Party vote
Education
The third biggest chunk of government spending, after benefits and health, goes to education. Parties on the left propose expanding access to free early childhood education. Parties on the right want to introduce more targets and monitoring of student achievement.
Education
The third biggest chunk of government spending, after benefits and health, goes to education. Parties on the left propose expanding access to free early childhood education. Parties on the right want to introduce more targets and monitoring of student achievement.
Introduce an income guarantee for all students
Address racism and discrimination in schools
Improve frameworks for therapeutic uses of controlled substances
Increase funding for community-run early childhood education centres, kindergartens, and kōhanga reo
Improve working conditions and staff-to-student ratios
Support aspirations of Kura Kaupapa Māori, Kura a iwi, Kōhanga reo and Wananga
Create school hubs with health and social services
Expand lunch in schools programme
Ensure adequate support for students with disabilities and additional learning needs
Introduce education on healthy relationships and consent in all schools
Offer free training and re-entry programmes for parents with school-aged children
Fund tikanga Māori and te reo Māori education
Extend the repayment break for overseas student loan borrowers
Require courses with work placements pay students a living wage
Reassess the funding of tertiary institutions
Expand free apprenticeship programmes and fees-free programmes
Modify the student loan repayment system
Mandate all tertiary institutions uphold te Tiriti o Waitangi
Reinforce student representation in tertiary governance
Reform student accommodation standards
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
Ensure schools have walking and biking access
Establish an independent science advisory group for marine research
Introduce free public transport for all students
Introduce a universal student allowance
Increase funding for kaupapa Māori education
Make Te Reo Māori and Māori history core subjects up to year 10
Establish authority to oversee Māori language funding and audit providers
Stop schools from expelling students who are under 16
Fund free digital devices and free internet for all children from year 4 to year 13
Require schools to have Māori staff across the school
Create more pathways for school leavers
Provide scholarships for young people to study food science, marine biology or agriculture
Fund regenerative and organic farming training
Increase the number of users of Māori sign-language
Extend 20 hours of free early childhood education to two-year-olds
Promote Te Reo Māori in early childhood education
Expand te reo Māori education programmes
Continue to fund free Māori trade training
Require financial literacy to be taught in schools
Increase the number of dental places at university by 50 percent
Prioritise investment in infrastructure, science and innovation
Investigate support for Wānanga
Ensure that career services are available to Māori students
Continue working with iwi and hapū to include local tikanga and pūrakau in the curriculum
Consider a fund for Māori climate change researchers and scientists
Improve study and employment options for Māori health workers
Provide funding for apprenticeships in digital sector
Reform the research, science, and innovation system
Establish new research centres focused on tech, climate change, and pandemics
Make apprenticeship support payments for businesses permanent
Increase doctors placements in medical schools
Create 700 additional nursing placements
Expand healthcare apprenticeship scheme
Continue the free school lunches programme
Prioritise climate change in research and development
Remove all remaining coal boilers in schools, tertiary institutions and hospitals
Remove diesel generators from all schools
Establish a centre to train renewable energy workers
Introduce a childcare tax rebate for families earning less than $180,000 per year
Establish a third medical school
Increase the number of placements at Auckland and Otago medical schools
Create bonding scheme for nurses and midwives working in NZ
Ban mobile phone use in schools
Set minimum times for reading, writing and maths in schools
Rewrite the primary and intermediate school curriculum
Require primary and intermediate schools to measure student progress in reading, writing and maths twice per year
Introduce basic literacy assessments for year two school students
Increase monitoring of student achievement
Introduce standardised twice yearly reports for schools
Introduce a compulsory exit exam for primary and intermediate school teaching graduates
Abolish teacher registration fees
Require teachers to provide evidence of professional development to re-certify
Establish achievement targets for year eight students
Aim for NZ to be in the global top 10 for maths, reading and science by 2033
Allow more genetic editing and genetic modification
Establish a dedicated biotechnology regulator
End the planned extension of 20 hours free ECE to two-year-olds
Continue to support building and construction apprenticeships
Support more research on the construction sector
Require primary schools to use a structured literacy approach
Allow migrant workers to pay domestic rates for industry training
Allow international students to work more hours while studying
Expand international student recruitment to more countries
Increase the length of time international postgrad students can work after finishing study
Enable partners of international students doing degree level qualifications to work in NZ
Ensure courses which allow international students the right to work post-study reflect skills shortages
Replace Te Pūkenga with regionally administered polytechs
