Campaigns

Stop Three Waters

Our Stop Three Waters campaign mobilised New Zealanders against Labour’s controversial water reforms, gathering more than 100,000 petition signatures and nearly 69,000 submissions, ultimately securing the repeal of Three Waters in 2024.

MPs' Perks

Our MPs’ Pay and Perks campaign holds politicians accountable for their taxpayer-funded salaries, allowances and entitlements. From challenging excessive pay rises to exposing questionable travel and accommodation perks, we campaign for greater transparency, fairer remuneration and an end to special treatment at taxpayers’ expense.

Nosey Parker

Our Nosey Parker campaign fought to overturn intrusive powers introduced under Labour that allowed IRD to demand deeply personal information from taxpayers. After three years of campaigning and mobilising thousands of New Zealanders, we secured a major victory for taxpayer privacy in 2025, when Revenue Minister Simon Watts announced that the powers under Section 17GB would be scrapped.

Ute Tax

Our Ute Tax campaign fought Labour’s Clean Car Discount, which imposed additional costs on farmers, tradies, rural communities and families relying on higher-emitting vehicles. Through petitions, bumper stickers, signs and grassroots campaigning, we mobilised tens of thousands of New Zealanders and pressured National to commit to repeal. Following the 2023 election, the Ute Tax was scrapped, along with electric vehicle subsidies.

Robbo's Removals

Our tongue-in-cheek Robbo’s Removals campaign took aim at former Finance Minister Grant Robertson’s economic record, highlighting soaring government spending, debt and the growing number of skilled Kiwis leaving New Zealand. With a branded removals van touring election debates and political events across the country, we put Labour’s economic management firmly in the spotlight during the 2023 election campaign.

Ute Tax 2.0

Our Stop Ute Tax 2.0 campaign fought plans to impose Fringe Benefit Tax on utes and other work vehicles, which IRD estimated would cost farmers, tradies and other vehicle owners $100 million a year. We exposed the proposal and mobilised thousands of New Zealanders to email National MPs. Within just six hours of launching our campaign, we secured a major victory when the Prime Minister intervened and confirmed Ute Tax 2.0 would not proceed.

Nicola's Fudge (2025)

The Nicola’s Fudge campaign used humour and satire to call out Finance Minister Nicola Willis for fudging the Government’s promises to rein in spending, debt and bureaucracy. Fronted by former Finance Minister Ruth Richardson, the campaign distributed 1,000 boxes of fudge, attracted 1.5 million video views and gained international recognition, winning two awards at the 2026 Reed Awards.

Votes at 16 (2023)

Our campaign against lowering the voting age to 16 challenged Labour’s plans to change voting rules for local elections without a public referendum. Through nationwide newspaper and online advertising, we brought attention to the proposal and pressured the Government not to rush the Bill through Parliament. The campaign secured a victory when Labour backed down and referred the Bill to the Justice Select Committee, preventing the changes from being rushed into law before the 2023 election.

Advertising (Anti-Discrimination for Publicly-funded Media) Bill (2024)

Our campaign for fair access to political and advocacy advertising challenged media companies that receive taxpayer funding while restricting advertising based on editorial preferences. Following NZME’s decision to screen advocacy advertisements, we pushed back against what we saw as political censorship and had a Parliamentary Bill drafted to require publicly funded media companies to accept lawful advertising without discrimination, protecting the ability of advocacy groups to reach New Zealanders directly.

Scrap the App Tax

Our Scrap the App Tax campaign fought GST changes that increased costs for New Zealanders using accommodation, food-delivery and ride-sharing platforms. After campaigning against the tax in Opposition, National decided to keep it once in Government, so we mobilised thousands of supporters to email Finance Minister Nicola Willis and hold the Government to its pre-election commitment to scrap the tax.

IRD Data Leak

Our Stop IRD’s Data Leaks campaign exposed Inland Revenue’s sharing of taxpayers’ personal information with overseas social media companies for targeted advertising. We mobilised 9,000 supporters to complain directly to IRD, securing a major victory when the department ended the practice. Our campaign also brought to light a separate breach involving the unprotected personal details of 268,000 taxpayers, forcing IRD to notify and apologise to those affected.

Fuel Tax (2022)

Our Cut Fuel Taxes campaign mobilised more than 11,000 New Zealanders, brought fuel taxes into the national spotlight, and secured a 25-cent-per-litre cut to petrol excise duty in 2022, delivering relief for motorists across the country.

Ratepayer Protection Pledge (2025)

Our Ratepayer Protection Pledge campaign put mayoral and council candidates on the record ahead of the 2025 local elections. We called on candidates across New Zealand to commit to limiting rates increases, improving transparency around council spending and protecting democratic accountability. By publishing every candidate who signed, we gave voters a clear way to see where their local candidates stood on these commitments.

CCCFA Retrospective Law Changes (2025)

Our campaign against retrospective banking law changes fought to protect tens of thousands of New Zealand bank customers’ right to pursue legal action against ANZ and ASB. We exposed the banks’ lobbying, took the fight directly to MPs and National Party members, and mobilised thousands of New Zealanders to oppose the changes. In October 2025, we secured a major victory when the Government backed down and abandoned the proposed law change.

