Green Party NZ policies 2026
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand · Rōpū Kākāriki · Marama Davidson & Chlöe Swarbrick · 15 seats in 2023
Left-green party campaigning on taxing wealth to fund public services, rapid decarbonisation, mass public housing and Te Tiriti-based partnership.
Economic position
-9.2
state-leaning, on a −10 to +10 scale
Social position
-9.3
progressive-leaning
Positions recorded
37
each with a source and a date
What Greens is campaigning on in 2026
Green Party NZ's clearest published commitments, each linked to its source. The full record on all 37 quiz questions follows below.
- Strongly supports
Goes further, wants a 33% capital acquisitions tax on assets or gifts over $1 million, alongside an annual wealth tax.
On: New Zealand should tax the profit people make when they sell an investment property.
Green Party: A tax system for all of us - Strongly supports
Campaigning on a Renters' Rights Bill capping rent rises at 2% a year, scrapping no-cause evictions and creating a rental warrant of fitness.
On: Annual rent increases should be capped at around 2%, and landlords should not be able to evict without a reason.
NZ Herald: Green Party housing policy - Strongly opposes
Supports free primary healthcare as part of an 'equitable, accessible and properly supported' system.
On: Health money should go to medicines and advanced treatment rather than making doctor's visits free.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 - Strongly supports
Strongly committed, campaigning on rapidly phasing out fossil fuels and mass electrification.
On: New Zealand should stay in the Paris climate agreement and keep to its emissions targets, even if it costs up to $5 billion and the United States has pulled out.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 - Strongly opposes
Strongly opposed, argues the focus should be on 'preventing harm happening in the first place'.
On: Jail sentences should be longer, with a minimum term for repeat offenders.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 - Strongly supports
Committed to putting 'Te Tiriti o Waitangi at the heart of a modern Aotearoa founded on real partnership'.
On: A commission should be able to block laws it believes breach Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 - Strongly supports
Core manifesto policy, 2.5% annual tax on net assets above $10m, projected to raise $3.8b in 2027/28, funding an income tax cut for 96% of people.
On: People who own more than $10 million in assets should pay a yearly tax on it, even if they don't earn enough income to pay it.
RNZ: Greens propose wealth and inheritance taxes - Strongly supports
Campaigning to build 40,000 new public homes over five years, delivered partly through a new Ministry of Green Works.
On: The government should borrow to build tens of thousands of new state and public houses.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026
Greens on economy, tax & cost of living
New Zealand should tax the profit people make when they sell an investment property.
Strongly supportsGoes further, wants a 33% capital acquisitions tax on assets or gifts over $1 million, alongside an annual wealth tax.
Green Party: A tax system for all of us · verified 2026-08-13People who own more than $10 million in assets should pay a yearly tax on it, even if they don't earn enough income to pay it.
Strongly supportsCore manifesto policy, 2.5% annual tax on net assets above $10m, projected to raise $3.8b in 2027/28, funding an income tax cut for 96% of people.
RNZ: Greens propose wealth and inheritance taxes · verified 2026-08-13The government should fix its deficit and debt by spending less, not by taxing more.
Strongly opposesOpposed. Proposes $8b over four years in new green investment and a Ministry of Green Works, funded by taxing wealth and large corporates.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 · verified 2026-08-13The government should buy back a major bank and break up the power companies and supermarkets.
Strongly supportsWould force Foodstuffs and Woolworths to sell 120 stores and two distribution centres into public ownership to create 'KiwiMart', a state-owned chain mandated to prioritise affordability, alongside gentailer separation and a Crown renewable entity.
Green Party: KiwiMart and breaking up the duopoly · verified 2026-09-07The age you can start getting NZ Super should rise above 65.
OpposesSupports keeping universal super at 65, preferring to raise revenue from wealth rather than restrict entitlement.
RNZ: Party positions on the superannuation age · verified 2026-08-13The government should rule out any new taxes and grow the economy instead.
Strongly opposesProposes a wealth tax, a higher corporate rate for the largest companies and an inheritance tax to fund an income tax cut for 96% of people.
RNZ: Greens propose wealth and inheritance taxes · verified 2026-09-29Small businesses should pay less tax so they can grow, employ more people and grow the economy.
OpposesExplicitly keeps small businesses at 28% while lifting the rate to 33% for the largest corporates, so it is not cutting.
RNZ: Greens propose wealth and inheritance taxes · verified 2026-09-29People on a benefit who are able to work should lose part of it if they turn down suitable work.
Strongly opposesWould repeal the sanctions regime and overhaul welfare so it treats people 'with respect and dignity', and has campaigned against sanctions doubling.
Green Party: benefit sanctions double under National · verified 2026-09-30
Greens on housing & renting
Annual rent increases should be capped at around 2%, and landlords should not be able to evict without a reason.
Strongly supportsCampaigning on a Renters' Rights Bill capping rent rises at 2% a year, scrapping no-cause evictions and creating a rental warrant of fitness.
NZ Herald: Green Party housing policy · verified 2026-08-13The government should borrow to build tens of thousands of new state and public houses.
Strongly supportsCampaigning to build 40,000 new public homes over five years, delivered partly through a new Ministry of Green Works.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 · verified 2026-08-13Landlords should be able to deduct mortgage interest as a business expense before paying tax on rental income.
Strongly opposesWould remove interest deductibility for residential landlords again, arguing the tax break inflates house prices and costs billions.
NZ Herald: Green Party housing policy · verified 2026-08-13It should be quicker and easier to get houses and roads built.
Strongly opposesOpposed, would revoke consents granted under the Fast-track Approvals Act and supports density near transport rather than weakening environmental protection.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 · verified 2026-08-13There are too many rules on landlords, and the cost ends up in the rent.