Create a prize to encourage interest in aerospace
Remove education about race and decolonisation from the curriculum
Promote alternatives to mainstream state schools
Reduce university funding
Give control of school curriculums to school boards and communities
Ban sex education in primary schools
Ban education about gender in schools
Pay the value of early childhood education subsidies directly to parents
Promote trades training as alternative to university
Reimburse parents who homeschool their children
Remove education about the science of climate change from the curriculum
Introduce and incentivise a national civic service programme
Fund a new cancer treatment centre and laboratory in Christchurch
Build a new primary and secondary school in Christchurch
Increase placements at medical, nursing and dentistry schools
Introduce an accelerated post-graduate medical programme for people with relevant degrees
Support further research into the use of psychoactive drugs to treat mental illnesses
Increase tax credits for research and development
Increase funding for post-doctoral research
Reform regulations for genetic editing and modification
Reform regulations for artificial intelligence
Reform regulations for therapeutic products
Expand civics education
Provide cash payments to parents for early childcare and education
Reform government contracting model for early childhood education
Encourage a facilitated play approach in early education
Fund night schools
Review tertiary education system
Improve professional development for teachers
Review teachers' pay
Increase funding for teaching assistants and specialist support
Encourage the use of structured literacy in schools
Remove education about gender and sexuality from the curriculum
Review funding model for Crown Research Institutes
Expand access to driving training for secondary school students
Expand access to driving training for prisoners
Establish a fund to reward excellent teachers
Halve the number of non-front-line employees at the Ministry of Education
Repeal the new school curriculum
Reintroduce partnership schools
Report daily school attendance records
Redirect truancy funding so schools can hire their own truancy officers
Create a traffic-light system for student truancy
Introduce infringement notices for the parents of absent students
Abolish Workforce Development Councils
Provide every child with $250,000 for education
Allow state schools to apply to become partnership schools
Abolish the Fees Free tertiary education programme
Make it easier for schools to refer students to Oranga Tamariki
Include an education assessment in health and development checks for four to five-year-olds
Relax regulations for early childhood education providers and increase random inspections
Require schools to participate in twice-yearly standardised testing and publicly publish results
Shift responsibility for writing the curriculum to the private sector
Raise secondary school literacy and numeracy standards from 2025
Remove University Entrance as a separate qualification
Introduce an income guarantee for all students
Address racism and discrimination in schools
Improve frameworks for therapeutic uses of controlled substances
Increase funding for community-run early childhood education centres, kindergartens, and kōhanga reo
Improve working conditions and staff-to-student ratios
Support aspirations of Kura Kaupapa Māori, Kura a iwi, Kōhanga reo and Wananga
Create school hubs with health and social services
Expand lunch in schools programme
Ensure adequate support for students with disabilities and additional learning needs
Introduce education on healthy relationships and consent in all schools
Offer free training and re-entry programmes for parents with school-aged children
Fund tikanga Māori and te reo Māori education
Extend the repayment break for overseas student loan borrowers
Require courses with work placements pay students a living wage
Reassess the funding of tertiary institutions
Expand free apprenticeship programmes and fees-free programmes
Modify the student loan repayment system
Mandate all tertiary institutions uphold te Tiriti o Waitangi
Reinforce student representation in tertiary governance
Reform student accommodation standards
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
Ensure schools have walking and biking access
Establish an independent science advisory group for marine research
Introduce free public transport for all students
Introduce a universal student allowance
Increase funding for kaupapa Māori education
Make Te Reo Māori and Māori history core subjects up to year 10
Establish authority to oversee Māori language funding and audit providers
Stop schools from expelling students who are under 16
Fund free digital devices and free internet for all children from year 4 to year 13
Require schools to have Māori staff across the school
Create more pathways for school leavers
Provide scholarships for young people to study food science, marine biology or agriculture
Fund regenerative and organic farming training
Increase the number of users of Māori sign-language
Extend 20 hours of free early childhood education to two-year-olds
Promote Te Reo Māori in early childhood education
Expand te reo Māori education programmes
Continue to fund free Māori trade training
Require financial literacy to be taught in schools
Increase the number of dental places at university by 50 percent
Prioritise investment in infrastructure, science and innovation
Investigate support for Wānanga
Ensure that career services are available to Māori students
Continue working with iwi and hapū to include local tikanga and pūrakau in the curriculum
Consider a fund for Māori climate change researchers and scientists
Improve study and employment options for Māori health workers
Provide funding for apprenticeships in digital sector
