Social Spending

This page details the election promises related to social spending for individuals and families, including:

• health (community, primary, secondary and tertiary);
• education (pre-school/ECE, primary/secondary schools, tertiary, other); and
• welfare (benefits and tax credits, community, superannuation and KiwiSaver, other).

Health

Labour has committed the most to new health spending this election, at $3.8 billion over four years, or $1,846 per household. This includes three free GP visits and related policies ($2.1 billion), additional health spending funded from the party's proposed Capital Gains Tax ($1.2 billion), and free cervical screening ($82 million). Labour has also pledged a job guarantee to 2,700 graduate nurses each year at a cost of $525 million over four years.

ACT would spend $2 billion over four years, or $973 per household, entirely on Pharmac. This is made up of a baseline Pharmac budget increase, calculated using ACT's own midpoint figures of $1.9 billion, and $92 million to allow pharmacies to diversify the services they offer.

The Green's have pledged to increase Pharmac's budget. We have provided a conservative cost estimate of at least a 10% uplift, representing $720 million. 

National's sole costed health commitment this election is $70 million over four years to finish the fit-out of Christchurch Hospital with 96 new beds.

The Opportunities Party's promise to reinstate the 2025 smokefree legislation is costed as an effective $1.5 billion expense over four years, reflecting the tobacco excise revenue Treasury expects the party to forgo.

NZ First has not announced costed health policies this election.

Education

The Greens are by far the most ambitious party on education, committing $46.4 billion. This includes $16.2 billion for the long-term intended aim of a writing off outstanding student loan debt, $14.4 billion for a universal student allowance to cover students' basic needs, $8 billion for free tertiary education up to a first degree (based on 257,000 students at an average $8,000 tuition fee), $5.4 billion for free early childhood education for all, $2.2 billion for free school lunches in all schools, and $200 million to expand free apprenticeship programmes by 20%.

Labour's only education commitment this election is to return to locally made school lunches, costed at $427 million over four years, reversing the savings National has already banked from cutting the scheme.

The Opportunities Party has committed $745.9 million over four years, or $360 per household, spread across restoring Polytech funding ($320 million), forgiving overseas student loans ($380 million), supporting offsite builders who take on apprentices ($31.2 million), and growing the number of te reo Māori teachers ($14.7 million).

National and ACT have not announced costed education policies this election, and NZ First has made no education commitments either.

Welfare

National's welfare package, worth $1.6 billion over four years or $766 per household, is built almost entirely around family and retirement settings: a $360 million Baby Boost, a $109.3 million parental leave top-up, $385.2 million in increased Government KiwiSaver contributions, $282.8 million for the Crown as an employer, $327.4 million to extend paid parental leave from 26 to 30 weeks, and $121.9 million to extend KiwiSaver to those on parental leave.

Labour's welfare commitment is comparatively modest this election, at $542 million over four years, or $262 per household, to reverse the increase in income-related rent charges.

The Greens' welfare commitments are extraordinary, totalling $131.6 billion. The overwhelming driver is a $96 billion commitment to extend ACC cover to all injuries, disability and illness regardless of origin — based on a 1988 Royal Commission estimate that such an extension would cost around four times the existing scheme. The party has also pledged to lift benefits to a "liveable rate" as recommended by the Welfare Expert Advisory Group, costing an estimate $27.6 billion; $6.6 billion to extend paid parental leave to 65 weeks, and a one-off $1.37 billion towards writing off MSD debt.

NZ First has committed to saving $4.3 billion over four years, or $2,066 per household, on restricting superannuation to NZ citizens. But the party has promised a Kiwi Kids Grant ($1.6 billion) and a $1,000 KiwiSaver contribution at birth ($240 million).

The Opportunities Party's welfare policy is, on a net basis, the largest single commitment on this page. Their Citizen's Income (Universal Basic Income) would cost $69.6 billion a year gross, offset by abolishing existing welfare benefits (a $37.8 billion saving) and administrative savings ($3.8 billion), but still requires $15.6 billion in additional supplementary welfare spending. The net result is $43.6 billion a year, or $174.5 billion over four years, equivalent to $84,214 per household.

ACT has not costed any welfare changes this election.

Note: Te Pāti Māori has not announced any costed policies for social spending.

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