New Zealand prides itself on its history of egalitarianism, from women's suffrage to marriage equality. But the struggle for fair treatment, recognition and inclusion by marginalised groups continues. In recent years, these struggles have overlapped with debates around the limits and responsibilities of free speech.
New Zealand prides itself on its history of egalitarianism, from women's suffrage to marriage equality. But the struggle for fair treatment, recognition and inclusion by marginalised groups continues. In recent years, these struggles have overlapped with debates around the limits and responsibilities of free speech.
Reduce barriers to accessing benefits
Introduce free public transport for all students
Create more pathways for school leavers
Increase diplomatic support for Pasifika leaders
Establish a Māori accident compensation authority
Abolish youth justice facilities by 2030
Raise the age of criminal responsibility to 16
Establish a Māori child protection agency
Stop newborns from being put into state care without family, hapū or iwi consent
Review Oranga Tamariki's child protection protocols
Establish a Māori disability authority
Involve Māori disability organisations in policy development
Increase funding for Māori providers of the Enabling Good Lives programme
Improve access to health services for disabled people
Aim to ensure antenatal screening programmes are not biased towards termination if disability is diagnosed
Require all new houses to be fully accessible
Make existing public housing fully accessible
Make Māori sign language an official language
Increase the number of users of Māori sign-language
Abolish the minimum wage exemption
Abolish benefit abatement rates for disabled people and their carers
Enable Māori disabled people to access cultural spaces and activities
Enable Māori disabled people to participate in sport
Provide free primary healthcare to under 30s
Provide free public transport to under 30s
Provide a $1500 credit for bikes and e-scooters to under 30s
Introduce a card and app for citizens and residents up to the age of 30
Introduce and incentivise a national civic service programme
Increase income support for disabled people
Provide free basic mental health care to under 30s
Provide free dental care to under 30s
Provide free basic eyecare to under 30s
Require children to be signed up for Kiwisaver at birth
Establish a commissioner for future generations
Introduce an income guarantee for people unable to work due to health conditions or disabilities
Review legislation, policy and practice to meet international human rights obligations for children
Require a children's interests analysis for government policy decisions
Improve access to social services for children
Provide free mental health services for children and young people
Reinstate the Children's Commissioner's independent monitoring powers
Safeguard the rights of tamariki Māori to maintain connection to their whakapapa
Increase funding for predator, weed and pest control
Eradicate pests on the sub-Antarctic Maukahuka Auckland Islands
Lower the voting age to 16
Fund advocacy services for people with disabilities
Co-design accessibility legislation with the disabled community
Reform the Building Code to promote accessibility
Require television broadcasters to provide content in accessible formats
Eliminate the use of seclusion in state care or disability services
Regulate the vaping industry and ban disposable vapes
Ensure adequate support for students with disabilities and additional learning needs
Restore waterways and control freshwater pests
Ensure equitable representation in government roles
Reduce social and economic disparities faced by wāhine Māori
Extend paid parental leave to 15 months
Support pay equity settlements
Improve pregnancy care through better funding of midwives and services
Train healthcare workers to reduce biases
Expand youth courts and support for youth in the justice system
Prohibit the detention of young people with adults
Extend hate speech protections to cover religion, gender, disability, and Rainbow communities
Extend the Election Access Fund to disabled individuals running in local elections
Speed up access to support for people with neurodivergent conditions
Reinstate the 10-year residency requirement for superannuation eligibility
Support Tagata Moana leadership on climate action
Repeal the Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982
Replace the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme
Deliver housing suitable for multi-generational families
Establish a Ministry for Rainbow Communities
Develop culturally appropriate healthcare for Māori and Pasifika members of the rainbow community
Allocate funds to organisations supporting the rainbow community
Promote non-discriminatory access to gender-affirming healthcare
Support intersex healthcare reform
Reform policies to support Rainbow asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants
