Responding to comments made today by Labour leader Chris Hipkins, the Taxpayers’ Union claims it is hypocritical of him to create new taxes on property ownership while using a taxpayer-funded superannuation scheme to finance his own holiday home.

Taxpayers’ Union spokeswoman, Ella Dickson, says:

“Chris Hipkins – like all MP’s – has a generous superannuation scheme with every $1 he puts in matched $2.50 by his employer (taxpayer-funded), which he admits contributes to the mortgage of his family’s holiday home. A second dwelling that would be considered taxable under the bracket of his proposed capital gains tax, yet taxpayers fund it.”

“Hipkins can claim owning a holiday home is different than owning multiple rental properties, but when his CGT sees no difference and taxes them both the same: where does he draw the line? He claimed not to ‘begrudge’ other Kiwis who own holiday homes, he just taxes them for it.”

“The Labour leader today admitted to getting the maximum entitlement from the taxpayer. When asked if it was ‘fair’, he said his goal was to ‘raise the wages of all New Zealanders’, but taxing them will not help in that mission. If Hipkins wants a fairer economy, he should start with his own benefits and his own tax policy.”

A new report showing government agencies spend more than $180 million a year responding to Official Information Act (OIA) requests highlights the cost of failing to proactively release information.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson, Tyler Groenewald, said:

"The cheapest OIA request is the one that never needs to be made because the information is already available to the public."

"This $180 million bill is the cost of a lack of transparency. Much of the information being requested is clearly able to be made public, yet taxpayers are funding a costly bureaucratic process to release information that often ends up being disclosed anyway."

"Agencies should be proactively publishing reports, data, and other frequently requested information online. Countries such as the UK, United States, Ukraine and Brazil already publish spending and procurement data online, allowing taxpayers to scrutinise government spending without lodging information requests."

"An 'armchair audit' approach, where routine spending data is proactively published through a central transparency portal, would reduce OIA costs, strengthen accountability, and improve public trust."

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that Corrections has spent $32,478,300 (GST inclusive) since 2021/22 pursuing Carbon Neutral Government targets.

The Official Information Act request also shows:

• Corrections has bought 327 electric vehicles supported by 352 chargers since the targets were implemented.
• Corrections spent a further $369,150 (GST inclusive) on emissions inventories over this period.
• 2025 emissions reduction targets weren't met and uncertainty about meeting its 2030 target remain.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigative Lead, Rhys Hurley, said:

“New Zealand already built the Emissions Trading Scheme to cap emissions nationally. Forcing Corrections to spend $32 million chasing separate carbon-neutral targets will not cut emissions by a single gram, and shows exactly why the programme should be scrapped.”

"Corrections’ job is to keep criminals behind bars, rehabilitate offenders, and keep the public safe, not worry about decarbonising their sheep farm.”

“The Government looked at removing the targets back in 2023. These figures show it should stop looking and finally pull the plug.”

Responding to reports that the Government is considering establishing something similar to Australia’s Business Growth Fund, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf said:

“The Government needs to stop speculating with taxpayers’ funds."

“This looks eerily similar to Callaghan Innovation, which was disestablished last year because it had become an unfocused and underperforming agency. It invested too broadly and in too many companies that ultimately failed or moved offshore."

“What would be different about this proposal? The problem this fund appears to address is that the companies under consideration cannot access growth capital. The question that must be asked, and answered first, is: why?"

“The suggestion is that they are too small, but size alone should not deter rational investors."

“The real reason is much more likely to be that their returns are viewed as too low, given the risk of any capital investment. If banks and venture capitalists are unwilling to invest in these firms, why should taxpayers be exposed to these risks?"

“Minister Willis has previously been sceptical about governments attempting to ‘pick winners’ — and the Taxpayers’ Union is in complete agreement. Governments have a very poor track record at picking winners, so why is she now considering trying doing just that?”

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling for cost-benefit analysis to be made compulsory for all major government investment decisions following the release of the Helen Clark Foundation’s report Measuring What Matters.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf says:

“Cost-benefit analysis should be at the heart of every major spending decision, yet this report shows many agencies still aren’t using it properly.”

“Treasury already provides a clear methodology, so there is no excuse for Ministers to be signing off major investments without robust analysis of costs and benefits.”

“That only a third of departments surveyed were regularly using cost-benefit analysis raises serious questions about the quality of advice going to Ministers. This may go some way to explain why New Zealand ranks among the top 10 percent of OECD countries for infrastructure spending but in the bottom 10 percent for efficiency.”

“The Government should make cost-benefit analysis compulsory for all investment decisions so taxpayers can see whether projects actually stack up.”

Responding to the speech this afternoon by Winston Peters where he announced a policy to buy back the Bank of New Zealand, Hon. Ruth Richardson, Chair of the Taxpayers’ Union, said:

“The last time the Crown was the majority owner of the Bank of New Zealand, it nearly sent us bankrupt. Now Winston Peters wants to do it all over again 30 years later. It’s not a serious idea, it’s a bankruptcy of thinking.”

“Time and time again government-owned banks cost taxpayers dearly. Mr Peters’ policy would be forgivable only in the 1960s.”

