Getting the cost of living under control will be Labour's number one priority. That means action on the bills you face now and making sure you get a better deal in the future.
- Give every New Zealander three free GP visits a year with a new Medicard and Medicard App
- Guarantee every eligible New Zealand-trained graduate nurse a job
- Freeze fuel tax for three years
- Cap public transport fares at $20 a week in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, and $10 everywhere else
- Make price gouging by the big companies illegal, including on groceries, fuel and power, and force companies to pay you back if they are found to have overcharged you
- Cut student debt by 10% on 1 April 2027, or for students who choose to stay and work in New Zealand for three years after they finish their study
- Scrap the $5 prescription charge
- Support households to install solar with low-interest SolarSaver loans
- Crack down on hidden fees and subscription traps
- Get Kiwis back into work by fixing schools and hospitals, backing 30,000 apprentices and creating jobs for local tradies
Getting the cost of living under control isn't just about bringing prices down. It's also about making sure people have enough money coming in to cover their bills.
Labour will also get Kiwis back into work and change the rules so smaller Kiwi businesses have a fair chance to compete with the big companies. Our plan means lower bills, more good jobs and reliable incomes, and a fairer deal for New Zealanders.
Every dollar is costed. Every dollar is funded. You deserve to see where the money comes from, so we've produced an independently reviewed financial plan. See Labour's Fiscal Plan →
What better means for your household
Labour's plan will put money back in your pocket. Not everyone will benefit from every policy. But a family benefiting from just some could be thousands of dollars better off every year.
| Commitment | What you could save |
|---|---|
| Three free GP visits | Up to $250 per person a year, $500 for a couple |
| Free prescriptions | $5 per item |
| Fare caps | Around $25 a week, or around $1,300 a year ($2,600 for a couple) |
| Freezing fuel tax | $520 a year by 2030 for the average family |
| Free maternity scans | $180 for a straightforward pregnancy |
| SolarSaver | Around $1,000 a year |
| Student debt cut | 10% cut from whatever you owe |
Why it matters
1. Better means healthcare you can afford
You shouldn't have to put off seeing a doctor or leave your prescription at the pharmacy because you can't afford it. The cost of seeing a GP has gone up 21% in three years. One in six New Zealanders can't afford to see a doctor when they're sick. And National has only increased the number of nurses by 54 in the last two years.
Labour will:
- Give every New Zealander three free GP visits a year with a new Medicard or Medicard App
- Remove the $5 prescription charge from 1 July 2027
- Make cervical screening free for everyone aged 25 to 69 from 1 October 2027
- Make maternity scans free everywhere from July 2028
2. Better means getting around for less
Whether you're filling up the car, catching the bus or train, or flying to visit friends, the cost of getting around adds up. We'll help bring that cost down.
Labour will:
- Cap weekly public transport fares at $20 in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch and $10 everywhere else from 1 July 2027, saving the average commuter $25 a week, or $1,300 a year ($2,600 for a couple)
- Freeze fuel excise tax for three years, saving an average family $520 a year by 2030
- Make it illegal for fuel companies to overcharge you for petrol and diesel - and force companies to pay you back if they are found to have overcharged you
- Make airlines show the full price upfront, so the price you see is the price you pay
- Guarantee refunds when a major airline cancels or significantly changes your flight
- Help smaller airlines compete
3. Better means lower power bills
Power bills have gone up 25% in three years. Labour will take action to stop companies overcharging you and make it easier to install solar without the upfront cost.
Labour will:
- Offer government-backed, low-interest SolarSaver loans for solar panels and batteries, saving the average household around $1,000 a year on power bills
- Give low- and middle-income households up to $3,000 in extra support
- Make sure people who rent can benefit through plug-in solar
- Make overcharging you for electricity illegal, and make companies found doing so pay you back
4. Better means cutting the cost of getting kids to school
School costs add up - lunches and long drives to get the kids to the classroom. We'll help parents with those bills.
Labour will:
- Cap public transport fares so kids can get to school for less
- Bring back fresh, locally made school lunches from Term 1 2028
- Work to restore the rural school bus routes that National cut
5. Better means fairer prices
When a few big companies dominate a market, they can charge too much because customers have nowhere else to go. Labour will take on unfair prices and fees - and give smaller businesses the chance to challenge them.