Ensure public and community housing is suitable for senior citizens
Provide integrated community health services for the wellbeing of kaumātua
Increase superannuation payments
Increase funding for staff in aged care facilities
Ensure retirement homes reserve a quarter of their housing as affordable rental units
Develop a long-term strategy for improving dementia care
Provide equal opportunities for disabled students in tertiary education
Provide free public transport for young people, students, apprentices, low income earners and people with mobility cards
Strengthen animal welfare standards
Create a new Commissioner for Animals
Resource the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee
Phase out harmful animal-related activities
Regulate imported animal products
Protect taonga species in their natural habitats
Strengthen laws against bullying and harassment in the workplace
Implement comprehensive pay gap reporting
Maintain the current retirement age
Provide personhood rights to foetuses from conception
Ban medical abortions and withdraw public funding for abortion services
Ban assisted dying and prioritise funding for palliative care
Prohibit changes to a person's gender on birth certificates
Ban education about gender in schools
Ban gender reassignment surgery and hormone therapies for young people
Keep the retirement age at 65
Protect freedom of speech and assembly
Hold a referendum on whether to make the Bill of Rights supreme law
Be a voice for men and masculinity
Establish youth military academies for certain young offenders
Fund community organisations to work with certain young offenders
Extend free breast cancer screening to those aged up to 74 years
Create a minister for hunting and fishing
Allow the Game Animal Council to make more decisions about game animal management
Recategorise game animals, trout and salmon
Establish national management plans for game animals
Oppose recreational licencing system for game animal hunting or sea fishing
Review game animal management programmes
Ban mobile phone use in schools
Allow more genetic editing and genetic modification
Establish a dedicated biotechnology regulator
Limit access to free prescriptions to those on low incomes and those over 65
Fund community providers to support young people who are receiving the Jobseeker Support payment
Increase sanctions on young people on the benefit for more than three months
Incentivise young people to get off and stay off Jobseeker Support
Allow live animal exports
Maintain the Winter Energy Payment
Increase superannuation payments annually
Remove public transport discounts
Pay bonus to GPs who lift immunisation rates for at-risk age groups
Ensure meat producers have access to halal butchers
Increase the retirement age to 67 from 2044
Develop guidelines for ovarian cancer diagnosis
Provide free blood sugar monitors to young people with type 1 diabetes
Extend free postnatal stays from two to three days
Retain recent vaping reforms
Increase penalties for supplying vapes to under 18s
Limit the number of vape stores to 600
Ban vape products from being visible from the street
Retain the current age of eligibility for superannuation
Fund charity that provides free counselling to young people
Increase funding for elderly residential care
Remove education about gender and sexuality from the curriculum
Require public organisations to install both single sex and unisex toilets
Defund sports organisations that do not have a category for people assigned female at birth
Establish a commission of inquiry into Gloriavale
Allow live animal exports
Require animal welfare advisory committee to have 50 percent farmer representation
Increase the number youth aid Police officers
Introduce a demerit points system for youth offenders
Provide a rates rebate to people over 65
Provide seniors with two free doctor visits annually
Increase the accommodation supplement for seniors
Develop a seniors housing plan
Establish a select committee inquiry into aged care
Pursue cross-party agreement around dementia care
Retain current public transport discounts
Limit the number of vape stores to 600
Increase penalties for supplying vapes to under 18s
Continue anti-vaping messaging for young people
Investigate options to reduce the visibility of vape products in shops
Continue programme to provide young Māori with a path out of criminal offending
Provide funding for apprenticeships in digital sector
Require public reporting on the gender pay gap
Make apprenticeship support payments for businesses permanent
Establish a new offence for ram raiding
Continue national family and sexual violence elimination strategy
Strengthen legal protections against stalking and harassment
Increase powers of Corrections staff at youth justice facilities
Continue reforms of youth justice family group conference system
Make posting criminal behaviour online an aggravating factor in sentencing