Axe the ‘Taniwha Tax’ (2016)

Our Taniwha Tax campaign challenged Auckland Council rules requiring property owners to obtain costly cultural impact assessments before developing their land. Working alongside the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance and other partners, we exposed flaws in the rules, published research and mobilised public opposition. The campaign secured a major victory in 2016, when the Independent Hearings Panel recommended removing the assessment requirements and scheduled sites of value from the Unitary Plan.

Investment Boost (2025)

Our Go for Growth campaign championed Full Capital Expensing to encourage business investment, boost productivity and grow wages. Through research, public campaigning and direct pressure on the Government ahead of Budget 2025, we secured a partial policy victory with the introduction of Investment Boost, allowing businesses to immediately deduct 20 percent of the cost of new assets. We continue to campaign for full expensing.

Fair Digital News (2024)

Our Scrap the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill campaign opposed the Government’s revival of Willie Jackson’s proposed scheme to force large digital platforms to pay news media companies. Warning that the Bill risked becoming a taxpayer-backed media bailout and driving news off social media, we mobilised more than 5,500 New Zealanders to write directly to Ministers, demanding the Bill be scrapped or sent back to Select Committee.

Axe This Tax (2019)

Our Axe This Tax campaign fought Labour’s proposed capital gains tax, which threatened to impose new taxes on New Zealanders’ savings, investments and businesses. Through nationwide advertising, research and grassroots mobilisation, we built public opposition and put sustained pressure on the Government, securing a major victory in 2019 when the capital gains tax proposal was abandoned.

Restore 10-year passports (2014)

Our Restore 10-Year Passports campaign fought to reverse New Zealand’s costly five-year passport regime, which forced Kiwis to renew their passports twice as often while paying some of the highest passport costs in the world. We made the case for restoring ten-year passports and pushed the Government to review the rules. The campaign delivered a win for taxpayers and travellers, with Parliament backing the return of ten-year passports and the Government restoring them in 2015.

Fair Tax for Savers (2014)

Working alongside Age Concern, Consumer NZ and the Financial Services Council, we campaigned for fairer taxation of KiwiSaver and term-deposit savings, arguing that the tax system unfairly penalised New Zealanders for putting money aside for their future. We took the campaign nationwide, distributing more than 120,000 campaign postcards through print media and building public pressure for a tax system that treated savers more fairly.

End taxpayer funding of the Clinton Health Access Initiative (2013-19)

Our campaign to end taxpayer funding of the Clinton Health Access Initiative challenged the use of New Zealand’s foreign aid budget to fund the international organisation. Over nearly three years, we kept pressure on the Government and mobilised almost 7,000 New Zealanders to sign our petition calling for the funding to end. The campaign delivered a victory for taxpayers in 2019, when the Government halted further funding.

Scrapping Fees Free

Our Scrap Fees Free campaign challenged Labour’s costly tertiary education policy from its introduction in 2017, exposing wasteful spending, including more than $1.1 million in taxpayer subsidies for commercial skydiving courses. After years of campaigning against a scheme that failed to deliver its promised benefits, we secured a policy victory, with Fees Free scrapped and the scheme set to end entirely in 2026.

Taxpayer Gang Funding (2021-26)

Our Stop Taxpayer Funding for Gangs campaign was launched after the Government awarded a $2.75 million drug rehabilitation contract associated with the Mongrel Mob. We exposed the use of taxpayer money to fund gangs and gang-linked organisations, mobilised New Zealanders through petitions and advertising, and spent years pushing for tougher rules to ensure public money could not be funnelled to criminal organisations.

Stop the jobs tax (2022-23)

Our Stop the Jobs Tax campaign fought Labour’s proposed Income Insurance Scheme, which would have imposed a new compulsory levy on workers and employers. We mobilised New Zealanders against the tax, built public pressure and campaigned for the scheme to be abandoned, securing a victory in 2023 when Prime Minister Chris Hipkins put the proposal on ice.

Te Mana o Te Wai

Our Scrap Te Mana o te Wai campaign challenges Labour’s freshwater framework and the costly, uncertain regulations it places on councils and ratepayers. We’ve exposed millions in implementation costs, mobilised thousands of New Zealanders to make submissions, and pressured Ministers to act. The campaign continues as we push for the full repeal of Te Mana o te Wai and its replacement with clear, practical and democratically accountable freshwater rules.

Campaigns

Highlights

Campaign archive

Stop Three Waters

MPs' Perks

Nosey Parker

Ute Tax

Robbo's Removals

Ute Tax 2.0

Nicola's Fudge (2025)

Votes at 16 (2023)

Advertising (Anti-Discrimination for Publicly-funded Media) Bill (2024)

Scrap the App Tax

IRD Data Leak

Fuel Tax (2022)

Ratepayer Protection Pledge (2025)

CCCFA Retrospective Law Changes (2025)

Axe the ‘Taniwha Tax’ (2016)

Investment Boost (2025)

Fair Digital News (2024)

Axe This Tax (2019)

Restore 10-year passports (2014)

Fair Tax for Savers (2014)

End taxpayer funding of the Clinton Health Access Initiative (2013-19)

Scrapping Fees Free

Taxpayer Gang Funding (2021-26)

Stop the jobs tax (2022-23)

Te Mana o Te Wai

Campaigns

Highlights

Campaign archive

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