This election is about who you trust to make life more affordable, fix the health system, and deliver good jobs.
- Lower bills - fairer food prices, freezing the fuel tax, 10% off student debt, a $20 public transport fare cap, solar power with no upfront cost, and an end to price gouging and hidden fees
- Affordable healthcare - three free GP visits a year, free prescriptions, 4.5 million extra appointments and more nurses by guaranteeing a job for every graduate nurse
- Good jobs - backing small businesses and nearly 30,000 apprentices, and getting Kiwis back on the tools
The case for change
If you work hard, you should have the chance to get ahead.
A Labour Government led by Chris Hipkins will be focused on what matters.
Our plan for New Zealand will create good jobs, fix the health system and get household bills under control - helping you and your kids get ahead and build a future here at home.
Labour's plan for New Zealand
Affordable healthcare
Labour will make healthcare cheaper with 3 free GP visits a year for every New Zealander, alongside a plan to increase capacity by adding 4.5 million extra GP appointments and a guaranteed job for every NZ trained graduate nurse.
See Labour's healthcare plan →Fairer Grocery Prices
Woolworths and Foodstuffs control more than 80% of New Zealand's grocery market. Labour will end unfair supplier contracts, ban junk fees, and create two independent wholesalers so smaller grocers can compete and offer lower prices.
Full policy details →Cutting Student Debt
Labour will cut 10% off eligible student loan balances - now for those already repaying or after 3 years based for current and future graduates - so more of your pay stays in your pocket.
Full policy details →Cheaper transport
Labour will cut the cost of getting around by capping public transport at $20 a week in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, and $10 elsewhere. On average, people will save around $25 a week.
See Labour's cost of living plan →Lower power bills
Labour will help bring power bills down with affordable loans for home solar, with no upfront cost, saving the average household around $1,000 a year through SolarSaver.
See Labour's cost of living plan →Good jobs
Labour will back small Kiwi businesses to grow, invest and create good jobs, support nearly 30,000 apprentices into work, and get Kiwis back on the tools building the homes, schools and hospitals New Zealand needs.
See Labour's jobs plan →Not everyone will benefit from every policy. However, a family benefiting from just three of them - free GP visits, the $20 fare cap, and SolarSaver - stands to save over one thousand dollars each year.
What does 'Better Starts Now' mean?
A Labour Government, led by Chris Hipkins, is ready to make life more affordable, fix the health system and deliver good jobs from day one, rather than delaying action or relying on further reviews.
What are Labour's main priorities for this election?
Labour's plan is built around three priorities:
- Affordable healthcare (three free GP visits a year, free prescriptions, and a guaranteed job for every graduate nurse)
- Lower household bills (a $20 public transport fare cap, solar power with no upfront cost, and a crackdown on price gouging)
- Good jobs (backing small businesses, apprentices and construction workers through policies like Start Work Now and Apprenticeship Boost)
How much could a household save under Labour's plan?
Not every household will benefit from every policy. A family benefiting from three cost of living policies - three free GP visits, the $20 public transport fare cap (saving around $25 a week on average), and SolarSaver (saving around $1,000 a year on power bills) - could be over one thousand dollars better off every year.
How is Labour fixing the health system?
Labour's Medicard gives every New Zealander three free doctor's visits a year, free prescriptions, free maternity scans, and free cervical screening.
Alongside this, Labour has a practical plan to free up more than 4.5 million GP appointments a year at local clinics through the Family Doctor Loan Scheme, and will guarantee a job in the health system for every eligible New Zealand-trained graduate nurse from 2027.
What is Labour doing to create good jobs and grow the economy?
Labour's Start Work Now plan will build homes, improve schools and repair hospitals, creating construction and trades work and supporting nearly 30,000 apprentices.
Our Small Business Action Plan will require faster payment for small suppliers, a higher instant asset write-off, and a higher GST threshold, while Small Business First puts small businesses first in government contracts.
And we'll expand Apprenticeship Boost, invest in Māori-led training through Backing Māori into Skilled Work and guarantee a job for every New Zealand trained nursing graduate.
How will Labour pay for all of this, and is the plan fully costed?
Labour's wider fiscal strategy commits to returning the Budget to an OBEGAL surplus by 2029/30, reducing net debt to around 20% of GDP, and establishing an independent Parliamentary Budget Office so New Zealanders can see the true cost of every party's promises.
All Labour's policies are separately costed and funded:
- The Medicard, free prescriptions, free maternity scans and free cervical screening are funded by a targeted 28% capital gains tax on investment property profits, which nine out of 10 New Zealanders will not pay
- SolarSaver is funded by repurposing the Government's Gas Security of Supply fund
- The Small Business Action Plan is funded by refocusing Investment Boost
- The Graduate Nurse Job Guarantee is funded from Vote Health cost-pressure funding
- Start Work Now is funded from future operating and capital allowances
How does Labour's plan compare to National's record?
Under National, unemployment is at an 11-year high, with around 40,000 more people unemployed and 20,000 construction jobs lost, while just 54 nurses have been added to the public health system in two years despite many graduate nurses struggling to find work.
National promised to fix the cost of living but made it worse. Since National took office, prices are up:
- Bread +66%
- Butter +72%
- Beef mince +36%
- Milk +33%
- Power bills +20% in just two years
If you work hard, you should have the chance to get ahead.
Better starts now.
See Labour's full policy plan →
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