Since coming into Government in 2017, we’ve worked hard to tackle the long term challenges facing New Zealand, and we’re proud of the progress we’ve made on the big issues like child poverty, housing and climate change.
However, we know there’s more to do. That’s why, as we secure our COVID recovery, we’re committed to building on our progress so together, we can come out of the pandemic stronger than ever. Read more about our priorities.
Here are just some of our achievements so far.
Updated 20 May 2021.
Made apprenticeships and targeted trades training free
Helping over 1 million New Zealanders with their power bills through the Winter Energy Payment
Making Matariki a public holiday from 2022
Funding more than 18,000 public and transitional homes
Extended paid parental leave from 18 to 26 weeks
Banned single-use plastic bags and committed to phasing out more single-use plastics
Increased the minimum wage to $20 per hour
Providing healthy, free lunches to more than 200,000 students across the country by the end of 2021
Upgrading almost every state school in the country through the School Investment Package
Investing over $700m in transport projects to help kick-start the post-COVID rebuild
Passed the landmark Zero Carbon Act, with a target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050
Made visiting the doctor cheaper or free for nearly 600,000 New Zealanders
Fast-tracking key development and infrastructure projects to help get New Zealand moving
Taking mental health seriously, with the biggest investment in mental health of any Budget, ever
Removed fees from NCEA and NZ Scholarship
Making sure New Zealand history is taught in all schools and kura by 2022
Restored the right to vote to all eligible prisoners serving less than three years
Led the Christchurch Call to work internationally to eliminate extremist content online
Establishing a Māori Health Authority to commission health services, monitor Māori health, and develop policy
More than doubled the funding for Search and Rescue, recreational boating safety, and safety awareness to help save lives
Expanded the Flexi-wage initiative to support up to 40,000 people into work
Launched Hōkai Rangi, Corrections’ new operational strategy, to place a bigger emphasis on wellbeing and the wellbeing of whānau
Protecting people in financial hardship from high-cost loans that could trap them in debt
Boosted funding for air and road ambulances
Boosting funding to Tupu Aotearoa to support thousands of Pāsifika people into employment, training, and education
Started quarantine-free travel with Australia and the Cook Islands
Supporting Te Kīwai Fund, to remove barriers to tamariki and rangatahi Māori participating in sport
Made significant business tax changes to reduce cashflow pressure
Restoring collective bargaining rights for screen sector workers
Building new rail workshops in Dunedin and Christchurch, creating hundreds of local jobs and supporting apprenticeships
Expanding the Pregnancy and Parenting Programme so more women can access alcohol and drug support
Working towards safely reducing the prison population
Introduced some of the strictest border controls in the world to help keep COVID-19 out of our communities
Supporting councils to fully decarbonise the public transport bus fleet by 2035
Pursuing ambitious trade policy to help New Zealand businesses succeed overseas
Supporting Kāinga Ora to scale up land acquisition and boost housing supply
Lifting weekly benefit rates by between $32 and $55 per adult, to help break the cycle of poverty
Expanding in-school mental health support across the country through the rollout of Mana Ake
Making the biggest-ever investment in family violence and sexual violence support services
Passed legislation establishing measures and targets for reducing child poverty
Providing healthy, free lunches to more than 200,000 students across the country by the end of 2021
Boosted funding for suicide prevention services and services to support those bereaved by suicide
Supporting a new programme to lead New Zealand’s plant protein sector development
Expanded Housing First to help more than 2,700 long-term homeless people into homes
Investing in climate and agriculture research and science
Made renting fairer by reforming the Residential Tenancies Act
Supported more than 2,000 rangatahi Māori into employment, education, or training through He Poutama Rangatahi
Making sure our water fluoridation approach is consistent and based on science, to prevent tooth decay
Better supporting Pacific people with new mental health and addiction services in Auckland and Wellington
Provided the largest funding boost for the Department of Conservation since 2002
Making the biggest-ever investment in family violence and sexual violence support services
Boosted funding for the horticulture sector to seize new opportunities for growth and stay ahead of international competitors
Committed to improving the Holidays Act to provide more certainty for employers and employees
Supporting more Kiwis into their first homes by increasing income caps on First Home Grants and Loans
Partnering with iwi to accelerate housing projects
Stopped issuing new offshore oil and gas permits
Helping over 1 million New Zealanders with their power bills through the Winter Energy Payment
Delivering 1,000 additional new houses for Māori and funding repairs for whānau most in need
Established Aotearoa ki te Ao, a programme of work designed to support Māori trade opportunities
Started upgrading schools and hospitals to ensure they run on clean energy
Strengthening counter-terrorism laws and ensuring tools are available to intervene early and prevent harm
Phasing out the export of livestock by sea, to uphold New Zealand’s reputation for high standards of animal welfare
Delivered the strongest ever protections to clean up our rivers and lakes