Make using young people to commit a crime an aggravating factor in sentencing
Allow victims of crime committed by young people to attend family group conferences
Allow the Family Court to require young offenders to undertake community activities or education programmes
Make cervical screening free for those aged 25 to 69
Build two new youth justice facilities
Review law on consent
Abolish starting out and training wages
Create a national endometriosis action plan
Trial business mentorship programme for women on low and middle incomes
Continue the free school lunches programme
Provide visas for overstayers who have been in NZ for more than 10 years
Build 6000 more public houses with improved accessibility
Keep the superannuation age at 65 and continue to index Superannuation to wage growth
Make adoption and surrogacy laws more accessible
Continue the rollout of the HIV Action Plan
Fund eight primary health care providers around the country to provide gender affirming care
Review criteria for blood donation
Introduce a nationwide informed consent model for gender affirming healthcare
Protect intersex children from unnecessary medical intervention
Expand eligibility for the Child Disability Allowance and Disability Allowance and increase rates
Extend the adult criminal jurisdiction to cover 17-year-olds
Shift responsibility for young offenders from Oranga Tamariki to Corrections
Split Oranga Tamariki social workers' responsibilities into two new roles
Establish a children's monitoring system that is independent from the government
Abolish the Ministry for Pacific Peoples
Abolish the Human Rights Commission
Allow live animal exports
Introduce publicly-reported performance indicators for the Oranga Tamariki CEO
Allow caregivers to make more decisions without permission from Oranga Tamariki or birth parents
Oppose laws against hate speech
Allow police to issue infringement notices for shoplifting
Require serious youth offenders to wear ankle bracelets
Halt contributions to the NZ Super Fund
Increase the retirement age to 67 and index it to life expectancy
Index superannuation to the consumer price index rather than average wages
Abolish the Ministry for Women
Abolish the Ministry for Ethnic Communities
Restrict access to the winter energy payment
Repeal the Treaty of Waitangi clause in the Oranga Tamariki Act
Restrict access to permanent sickness benefits
Make it easier for schools to refer students to Oranga Tamariki
Restrict the Retirement Commission's focus to retirement villages and aging-in-place
Reverse the ban on over-the-counter pseudoephedrine
Reduce barriers to accessing benefits
Introduce free public transport for all students
Create more pathways for school leavers
Increase diplomatic support for Pasifika leaders
Establish a Māori accident compensation authority
Abolish youth justice facilities by 2030
Raise the age of criminal responsibility to 16
Establish a Māori child protection agency
Stop newborns from being put into state care without family, hapū or iwi consent
Review Oranga Tamariki's child protection protocols
Establish a Māori disability authority
Involve Māori disability organisations in policy development
Increase funding for Māori providers of the Enabling Good Lives programme
Improve access to health services for disabled people
Aim to ensure antenatal screening programmes are not biased towards termination if disability is diagnosed
Require all new houses to be fully accessible
Make existing public housing fully accessible
Make Māori sign language an official language
Increase the number of users of Māori sign-language
Abolish the minimum wage exemption
Abolish benefit abatement rates for disabled people and their carers
Enable Māori disabled people to access cultural spaces and activities
Enable Māori disabled people to participate in sport
Provide free primary healthcare to under 30s
Provide free public transport to under 30s
Provide a $1500 credit for bikes and e-scooters to under 30s
Introduce a card and app for citizens and residents up to the age of 30
Introduce and incentivise a national civic service programme
Increase income support for disabled people
Provide free basic mental health care to under 30s
Provide free dental care to under 30s
Provide free basic eyecare to under 30s
Require children to be signed up for Kiwisaver at birth
Establish a commissioner for future generations
Introduce an income guarantee for people unable to work due to health conditions or disabilities
Review legislation, policy and practice to meet international human rights obligations for children
Require a children's interests analysis for government policy decisions
Improve access to social services for children
Provide free mental health services for children and young people
Reinstate the Children's Commissioner's independent monitoring powers
Safeguard the rights of tamariki Māori to maintain connection to their whakapapa