Labour will:
- Make the big supermarkets open up wholesale supply so smaller stores can compete and you get a better deal at the checkout
- Change the law to make price gouging on essentials like power and petrol illegal, and to make companies pay you back what they overcharged
- Ban hidden fees so there are no surprise charges when you book flights or buy tickets online - the price you see will be the price you pay
- Make cancelling subscriptions and switching providers easy, so you can cancel your gym or streaming subscription as easily as you signed up
- Ban junk insurance and secret finance commissions at car yards
- Introduce a Right to Repair law so you have more choice over who fixes your car, helping keep repair costs down
- Give independent mechanics, service stations, digital banks, and regional airlines a fair shot
6. Better means help to get ahead
It's hard to get ahead when you're weighed down by student debt, out of work, or unsure whether your pay will cover the bills. We'll back people to learn, earn and build a future here.
Labour will:
- Guarantee New Zealand-trained graduate nurses a job
- Cut student debt by 10% on 1 April 2027 or for students who choose to stay and work in New Zealand for three years after they finish their study
- Clear student loans of $2,000 or less completely
- Expand Apprenticeship Boost to get 30,000 more people learning on the job
- Give apprentices and tradies a $1,000 tools grant
- Fix schools and hospitals, creating work for local tradies and builders
Fully costed and paid for
Government is about choices. You should be able to see what we're promising and how we'll pay for it. Labour has published an independently reviewed Fiscal Plan setting out, line by line, how every election commitment will be funded.
As Finance Minister in a Labour Government, Barbara Edmonds, an expert tax lawyer, will:
- Pay for our commitments within the same pot of money National has set aside for future budgets
- Fund announced capital commitments within the $12 billion National has set aside for future capital allowances, leaving almost $8 billion of that capital funding unallocated
- Return the Government's books to surplus in 2028/29
- Bring net debt down towards 20% of GDP over time
Our health commitments
Three free GP visits, free prescriptions, free maternity scans and free cervical screening are funded through Labour's targeted capital gains tax. It applies to gains on investment and commercial property, while excluding the family home, farms, businesses and KiwiSaver. Nine out of ten New Zealanders will not pay it. Every dollar raised from the tax is invested in health.
Our other commitments
- The public transport fare cap is funded by reprioritising 1% of the National Land Transport Fund, while continuing investment in roads and public transport.
- SolarSaver is funded by reprioritising existing government funding.
- The student debt reduction is included in Labour's capital commitments.
Getting the cost of living under control and managing the books carefully aren't competing goals. We'll do both.
Better means getting your costs under control
Kiwis are working hard. You should be able to put food on the table, afford to see a doctor and get where you need to go - with something left over at the end of the week.
We'll bring bills down, get people back into work and help young New Zealanders build a future here. Good jobs and decent pay are how families get ahead.
We'll also give Kiwi businesses - from local mechanics to independent grocers and new banking providers - a proper chance to take on the big players. When local firms can grow and employ more people, and customers have more choice, the whole country gets a better deal.
What is Labour's Cost of Living Plan?
Labour's Cost of Living Plan is a package of policies to help with the bills New Zealanders face every week - food, power, transport, healthcare and the cost of getting kids to school - and to crack down on big companies overcharging customers.
Getting the cost of living under control will be Labour's number one priority, with action on the bills people face now, more good jobs and reliable incomes, and a fairer deal for New Zealanders.
Every commitment is costed and funded in Labour's Fiscal Plan.
How much could my household save under Labour's plan?
Not everyone will benefit from every policy, but Labour says a family benefiting from just some of them could be thousands of dollars better off every year. Labour's estimates are:
- Three free GP visits: up to $250 per person each year ($500 for a couple)
- Free prescriptions: $5 per item
- Public transport fare cap: around $25 a week, or around $1,300 a year ($2,600 for a couple)
- Freezing fuel tax: $520 a year by 2030 for the average family
- Free maternity scans: $180 for a straightforward pregnancy
- SolarSaver: around $1,000 a year on power bills
- Student debt cut: 10% off whatever you owe
What free healthcare will I get, and when does it start?
The average GP visit costs 21% more than it did three years ago, and one in six New Zealanders can't afford to see a doctor when they're sick.
A Labour Government will take action to make healthcare affordable:
- Every New Zealander will get three free GP visits a year at their enrolled practice through a new Medicard and Medicard App from July 2028.
- The $5 prescription charge will be removed from 1 July 2027.
