Government Services and Administration

• ACT’s fiscal plan takes its government services and administration total from a $618 million cost to a $12.29 billion saving, or $5,931 per household, driven by its non-frontline public service cuts and a $4.0 billion cut to its future operating allowances.
• National’s fiscal plan takes its total from a $45 million cost to a $360 million saving, or $174 per household, mainly from a $431 million cut to foreign aid.
• The Opportunity Party’s pledge to reinstate the pay equity regime takes its total from $266 million to $11.24 billion, or $5,423 per household.
• The Greens’ new AI policy adds $29.2 million, taking their total to $15.6 billion.

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This page details the election promises related to government services and administration, including:

• defence;
• law, order and justice;
• legislative and regulatory reform;
• other central government administration; and
• regional and local bodies.

Defence

No party has announced a costed defence policy this election.

Law, order and justice

ACT’s fiscal plan puts $752 million behind law and order, or $363 per household. This includes $413 million for a three-strikes law for burglary, $240 million for a dedicated Overstayers Investigation Unit within Immigration New Zealand, $59 million for a portable national Working with Children Check with ongoing Police checks, and $38 million for 100,000 hours of extra rural police patrols, now with a rural crime unit. ACT also proposes to roll out 20 noise cameras to catch loud vehicles, which its plan books as $2 million of capital.

The National Party has costed 50 new police recruits as part of establishing a dedicated Auckland Transport Police Team at a cost of $28 million over four years.

Labour and the Greens and NZ First have not announced costed policies in this area.

Legislative and regulatory reform

Labour has pledged to reinstate the pay equity regime. Using Treasury's own projected cost, we put this at $10.97 billion over four years, or $5,295 per household. Labour's plan funds only the $4-an-hour pay rise for care and support workers, about a quarter of that, and says future settlements will be paid for in future Budgets. They have also proposed an independent review of Fire and Emergency New Zealand, costed at $3.9 million.

The Opportunity Party’s disability position statement this week also commits to reinstating the pay equity regime, but gives no figure. We have costed it on the same basis as Labour’s, at Treasury’s projected cost of $10.97 billion over four years, or $5,295 per household.

NZ First would hold a referendum on the Māori seats. Based on the $12.9 million cost of the 2020 cannabis and euthanasia referendums, adjusted for inflation, we cost this at $16.6 million over four years.

The Opportunity Party's clean up politics package is costed at $208 million over four years. It also proposes a Parliamentary Citizen Assembly ($8 million) and a Parliamentary Commissioner for Citizen Vote ($1.6 million). Together these come to $217.6 million. Labour and the Greens have also proposed lobbying registers and restrictions on political donations. We have costed each at $48 million over four years, using Opportunity's 'clean up politics' costings minus the cost of the anti-corruption body.

ACT’s climate change reforms, taken as a whole, total an estimated $555 million. This includes $490 million from returning net ETS auction receipts to households, and $65 million for restoring higher industrial allocations, which is our own costing as it is not in the plan. We have assumed the saving from scrapping the Zero Carbon Act, which we previously costed at $59.2 million, is part of the environmental savings in ACT’s fiscal plan, so it is counted under Environment, Arts, and Heritage rather than here.

Both ACT and NZ First would end the Waitangi Tribunal. ACT would disestablish it once historical claims are complete, and NZ First would replace it with a commission to finish outstanding claims. In both cases the work continues under another name, so we have assumed no net saving over the forecast period.

National’s MMP referendum would cost $16.6 million, and its fiscal plan provides $1.2 million in 2028/29 for an election policy costings unit.

Other central government administration

The Greens' policy to lift core public service pay is the largest item on this page. Assuming a ten percent pay hike, applying this across the $38.8 billion public sector wage bill, we cost this at $15.5 billion over four years, or $7,490 per household. The Greens’ AI policy, released this week, sets five goals but gives no costing. We have costed it the same way as Labour’s Office of AI and online safety regulator, using NetSafe’s $7.3 million a year as a proxy, for $29.2 million over four years. This is our assumption, and we would welcome more detail from the Greens.

Labour would reverse part of National's planned public service savings: half of the first tranche and all of the second. Its fiscal plan costs this at $1.96 billion over four years. The plan also sets aside $968 million for policy not yet announced and funds a Parliamentary Budget Office at $10.5 million. We have included their public sector living wage pledge, which Living Wage Aotearoa estimate at $100 million, and a dedicated Office of AI and AI online safety regulator at $29.2 million.

Labour has pledged to progressively lift foreign aid towards 0.7 percent of Gross National Income, but has put no cost or date on it. We have assumed a progressive increase from current levels to 0.7 percent by the fourth year, which costs $5.5 billion over four years, or $2,662 per household. We would welcome Labour sharing its own costing, which so far it has publicly refused to do.

NZ First has promised to increase KiwiSaver contributions to 8%. We have estimated the Crown's costs as employer would cost $6.3 billion over four years. NZ First has also costed a COVID-19 vaccine inquiry at $15.4 million, assuming the cost is an average of the phases 1 and 2 of the Royal Commission.

ACT’s fiscal plan saves $13.78 billion over four years in this category, or $6,652 per household. The plan’s headline is a $9.93 billion non-frontline public service cut. ACT itemises only abolishing the demographic ministries ($187 million a year, $748 million) and cutting foreign aid to 2017 levels excluding Ukraine ($283 million a year, $1.13 billion), with examples of $379 million for welfare administration and $793 million for environmental spending counted on other pages. The remaining $6.88 billion is unitemised. ACT also cuts its future operating allowances from $2.4 billion to $2 billion, which improves the balance by $4.0 billion over four years. The plan also maintains the suspension of NZ Super Fund contributions, a credit of $1.43 billion against the Treasury baseline rather than a cut. These are partly offset by $400 million for one initiative still to be announced. ACT’s consolidation of the public service into 19 departments and 18 ministers, and its ban on spiritual practices in the public service, carry no separate cost in our figures. We assume the consolidation has no net cost, and the ban sits inside the non-frontline cut.

The Opportunity Party would spend $40 million boosting the Electoral Commission and $8 million establishing an Independent Policy Costing Unit.

National’s fiscal plan cuts the foreign aid budget by $107.8 million a year, saving $431.2 million over four years. It also sets aside $25.2 million for future announcements. Any later costed announcement is likely to sit inside this line. Completing the new police station in Greymouth is already funded under Budget 2026 and carries no additional cost.

Regional and local bodies

ACT’s fiscal plan includes a Local Tourism Dividend, paying councils $1 per commercial guest night, which it costs at $186 million over four years, or $90 per household. No other party has announced costed policies in this category this election.

Note: Te Pāti Māori has announced a $200 million Takatāpui Commission ($97 per household). We have not yet included Te Pāti Māori in the Bribe-O-Meter as most of their policy statements remain uncostable.

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