Put in place a new tax rate on the top 2% of earners to make sure all Kiwis are doing their bit
Rolling out the Tourism Communities: Support, Recovery and Re-set Plan, focusing on regions and communities that need the most help
Committed to build deeper partnerships with Pacific nations and expand our Pacific development programme
Improved access to healthy, affordable homes through investing in papākainga and housing repair programmes
Progressing free trade agreements with the UK and EU
Established the independent Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission to provide system-level oversight
Launched a Cancer Action Plan and made the largest ever direct investment in new radiation machines
Launched Fit for a Better World with the primary sector – a roadmap with the aim of boosting export earnings by $44b over the next decade
Introducing a Clean Car Import Standard to reduce emissions and Kiwis’ fuel costs
Launched and expanded Mana in Mahi, supporting employers to take on apprentices
Increasing the number of Trades Academy places in secondary schools
Provided support to unlock the potential of whenua Māori and support whānau aspirations around their whenua
Allocated over $120m to improve waste infrastructure
Backing Māori landowners by creating opportunities to make their land more productive
Announced the Housing Acceleration Fund to speed up the pace and scale of building
Introducing free period products in primary, intermediate, secondary schools and kura
Introduced learning support coordinators in schools to better support up to 300,000 children with diverse learning needs
Increasing housing supply and preventing homelessness through Te Maihi o te Whare Māori
Progressed changes to enable councils to write off rates arrears on whenua Māori
Provided interest-free loans to help more than 50,000 businesses stay afloat during COVID
Supported Air New Zealand to secure and maintain freight links with important markets through COVID
Re-entered the Pike River drift to help families get closure and justice
Announced major reforms to the health system to make healthcare accessible for all New Zealanders
Taking action to protect threatened indigenous freshwater fish
Reduced barriers to installing solar panels on residential and commercial buildings
Phasing in the removal of interest deductibility to level the playing field for first home buyers
Lifted the cap on gender reassignment surgeries
Provided the largest pay increase in a decade for primary, secondary, and kindergarten teachers
Upgraded our free trade agreement with China to build on the significant benefits of the existing FTA
Investing $57.3 billion in infrastructure over the next five years to drive our economy
Supported more than 2,000 rangatahi Māori into employment, education, or training through He Poutama Rangatahi
Funding a major redevelopment of Scott Base, which will create hundreds of jobs and safeguard our presence in Antarctica
Transforming the child care and protection and youth justice systems to improve outcomes for young people
Supporting workers by doubling sick leave entitlements
Delivered pay equity for teacher aides
Working to improve kerbside recycling
Bringing in new vaping laws to help smokers quit and stop young people starting
Backed New Zealand exporters during COVID, providing on-the-ground support to help them connect with overseas markets
Introduced new regulations to strengthen our animal welfare system
Started rolling out the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to everyone in New Zealand
Overhauled the Emissions Trading Scheme, to more effectively reduce climate-polluting emissions
Investing in farmer-led projects to improve the health of rivers and wetlands in Canterbury and Otago
Designing a social unemployment insurance scheme to cushion the impact of job loss
Rolling out the National Bowel Screening Programme to more DHBs
Scrapped National Standards, giving teachers more time with students
Passed the Equal Pay Amendment Bill to ensure people who perform work of the same value are paid the same
Rolling out the Māori Pathways programme in our prisons, to reduce reoffending and improve outcomes for whānau
Took over 60,000 prohibited firearms out of circulation through gun buy-backs and seizures
Paying our carers and mental health and addiction workers fairly
Developed the Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy to help make New Zealand the best place in the world to be a child
Acted on the Commerce Commission Fuel Market Study recommendations to give Kiwis a fairer deal at the pump
Introduced the Families Package, the biggest boost in household income in a decade for thousands of families
Launched the Progressive Home Ownership scheme, supporting thousands of families who couldn’t otherwise afford a home
Backing more initiatives to boost New Zealand’s food and fibre sector workforce
Building new schools and classrooms for 100,000 students
Committed $150m to address climate change in the Pacific
Set out Healthy Homes Standards requiring all rentals to be safe, warm, and dry
Indexing Childcare Assistance income thresholds to increases in the average wage, benefiting around 1,000 families
Working to make sure families aren’t penalised if parents have an additional child while on benefit
Launched an independent review into Pharmac to ensure it’s working optimally to improving health outcomes for all New Zealanders
Made record investments to rebuild our rundown hospitals and health facilities
Changed the law so child poverty reporting is now required every year in the Budget
Banned military-style semi-automatic weapons, magazines and parts
Rolling out our Healthy Active Learning programme to more than 300 schools
Agreed to strengthen our bilateral cooperation with the EU on emissions trading systems