“Borrowing to buy a bank when credit ratings agencies are already putting New Zealand on watch for unsustainable debt is a counterproductive contribution to the challenges facing New Zealand’s public finances.”

The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that a taxpayer-funded $1.07 million cowshed upgrade in Taranaki is expected to sustain just 1.8 ongoing jobs.

Documents released under the Official Information Act request show the project received $900,000 in loan funding through the Government’s Regional Infrastructure Fund, despite only $120,000 in co-funding from Omuturangi 6E & 7A Ahu Whenua Trust. Large parts of the application, financial analysis, loan terms, risk assessment, and decision-making material of the loan have also been withheld.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Rhys Hurley said:

"The Government sold this as a productivity story, yet taxpayers are being used as the bank for a private cowshed upgrade that creates fewer than two ongoing jobs.”

“If this project stacks up commercially, why couldn’t the trust get a loan from a bank like they have before? And if it doesn’t stack up, why are taxpayers being asked to carry the risk?”

“Farmers across Taranaki would love help upgrading their cowsheds, but they are stuck paying rates, taxes, interest, and compliance costs. They don’t get to send the bill to Wellington.”

“The Government needs to explain why this loan was approved, what risks taxpayers are exposed to, and how many more low-value projects are hiding behind blacked-out OIA documents. Otherwise, this simply looks like another case of pork barrel politics.”

Responding to the Prime Minister’s pre-Budget speech, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf said:

“Christopher Luxon is talking about fiscal responsibility while announcing nearly $3,780 per household in additional government spending.”

“A $2.1 billion operating package is not restraint - it is still $2.1 billion more spending. And increasing the capital package to $5.7 billion, when December’s Budget Policy Statement had it at $3.5 billion, is a $1,065-per-household blowout before Budget Day has even arrived.”

“If the Government is serious about getting debt down and returning to surplus, this should be a ‘zero Budget’ with no new net spending, like John Key’s 2011 Budget. Every dollar of new spending should be matched by a dollar of savings.”

National have seen a small uptick in support in the latest Taxpayers' Union-Curia Poll, while both ACT and New Zealand First have taken a hit. The Coalition continues to be able to form a Government on these numbers.

The poll sees National up 0.2 points to 30.0 percent, while Labour is down 1.5 points to 31.9 percent. New Zealand First drops 1.9 points to 11.7 percent, while the Greens gain 1.9 points to 9.7 percent. 

ACT drops 2.5 points to 6.5 percent, while Te Pāti Māori gains 1.5 points to 4.1%.
 
Headline results and more information about the methodology can be found on the Taxpayers’ Union’s website at www.taxpayers.org.nz/maypoll_2026tucur

For the minor parties, TOP is at 2.8 percent, New Conservatives are at 0.8 percent, Outdoors and Freedom Party is on 0.5 percent, and Vision NZ is on 0.3 percent.
 
This month’s results are compared to the last Taxpayers’ Union-Curia Poll conducted in April 2026, available at www.taxpayers.org.nz/easter_26_poll
 
The combined projected seats for the 'Government Bloc' (National, ACT, New Zealand First) is down 3 to 62 seats. The 'Opposition Bloc' (Labour, Greens, Te Pāti Māori) is up 3 to 58.

Labour drops 1 seat to 41, while National gains 2 to 39. New Zealand First drops 2 to 15, while the Greens gain 2 to 12. ACT drops 3 to 8, and Te Pāti Māori gains 2 to 5.

In the Preferred Prime Minister ranking, Luxon gains 1.0 point to 21.5 percent. Hipkins drops 2.7 points to 19.0 percent. Peters drops 0.5 points to 11.6 percent, Swarbrick drops 2.0 points to 5.4 percent, and Seymour drops 0.7 points to 3.9%.

Commenting on the results, Taxpayers’ Union Spokesperson Tory Relf said:

"National may be breathing a sigh of relief, but there's still only a hair's breadth between the left and right blocs, and barely a few percentage points between Kiwis' preferred Prime Ministers."

"The final Budget before the election is only a few weeks away. It will be make-or-break for the Government."

"Unsurprisingly cost of living and the economy remain Kiwis' top concerns. With the fuel crisis still dragging growth down, the Government needs to announce serious plans to right-size the state and get the country growing again."

Responding to revelations today that the ex-CEO of Auckland’s City Rail Link thinks the expected $5.5 billion final cost could have been halved, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson, Tory Relf, said “if even remotely accurate, such a waste of ratepayers’ and taxpayers’ money warrants a full inquiry into how public funds were used.”

“International statistics show that New Zealand has a high per capita infrastructure spend but delivers very poor results. The City Rail Link project exemplifies this problem. Over-specification, gold-plating and scope changes kill efficient procurement and construction of infrastructure assets and this appears to be exactly what has happened here. No wonder costs blew out and it took so long to build.”

“The Taxpayers’ Union believes the waste of public funds on this project is so great that a full inquiry and accounting of the excess costs must be undertaken. We have written to the Minister for Infrastructure, Chris Bishop, calling for a full ministerial inquiry into what is increasingly looking like a gross misuse of public funds."