Labour policies 2026

Labour on economy, tax & cost of living

• New Zealand should tax the profit people make when they sell an investment property.

  Strongly supports

  Campaigning on a 28% tax on profit from selling investment property from 1 July 2027, with every dollar ring-fenced for health. Excludes the family home, farms, KiwiSaver, shares and businesses.

  Hipkins: Labour Congress 2026 speech · verified 2026-08-13

• People who own more than $10 million should pay a yearly tax on it.

  Opposes

  Has ruled out a wealth tax this term, choosing a narrower capital gains tax on investment property instead.

  Labour: Our Policies · verified 2026-08-13

• The government should fix the deficit by spending less, not by taxing more.

  Opposes

  Would rebuild public services and fund them through a targeted capital gains tax rather than cuts.

  Labour: Our Policies · verified 2026-08-13

• The government should buy back a major bank and break up the power companies and supermarkets.

  Mixed / no clear position

  Middle position, proposes a 'NZ Future Fund' to invest in domestic business, but has not committed to nationalising banks or splitting energy companies.

  Labour: Our Policies · verified 2026-08-13

• The age you can start getting NZ Super should rise above 65.

  Strongly opposes

  Has ruled out changing superannuation settings if elected.

  RNZ: Labour rules out changing superannuation · verified 2026-08-13

Labour on housing & renting

• Annual rent increases should be capped at around 2%, and landlords should not be able to evict without a reason.

  Supports

  Supports stronger renter protections and previously removed no-cause evictions in government, but has not adopted a hard rent cap.

  Labour: Our Policies · verified 2026-08-13

• The government should build tens of thousands of new state and public houses.

  Supports

  Would raise the Crown guarantee for community housing providers' social bonds to get more homes built, a smaller-scale approach than the Greens'.

  Labour: Our Policies · verified 2026-08-13

• Landlords should be able to deduct mortgage interest as a business expense before paying tax on rental income.

  Mixed / no clear position

  No decided position. Labour removed deductibility in government but says it has not decided whether to reinstate the removal, and will confirm when it releases its fiscal plan.

  Labour: Our Policies · verified 2026-08-13

• It should be quicker and easier to get houses and roads built, even if neighbours get less say and there are fewer environmental checks.

  Opposes

  Supported urban density reform in government but opposes the coalition's fast-track ministerial powers, and would repeal the Regulatory Standards Act within 100 days.

  Regulatory Standards Act 2025 · verified 2026-08-13

• There are too many rules on landlords, and the cost ends up in the rent.

  Opposes

  Introduced the Healthy Homes standards in government and supports strengthening them, short of a full WoF regime.

  Labour: Our Policies · verified 2026-08-13

Labour on health & education

• Health money should go to medicines and hospitals rather than making doctor's visits free.

  Strongly opposes

  Flagship policy, three free GP visits a year via a new 'Medicard', and removing the $5 prescription fee from 1 July 2027.

  Hipkins: Labour Congress 2026 speech · verified 2026-08-13

• There should be a Māori-led health authority running health services designed for Māori.

  Supports

  Created Te Aka Whai Ora in government and opposed its disestablishment, but has not committed to recreating it in the same form.

  Labour: Our Policies · verified 2026-08-13

• Schools should focus on the basics with standardised national testing, and NCEA should be replaced.

  Strongly opposes

  Would reverse the coalition's curriculum changes and mandated testing, which it calls the 'politicisation of education'.

  Labour: Our Policies · verified 2026-08-13

• Parents should have more choice of school, including more charter and special-character schools.

  Strongly opposes

  Opposed, closed charter schools when last in government and would restore school boards' Treaty of Waitangi obligations.

  Labour: Our Policies · verified 2026-08-13

• Public services like health and education should be expanded, even if that means higher taxes overall.

  Strongly supports

  Campaigning on a capital gains tax with all revenue ring-fenced for health.

  Hipkins: Labour Congress 2026 speech · verified 2026-08-13

Labour on climate, energy & environment

• New Zealand should stay in the Paris climate agreement and keep to its emissions targets.

  Strongly supports

  Committed to remaining in Paris and to the existing emissions budgets.

