākehā foster homes and put them back in dangerous environments because ancestry trumps safety, shelter, food, education, and love. Those values are not some Western conspiracy, they’re humanity. We should remove 7AA from Oranga Tamariki and put the needs of the child first.

Have a referendum on the meaning of the Treaty

The Treaty of Waitangi says all people have nga tikanga katoa rite tahi – the same rights and duties – but that’s not what we hear.

Instead, the courts and some governments have promoted a different idea: ‘A tiriti-centric Aotearoa’ that divides us into tangata whenua, land people, and tangata tiriti, Treaty people, with increasingly different rights and duties.

People feel that if they object they will be accused of not caring about Māori culture or past suffering. At the same time, we cannot continue with the Treaty that formed our country dividing it. It is a debate we can no longer avoid, and a referendum will foster that debate.

Have one body responsible for mental health funding

We spend $2 billion a year on mental health, and nobody is happy. Amazingly, there is no one-stop shop responsible for the quality of the spend. Programmes like Gumboot Friday get sidelined, services that don’t work carry on. Act would put the Mental Health Commission in charge of the budget – a one-stop shop focused only on making the mental health dollar go further. It is amazing we spend $2 billion a year, and nobody has this job.

Labour Party – Grant Robertson

Over the past five years our Government has been faced with unprecedented crises. We have managed those while supporting New Zealand to shift to a high-wage, low-emissions economy that provides economic security in good times and bad.

An important part of this plan includes addressing the issues of the past that have held us back – child poverty, housing affordability and climate change.

Five examples of how we are creating a more secure economy include:

Building resilient infrastructure – over successive decades New Zealand’s population has grown but the country has failed to invest in the infrastructure needed to keep up with that growth. This Government is turning that around. We have invested record levels of funding in high-quality infrastructure projects that create jobs and growth, reduce emissions and make the country more resilient. These are not just major projects like the City Rail Link and water infrastructure, but also the upkeep of schools and hospitals around the country. We are getting on with the investment, maintenance and upgrades that for too long have been neglected.

Climate change action – New Zealand’s brand relies on its clean reputation and ability to produce low-emissions food. We are transitioning the country to a low-emissions economy so we don’t get left behind in the race to produce the most climate-friendly food in the world. We have introduced the Zero Carbon Act, published our first Emissions Reduction Plan, created the Climate Emergency Response Fund, are tackling agriculture emissions and we have introduced vehicle emissions standards and incentives.

Child wellbeing – Through our actions 60,000 children have been lifted out of poverty. These have included lifting benefit rates, increasing the Family Tax Credit and providing free school lunches. More recently we also expanded eligibility for childcare to support more parents, helping ease cost-of-living pressures on families. Research shows nearly 23 per cent of mothers report difficulties getting childcare while working or want to work. This policy helps remove that barrier and enables parents to enter the workforce to help fill labour shortages, so it’s a win-win for families and the economy.

More public houses – Our Government is already building more houses than any government since the 1970s with more than 10,000 homes added to our housing stock. We are giving people a home, which flows through to making renting affordable for those on the lowest incomes and also frees up housing stock for others to rent or buy. Building decent-quality homes and putting in place Healthy Homes Standards also stop people getting from sick, easing pressure on our health system.

Trades training – Labour has backed apprentices with programmes like Apprenticeship Boost, Mana in Mahi, He Poutama Rangatahi and Māori Trades and Training keeping people in jobs and supporting employers to invest in jobseekers. More than 200,000 people have benefited from this. We are creating a local workforce that is highly skilled and productive. These programmes coupled with our immigration reset mean New Zealand will have the right people for the right jobs as we grow and prosper.

In all these given areas we have made great progress, and there is much more to do. As a country New Zealand has been hamstrung by long-term challenges and I’m proud of the fact we are taking on those big challenges and making positive change.

It’s been a tough few years and we are not out of the woods yet. Our Government has navigated the choppy waters and will keep New Zealand on a safe and stable course as we build back better and create a secure economy for all New Zealanders.

Te Pāti Māori

The Herald asked the Te Pāti Māori to submit their five ideas but did not receive them by the publication deadline.