ACT party cost breakdown

Week 7 update:

• ACT has announced $400 million over four years for GP appointments ($193 per household). This replaces the “to be announced” $400 million line in its fiscal plan, so its net saving is unchanged at $17.86 billion, or $8,619 per household. We have moved this $400 million item from government services to health.

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The ACT Party’s costed policies net out to a saving of $17.86 billion over the next four years. This is equivalent to a saving of $8,619 per household.

Social spending

ACT would end the Government Contribution to KiwiSaver for members who receive employer contributions. ACT’s fiscal plan estimates this saves $2.21 billion over four years, down from the $2.59 billion in its earlier policy document. ACT also proposes removing tax on KiwiSaver earnings and on other superannuation income, but as this is a change to revenue rather than spending it is not included here.

$296 million is allocated to allow pharmacies to diversify the services they offer, taken from ACT’s fiscal plan. ACT has also announced $400 million over four years for GP appointments, which fills the “to be announced” line in its fiscal plan.

A baseline increase to Pharmac's budget is costed at $1.9 billion over four years, using the midpoint of ACT's own year-by-year projections. However, this is to be funded from existing health budgets.

ACT’s plan includes a $2.00 billion capital contingency for a National Cancer Centre ($200 million, then $900 million in each of the next two years). In education, the plan adds a Young Investors Fund, which puts $500 in a controlled investment account for every Year 11 student ($139 million), indexes the independent schools subsidy to public school operational funding increases ($10 million), and holds a capital contingency in 2027/28 to acquire the former University of Auckland Epsom campus for a secondary school ($150 million).

ACT would raise the age of eligibility for NZ Super to 67 by 2035, saving $4.06 billion over four years, net of compassionate early access (a gross saving of $4.70 billion less $644 million). A five-year welfare stand-down for residence class visa holders saves $320 million, and bringing disability benefits under control by returning mental health claimants to pre-pandemic levels saves $653 million. Electronic money management for work-ready Jobseeker recipients who have been on a benefit for more than four months adds $251 million.

Government services and administration

ACT’s pledge of 100,000 hours of extra rural police patrols, now with a rural crime unit, is costed in its plan at $38 million over four years. The three-strikes law proposal for burglary is costed in ACT’s plan at $413 million over four years. ACT’s plan also adds an Overstayers Investigation Unit within Immigration NZ at $240 million, and $59 million for 'Working with Children Checks'. Rolling out 20 noise cameras is $2 million.

ACT has proposed a ban on spiritual practices, including karakia and waiata, on taxpayers’ time in the public service. We previously estimated this at $14 million over four years, assuming 10 percent of staff at each agency are affected. ACT’s plan does not cost it, so we have assumed it falls within the non-frontline cut below and carries no separate saving.

The party’s changes to climate regulation are also included here. ACT’s plan returns net carbon auction revenue to households at $490 million over four years. Restoring industrial allocations to the 90 percent and 60 percent rates is not in the plan, and we have costed it at $65 million. Removing the ETS auction floor is also not in the plan, and we have assumed it is a wash, because any extra revenue is returned through the household refund. We have assumed that scrapping the Zero Carbon Act is covered by the plan’s environmental savings, so it no longer carries a separate saving (previously $59 million).

Note: These reforms are included in government services (legislative and regulatory reform), rather than as environmental and conservation policy.

ACT has also proposed consolidating the public service into 19 departments and 18 ministers, with chief executives appointed and removed by ministers. The plan gives no cost or saving for this, saying only that it will support the non-frontline cut, so we have assumed that this is fully enclosed within the non-frontline savings budget line.

ACT’s plan targets $9.93 billion by returning non-frontline government spending to 2017 per-person levels. ACT itemises only $3.05 billion of this: abolishing the demographic ministries ($748 million), reducing foreign aid to 2017 levels excluding Ukraine ($1.13 billion), cutting welfare administration ($379 million) and trimming environmental spending outside the emissions trading scheme ($793 million).

ACT also cuts future operating allowances from $2.4 billion to $2 billion a year, which improves the balance by $4.0 billion over four years, building from $0.4 billion in 2027/28 to $1.6 billion in 2030/31. The plan would maintain the suspension of NZ Super Fund contributions, which the plan books as a saving of $1.43 billion. The Local Tourism Dividend, which pays councils $1 per commercial guest night, is costed in the plan at $186 million.

Economic development

ACT's one-stop consenting shop is meant to replace several separate consenting processes. ACT has not costed it, and we have assumed no net cost on the basis that the applicant pays for the consenting costs. Their transport policy will reallocate NZTA cultural spending towards core transport investment, but this is a reallocation rather than a reduction. ACT has also announced it will abolish another of Labour’s renters taxes, by removing rental loss ring-fencing. This is a revenue measure, so it is not included here.

(t) policies where we’ve taken parties’ costings at face value.
(o) uncosted policies that we have had to cost ourselves.
(d) policies where we have disputed parties’ own costings.