  Carbon News: Labour vows to reinstate the oil and gas ban · verified 2026-08-13

• New Zealand should look for more oil and gas, including funding a survey of offshore reserves.

  Strongly opposes

  Introduced the original exploration ban and opposes its reversal, campaigning instead on solar via 'SolarSaver'.

  Carbon News: Labour vows to reinstate the oil and gas ban · verified 2026-08-13

• Farmers should not have to pay for the greenhouse gases their animals produce.

  Mixed / no clear position

  No settled position. Hipkins says the long-standing policy of pricing agricultural emissions is 'under review' and Labour may not campaign on it in 2026.

  NZ Herald on Hipkins: farming emissions policy under review · verified 2026-08-13

• New Zealand should make it easier to mine and develop natural resources, including on the seabed.

  Opposes

  Opposed the Fast-track Act's ministerial powers and supports stronger environmental safeguards, without committing to revoke all consents.

  Carbon News: Labour vows to reinstate the oil and gas ban · verified 2026-08-13

• Farm animal numbers should be reduced and synthetic nitrogen fertiliser phased out to clean up rivers.

  Mixed / no clear position

  Middle position, supports freshwater standards and reversing the coalition's rollback, but not reducing herd numbers.

  NZ Herald on Hipkins: farming emissions policy under review · verified 2026-08-13

Labour on law, order & justice

• Sentences should be longer, with automatic minimum jail terms for repeat offenders.

  Opposes

  Opposed reinstating Three Strikes, arguing mandatory minimums produce unjust outcomes without reducing crime.

  NZ Herald: Labour on coalition crime policies · verified 2026-08-13

• Prisons should be phased out by 2040 and replaced with community-led alternatives.

  Strongly opposes

  Explicitly rules it out, described as 'dead-set against' abolishing prisons.

  Te Ao Māori News: Te Pāti Māori on abolishing prisons · verified 2026-08-13

• We should build more prison capacity and put considerably more police on the front line.

  Supports

  Supports more police, but opposes expanding prison capacity as the primary response to crime.

  NZ Herald: Labour on coalition crime policies · verified 2026-08-13

• The justice system should spend more on fixing the causes of crime, like poverty and addiction, and less on punishment.

  Supports

  Favours addressing drivers of crime alongside enforcement, while maintaining prisons and police.

  NZ Herald: Labour on coalition crime policies · verified 2026-08-13

• Gang patches should stay banned in public and police should have more power to disrupt gangs.

  Mixed / no clear position

  Genuinely split. Hipkins has repeatedly committed to keeping the ban, while other Labour MPs have signalled repeal. The party has not finalised its position.

  NZ Herald: Labour on coalition crime policies · verified 2026-08-13

Labour on te tiriti, rights & immigration

• An independent commissioner should be able to block laws that breach Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

  Supports

  Supports Treaty obligations in law, including restoring school boards' Treaty duties and repealing the Regulatory Standards Act, but has not backed a veto-holding commissioner.

  Regulatory Standards Act 2025 · verified 2026-08-13

• There should be a binding referendum on whether to keep the Māori electorates.

  Opposes

  Opposed in direction: it is contesting all seven Māori electorates and treats their future as a matter for Māori. It has not published a specific 2026 commitment on a referendum, so this is inferred from that rather than a stated position.

  2026 NZ general election: party platforms · verified 2026-08-13

• Net migration should be cut significantly to take pressure off housing, roads and hospitals.

  Strongly supports

  Committed to cutting net migration by roughly 20,000–30,000, partly by reducing international students in low-level courses.

  NZ Herald: Where the parties stand on immigration · verified 2026-08-13

• Non-citizens who commit serious crimes should be deported, and a dedicated unit should track down overstayers.

  Mixed / no clear position

  Mixed, supports existing deportation powers for serious offending, but opposes new enforcement units and welfare stand-downs for residents.

  NZ Herald: Where the parties stand on immigration · verified 2026-08-13

• Te reo Māori should be actively promoted across government and society, including in the names of public agencies.

  Supports

  Supportive in direction: it would restore Treaty obligations removed by the coalition and opposed the English-first directive. It has not published a standalone te reo policy for 2026, so this is inferred rather than a stated commitment.

  2026 NZ general election: party platforms · verified 2026-08-13

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