Reform the research, science, and innovation system
Establish new research centres focused on tech, climate change, and pandemics
Make apprenticeship support payments for businesses permanent
Increase doctors placements in medical schools
Create 700 additional nursing placements
Expand healthcare apprenticeship scheme
Continue the free school lunches programme
Prioritise climate change in research and development
Remove all remaining coal boilers in schools, tertiary institutions and hospitals
Remove diesel generators from all schools
Establish a centre to train renewable energy workers
Introduce a childcare tax rebate for families earning less than $180,000 per year
Establish a third medical school
Increase the number of placements at Auckland and Otago medical schools
Create bonding scheme for nurses and midwives working in NZ
Ban mobile phone use in schools
Set minimum times for reading, writing and maths in schools
Rewrite the primary and intermediate school curriculum
Require primary and intermediate schools to measure student progress in reading, writing and maths twice per year
Introduce basic literacy assessments for year two school students
Increase monitoring of student achievement
Introduce standardised twice yearly reports for schools
Introduce a compulsory exit exam for primary and intermediate school teaching graduates
Abolish teacher registration fees
Require teachers to provide evidence of professional development to re-certify
Establish achievement targets for year eight students
Aim for NZ to be in the global top 10 for maths, reading and science by 2033
Allow more genetic editing and genetic modification
Establish a dedicated biotechnology regulator
End the planned extension of 20 hours free ECE to two-year-olds
Continue to support building and construction apprenticeships
Support more research on the construction sector
Require primary schools to use a structured literacy approach
Allow migrant workers to pay domestic rates for industry training
Allow international students to work more hours while studying
Expand international student recruitment to more countries
Increase the length of time international postgrad students can work after finishing study
Enable partners of international students doing degree level qualifications to work in NZ
Ensure courses which allow international students the right to work post-study reflect skills shortages
Replace Te Pūkenga with regionally administered polytechs
Create a prize to encourage interest in aerospace
Remove education about race and decolonisation from the curriculum
Promote alternatives to mainstream state schools
Reduce university funding
Give control of school curriculums to school boards and communities
Ban sex education in primary schools
Ban education about gender in schools
Pay the value of early childhood education subsidies directly to parents
Promote trades training as alternative to university
Reimburse parents who homeschool their children
Remove education about the science of climate change from the curriculum
Introduce and incentivise a national civic service programme
Fund a new cancer treatment centre and laboratory in Christchurch
Build a new primary and secondary school in Christchurch
Increase placements at medical, nursing and dentistry schools
Introduce an accelerated post-graduate medical programme for people with relevant degrees
Support further research into the use of psychoactive drugs to treat mental illnesses
Increase tax credits for research and development
Increase funding for post-doctoral research
Reform regulations for genetic editing and modification
Reform regulations for artificial intelligence
Reform regulations for therapeutic products
Expand civics education
Provide cash payments to parents for early childcare and education
Reform government contracting model for early childhood education
Encourage a facilitated play approach in early education
Fund night schools
Review tertiary education system
Improve professional development for teachers
Review teachers' pay
Increase funding for teaching assistants and specialist support
Encourage the use of structured literacy in schools
Remove education about gender and sexuality from the curriculum
Review funding model for Crown Research Institutes
Expand access to driving training for secondary school students
Expand access to driving training for prisoners
Establish a fund to reward excellent teachers
Halve the number of non-front-line employees at the Ministry of Education
Repeal the new school curriculum
Reintroduce partnership schools
Report daily school attendance records
Redirect truancy funding so schools can hire their own truancy officers
Create a traffic-light system for student truancy
Introduce infringement notices for the parents of absent students
Abolish Workforce Development Councils
Provide every child with $250,000 for education
Allow state schools to apply to become partnership schools
Abolish the Fees Free tertiary education programme
Make it easier for schools to refer students to Oranga Tamariki
Include an education assessment in health and development checks for four to five-year-olds
Relax regulations for early childhood education providers and increase random inspections
Require schools to participate in twice-yearly standardised testing and publicly publish results
Shift responsibility for writing the curriculum to the private sector
Raise secondary school literacy and numeracy standards from 2025
Remove University Entrance as a separate qualification
Policies
Compare the parties’ positions on the key issues this election
Candidates
See the electorate candidates running in your local area
Parties
Learn about each political party, its leaders and candidate list
Compare the candidates running in your local area
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.