Increase funding for predator, weed and pest control
Eradicate pests on the sub-Antarctic Maukahuka Auckland Islands
Lower the voting age to 16
Fund advocacy services for people with disabilities
Co-design accessibility legislation with the disabled community
Reform the Building Code to promote accessibility
Require television broadcasters to provide content in accessible formats
Eliminate the use of seclusion in state care or disability services
Regulate the vaping industry and ban disposable vapes
Ensure adequate support for students with disabilities and additional learning needs
Restore waterways and control freshwater pests
Ensure equitable representation in government roles
Reduce social and economic disparities faced by wāhine Māori
Extend paid parental leave to 15 months
Support pay equity settlements
Improve pregnancy care through better funding of midwives and services
Train healthcare workers to reduce biases
Expand youth courts and support for youth in the justice system
Prohibit the detention of young people with adults
Extend hate speech protections to cover religion, gender, disability, and Rainbow communities
Extend the Election Access Fund to disabled individuals running in local elections
Speed up access to support for people with neurodivergent conditions
Reinstate the 10-year residency requirement for superannuation eligibility
Support Tagata Moana leadership on climate action
Repeal the Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982
Replace the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme
Deliver housing suitable for multi-generational families
Establish a Ministry for Rainbow Communities
Develop culturally appropriate healthcare for Māori and Pasifika members of the rainbow community
Allocate funds to organisations supporting the rainbow community
Promote non-discriminatory access to gender-affirming healthcare
Support intersex healthcare reform
Reform policies to support Rainbow asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants
Ensure public and community housing is suitable for senior citizens
Provide integrated community health services for the wellbeing of kaumātua
Increase superannuation payments
Increase funding for staff in aged care facilities
Ensure retirement homes reserve a quarter of their housing as affordable rental units
Develop a long-term strategy for improving dementia care
Provide equal opportunities for disabled students in tertiary education
Provide free public transport for young people, students, apprentices, low income earners and people with mobility cards
Strengthen animal welfare standards
Create a new Commissioner for Animals
Resource the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee
Phase out harmful animal-related activities
Regulate imported animal products
Protect taonga species in their natural habitats
Strengthen laws against bullying and harassment in the workplace
Implement comprehensive pay gap reporting
Maintain the current retirement age
Provide personhood rights to foetuses from conception
Ban medical abortions and withdraw public funding for abortion services
Ban assisted dying and prioritise funding for palliative care
Prohibit changes to a person's gender on birth certificates
Ban education about gender in schools
Ban gender reassignment surgery and hormone therapies for young people
Keep the retirement age at 65
Protect freedom of speech and assembly
Hold a referendum on whether to make the Bill of Rights supreme law
Be a voice for men and masculinity
Establish youth military academies for certain young offenders
Fund community organisations to work with certain young offenders
Extend free breast cancer screening to those aged up to 74 years
Create a minister for hunting and fishing
Allow the Game Animal Council to make more decisions about game animal management
Recategorise game animals, trout and salmon
Establish national management plans for game animals
Oppose recreational licencing system for game animal hunting or sea fishing
Review game animal management programmes
Ban mobile phone use in schools
Allow more genetic editing and genetic modification
Establish a dedicated biotechnology regulator
Limit access to free prescriptions to those on low incomes and those over 65
Fund community providers to support young people who are receiving the Jobseeker Support payment
Increase sanctions on young people on the benefit for more than three months
Incentivise young people to get off and stay off Jobseeker Support
Allow live animal exports
Maintain the Winter Energy Payment
Increase superannuation payments annually
Remove public transport discounts
Pay bonus to GPs who lift immunisation rates for at-risk age groups
Ensure meat producers have access to halal butchers
Increase the retirement age to 67 from 2044
Develop guidelines for ovarian cancer diagnosis
Provide free blood sugar monitors to young people with type 1 diabetes