- Cervical screening will be free for everyone aged 25 to 69 from 1 October 2027.
- Referred maternity scans will be free everywhere in New Zealand from July 2028.
How much will the public transport fare cap save me?
From 1 July 2027, the most you'll pay each week will be $20 in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, and $10 everywhere else. Once you reach the weekly cap, your remaining eligible trips that week are free.
Labour estimates a regular passenger could save around $25 a week and up to $1,300 a year, or $2,600 for a couple. The cap also applies to kids using public transport to get to school.
What is Labour's fuel tax freeze?
Labour will freeze fuel excise tax for three years, which Labour estimates saves an average family $520 a year by 2030. World oil prices will still go up and down, but a Labour Government won't add more fuel tax at the pump.
Labour will also show whether fuel companies pass on lower oil prices when their costs fall, and fuel companies found overcharging will have to pay customers back.
How will Labour bring down my power bill?
Labour will offer government-backed, low-interest SolarSaver loans for solar panels and batteries with no upfront cost, saving a typical household around $1,000 a year.
Low- and middle-income households can get a kickstart subsidy of up to $3,000, and renters can access the subsidy for plug-in solar - a two-panel kit costs around $1,500, saves $300-$400 a year on power bills, and pays for itself in four to five years.
Labour will also make overcharging for electricity illegal and make companies found doing so pay customers back.
How is Labour helping with the cost of getting kids to school?
From Term 1 2028, Labour will bring back fresh, locally made school lunches for children in the school lunch programme, continuing to cover 244,400 students in the 1,014 schools already included. Lunches will be funded at $5 a meal, and $6.50 for students in Years 9 to 13, and made in school kitchens, by iwi and hapū partners, or by local caterers.
Labour will also work to restore all of the rural school bus routes that have been cut, or find a suitable alternative with rural communities and local councils if a route can't be restored. The public transport fare cap will also help kids get to school for less.
How will Labour stop big companies overcharging?
Labour will make price gouging illegal for essentials including food, power, fuel, banking and insurance, with the Commerce Commission able to investigate and make companies pay back what they overcharged.
Labour will also make big supermarkets supply smaller competitors on fair terms and ban junk fees charged to suppliers, ban hidden fees and make cancelling subscriptions as easy as signing up, ban junk insurance and secret finance commissions at car yards, introduce a right to repair law starting with cars, and give independent mechanics, service stations, digital banks and regional airlines a fair shot.
These rules target powerful companies, not local businesses.
How is Labour helping people get ahead?
Labour will cut student debt by 10%:
- For graduates who have finished study and are repaying their loans, the cut applies on 1 April 2027
- For current and future students, the cut applies after spending three years in New Zealand following their study
Eligible balances of $2,000 or less cleared completely after meeting the three-year requirement.
Labour will also expand Apprenticeship Boost to get 30,000 apprentices into work with a $1,000 toolbox grant, guarantee eligible New Zealand-trained graduate nurses a job, and fix schools and hospitals, creating work for local builders, tradies and apprentices.
How is Labour's Cost of Living Plan paid for?
Every dollar is costed and funded in Labour's independently reviewed Fiscal Plan:
- Three free GP visits, free prescriptions, free maternity scans and free cervical screening are funded through Labour's targeted capital gains tax, which applies to gains on investment and commercial property (excluding the family home, farms, businesses and KiwiSaver)
- The public transport fare cap is funded by reprioritising 1% of the National Land Transport Fund
- SolarSaver is funded by reprioritising existing government funding, and the student debt reduction is included in Labour's capital commitments
Labour's commitments fit within the operating allowances already set aside for future Budgets and within the $12 billion of future capital allowances, leaving almost $8 billion unallocated, with a return to surplus in 2028/29 and net debt falling towards 20% of GDP over time.
When do these changes start?
- 1 April 2027: first student loan cut for graduates already repaying their loans (current and future students qualify after three years in New Zealand following their study)
- 1 July 2027: the $5 prescription charge removed and the weekly public transport fare cap begins
- 1 October 2027: free cervical screening for ages 25 to 69
- Term 1 2028: fresh, locally made school lunches return
- July 2028: three free GP visits
- July 2028: free referred maternity scans
- Fuel tax: fuel excise tax frozen for three years
- SolarSaver: loans, subsidies and EECA support up and running within 12 months of taking office
Better starts now.
On 7 November, Party Vote Labour.
See Labour's full policy plan →
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