Strongly opposesCampaigning on an independently certified rental warrant of fitness and a national landlords register.
NZ Herald: Green Party housing policy · verified 2026-08-13The government should back 5% deposits for first-home buyers earning up to $300,000, so more people can own instead of rent.
OpposesIts housing policy is built on public homes, rent caps and a rental warrant of fitness rather than demand-side lending support, and it has not backed the change. Inferred from that rather than a stated position.
NZ Herald: Green Party housing policy · verified 2026-09-29The government should add at least 6,000 social housing places over four years, even if it has to borrow to do it.
Strongly supportsGoes further, campaigning to build 40,000 public homes over five years.
NZ Herald: Green Party housing policy · verified 2026-08-13
Greens on health & education
Health money should go to medicines and advanced treatment rather than making doctor's visits free.
Strongly opposesSupports free primary healthcare as part of an 'equitable, accessible and properly supported' system.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 · verified 2026-08-13There should be a separate Māori-led authority commissioning health services specifically for Māori, in addition to the health system everyone uses.
Strongly supportsSupports restoring Māori-led health commissioning as part of Te Tiriti-based partnership.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 · verified 2026-08-13Schools should focus on the basics with standardised national testing, and NCEA should be replaced.
OpposesOpposes high-stakes standardised testing, arguing education is 'a public good and a lifelong right, not a commodity'.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 · verified 2026-08-13Parents should be able to choose their child's school, including charter schools that set their own curriculum.
Strongly opposesOpposed, argues public education should not be run on a commercial or competitive model.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 · verified 2026-08-13Public services like health and education should be expanded, even if that means Kiwis pay more tax.
Strongly supportsExplicitly campaigning to tax the super-rich and large corporates to fund critical social services.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 · verified 2026-08-13Students should have 10% wiped off their loans, even if it costs $583 million and is paid for by taxpayers who never went to university.
SupportsIts education policy commits to exploring a debt write-off scheme, a higher repayment threshold and a progressive repayment scale, so it supports the direction without endorsing this specific policy.
Green Party: Education policy · verified 2026-09-29
Greens on climate, energy & environment
New Zealand should stay in the Paris climate agreement and keep to its emissions targets, even if it costs up to $5 billion and the United States has pulled out.
Strongly supportsStrongly committed, campaigning on rapidly phasing out fossil fuels and mass electrification.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 · verified 2026-08-13New Zealand should look for more oil and gas to grow the economy.
Strongly opposesStrongly opposed, campaigning on rapidly phasing out fossil fuels and prioritising solar, wind, hydro and geothermal.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 · verified 2026-08-13Farmers should not have to pay for the greenhouse gases their animals produce.
Strongly opposesOpposed, wants agricultural emissions priced so methane targets are actually met.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 · verified 2026-08-13New Zealand should make it easier to mine and develop natural resources to grow the economy.
Strongly opposesCampaigning to revoke all coal, gold and seabed mining consents approved under the Fast-track Approvals Act.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 · verified 2026-08-13Even though farming is our biggest export earner, farm animal numbers should be reduced and synthetic nitrogen fertiliser phased out to clean up rivers.
Strongly supportsCampaigning to phase out synthetic nitrogen fertiliser and reduce cattle and sheep numbers to improve water quality.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 · verified 2026-08-13Transport funding should prioritise roads and highways over public transport and cycleways.
Strongly opposesWould reverse the traditional priority on roads: light rail in Auckland and Wellington, intercity rail, targeted free fares and a $1.5b cycle superhighway fund.
Green Party: transport policy · verified 2026-09-30
Greens on law, order & justice
Jail sentences should be longer, with a minimum term for repeat offenders.
Strongly opposesStrongly opposed, argues the focus should be on 'preventing harm happening in the first place'.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 · verified 2026-08-13Prisons should be phased out by 2040 and replaced with community-led alternatives.
SupportsSupports a major shift toward prevention and decarceration, without committing to full abolition by a fixed date.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 · verified 2026-08-13We should build more prison capacity and put considerably more police on the front line.
Strongly opposesOpposed, would redirect the spending into prevention, housing and mental health.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 · verified 2026-08-13The justice system should spend more on fixing the causes of crime, like poverty and addiction, and less on punishment.
Strongly supportsCore justice principle, 'preventing harm happening in the first place' and reforming systems toward fair and equitable outcomes.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 · verified 2026-08-13Gang patches should stay banned in public and police should have more power to disrupt gangs.
Strongly opposesOpposed, argues the ban is ineffective, infringes rights and is disproportionately enforced against Māori.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 · verified 2026-08-13
Greens on te tiriti, rights & immigration
A commission should be able to block laws it believes breach Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Strongly supportsCommitted to putting 'Te Tiriti o Waitangi at the heart of a modern Aotearoa founded on real partnership'.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 · verified 2026-08-13The New Zealand population should decide on whether to keep the Māori electorate seats.
Strongly opposesOpposed, argues a general referendum on Māori representation is inconsistent with Te Tiriti.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 · verified 2026-08-13Migration should be cut to take pressure off housing, roads and hospitals.
Strongly opposesOpposed to cutting numbers, proposes granting residency to migrants on work visas and expanding humanitarian and family reunification pathways.
Green Party: Immigration policy · verified 2026-08-13Non-citizens who commit serious crimes should be deported, and a dedicated unit should track down overstayers.
Strongly opposesOpposed, campaigns for 'welcoming, safe and fair pathways' and would regularise the status of people on expired visas.
Green Party: Immigration policy · verified 2026-08-13As 4.3% of New Zealand's population speak it, te reo Māori should be actively promoted across government and society, including in the names of public agencies.
Strongly supportsSupports active promotion and protection of te reo Māori as a Tiriti obligation.
Green Party: Manifesto 2026 · verified 2026-08-13
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