Extend free postnatal stays from two to three days
Retain recent vaping reforms
Increase penalties for supplying vapes to under 18s
Limit the number of vape stores to 600
Ban vape products from being visible from the street
Retain the current age of eligibility for superannuation
Fund charity that provides free counselling to young people
Increase funding for elderly residential care
Remove education about gender and sexuality from the curriculum
Require public organisations to install both single sex and unisex toilets
Defund sports organisations that do not have a category for people assigned female at birth
Establish a commission of inquiry into Gloriavale
Allow live animal exports
Require animal welfare advisory committee to have 50 percent farmer representation
Increase the number youth aid Police officers
Introduce a demerit points system for youth offenders
Provide a rates rebate to people over 65
Provide seniors with two free doctor visits annually
Increase the accommodation supplement for seniors
Develop a seniors housing plan
Establish a select committee inquiry into aged care
Pursue cross-party agreement around dementia care
Retain current public transport discounts
Limit the number of vape stores to 600
Increase penalties for supplying vapes to under 18s
Continue anti-vaping messaging for young people
Investigate options to reduce the visibility of vape products in shops
Continue programme to provide young Māori with a path out of criminal offending
Provide funding for apprenticeships in digital sector
Require public reporting on the gender pay gap
Make apprenticeship support payments for businesses permanent
Establish a new offence for ram raiding
Continue national family and sexual violence elimination strategy
Strengthen legal protections against stalking and harassment
Increase powers of Corrections staff at youth justice facilities
Continue reforms of youth justice family group conference system
Make posting criminal behaviour online an aggravating factor in sentencing
Make using young people to commit a crime an aggravating factor in sentencing
Allow victims of crime committed by young people to attend family group conferences
Allow the Family Court to require young offenders to undertake community activities or education programmes
Make cervical screening free for those aged 25 to 69
Build two new youth justice facilities
Review law on consent
Abolish starting out and training wages
Create a national endometriosis action plan
Trial business mentorship programme for women on low and middle incomes
Continue the free school lunches programme
Provide visas for overstayers who have been in NZ for more than 10 years
Build 6000 more public houses with improved accessibility
Keep the superannuation age at 65 and continue to index Superannuation to wage growth
Make adoption and surrogacy laws more accessible
Continue the rollout of the HIV Action Plan
Fund eight primary health care providers around the country to provide gender affirming care
Review criteria for blood donation
Introduce a nationwide informed consent model for gender affirming healthcare
Protect intersex children from unnecessary medical intervention
Expand eligibility for the Child Disability Allowance and Disability Allowance and increase rates
Extend the adult criminal jurisdiction to cover 17-year-olds
Shift responsibility for young offenders from Oranga Tamariki to Corrections
Split Oranga Tamariki social workers' responsibilities into two new roles
Establish a children's monitoring system that is independent from the government
Abolish the Ministry for Pacific Peoples
Abolish the Human Rights Commission
Allow live animal exports
Introduce publicly-reported performance indicators for the Oranga Tamariki CEO
Allow caregivers to make more decisions without permission from Oranga Tamariki or birth parents
Oppose laws against hate speech
Allow police to issue infringement notices for shoplifting
Require serious youth offenders to wear ankle bracelets
Halt contributions to the NZ Super Fund
Increase the retirement age to 67 and index it to life expectancy
Index superannuation to the consumer price index rather than average wages
Abolish the Ministry for Women
Abolish the Ministry for Ethnic Communities
Restrict access to the winter energy payment
Repeal the Treaty of Waitangi clause in the Oranga Tamariki Act
Restrict access to permanent sickness benefits
Make it easier for schools to refer students to Oranga Tamariki
Restrict the Retirement Commission's focus to retirement villages and aging-in-place
Reverse the ban on over-the-counter pseudoephedrine
Compare the parties’ positions on the key issues this election
See the electorate candidates running in your local area
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Each part of the country is represented in Parliament by an electorate MP. We've asked every candidate about their priorities for your community and why they deserve your vote.