Investing in roads, schools, and hospitals through the $12b New Zealand Upgrade Programme
Extended the bright-line test to 10 years, to tilt the balance toward first-home buyers
Invested significantly in public transport, walking and cycling infrastructure, and rail
Brought back government funding for adult night classes, to give New Zealanders more opportunities to learn
Continued our commitment to Māori knowledge in science and innovation through Te Pūnaha Hihiko
Boosted funding for PHARMAC to make sure New Zealanders continue to get the medicines they need
Beginning the process to repeal and replace the RMA, because it’s cumbersome, expensive, and hasn’t properly protected our environment
Removed fees from NCEA and NZ Scholarship
Provided businesses with up to $16,000 through Apprenticeship Boost to help pay the cost of apprentices for the first two years
Boosted Whānau Ora to support more whānau in need
Delivering the largest ever funding boost for disability support services
Added 2,000 new teachers to our education system, over two years
Investing significantly in new and old neglected mental health and addiction facilities
Launched a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions
Supporting businesses to convert their coal boilers to low-emissions alternatives
Invested in iwi projects through the Provincial Growth Fund to revitalise the regions
Established the Climate Change Commission, to provide independent advice on climate change action
Installed rural mobile broadband towers to get our regional communities and businesses digitally connected
Made changes to how councils set up local wards to ensure Māori communities have a voice at the table
Delivering nationwide funding for mental wellbeing initiatives aimed at Rainbow young people
Passed the Arms Legislation Bill, strengthening gun laws to help keep our communities safe
Supported more than 1.8 million jobs through the COVID-19 lockdowns with our wage subsidies
Funding more cochlear implants for adults, doubling the number of people who can access the life-changing device
Supporting kōhanga reo, to ensure kaiako and kaimahi are paid fairly and facilities are in good condition
Made record investments to resolve long-term challenges while managing the books responsibly
Boosted funding for te reo Māori initiatives in schools while growing the number of reo Māori teachers
Expanding in-school mental health support across the country through the rollout of Mana Ake
Restored meal and rest breaks for Kiwi workers and strengthened collective bargaining
Restarted contributions to the Super Fund, to help keep NZ Super affordable
Recruited to achieve the largest and most diverse Police workforce in New Zealand history
Funding a major redevelopment of Scott Base, which will create hundreds of jobs and safeguard our presence in Antarctica
Boosted funding to GPs, pharmacies, and PHARMAC to respond to COVID-related pressures
Invested in research into, and development and deployment of, emerging clean energy options
Supported our aviation sector to keep freight flowing during and post-COVID-19
Funding more places in out of school care (OSCAR), to help low income parents get to work or training
Rolling out the Māori Pathways programme in our prisons, to reduce reoffending and improve outcomes for whānau
Helping to drive the participation of women and girls in sport
Committed to banning new low and medium coal-fired boilers used in manufacturing and production
Ramped up pest control and eradication to make Aotearoa predator free by 2050
Making merchant service fees on debit and credit card fees fairer and less of a burden for Kiwis and businesses
Repealing and replacing the Resource Management Act to simplify and accelerate planning processes
Injecting $3b to support our regions through the Provincial Growth Fund
Making sure New Zealand history will be taught in all schools and kura by 2022
Boosted aid to support our Pacific neighbours to tackle COVID and rebuild their communities and economies
Passed the Family Violence and Family Violence (Amendments) Acts to tackle family and sexual violence
Bringing back the Training Incentive Allowance for degree level study, supporting 16,000 people to retrain
Protecting New Zealand’s beef and dairy sectors by working to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis
Tackling rheumatic fever by working to expand the Healthy Homes Initiative, to ensure more homes are warm and dry
Creating new jobs and re-deploying workers affected by COVID-19 in our regions to restore and protect our environment
Fast-tracked the much needed rebuild of Dunedin Hospital
More than 100,000 infants have benefitted from the Best Start payment, making life easier for parents
Created the Medicinal Cannabis Scheme to help people in pain access medicinal cannabis
Supported insulation and heating retrofits to keep Kiwi families warmer
Backing creativity and productivity through a $300m venture capital fund
Working to permanently legalise drug testing services to keeping people safer from drugs
Made changes to better protect migrants from exploitation
Allowed people to enrol to vote on Election Day, strengthening our democracy
Making sure all borrowers get the same protections, regardless of where they get their loans
Initiated a Commerce Commission market study to ensure New Zealanders are paying a fair price for groceries
Led the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability to tackle climate change and other environmental issues
Launched a new initiative to boost the Māori and Pasifika midwifery workforce
Removed abortion from the Crimes Act, to treat it as a health issue
Brought in the 105 Police non-emergency number, improving service for the public while taking pressure off the 111 number
Increased funding for community law centres
Funded the refurbishment of 15 electric trains running between Hamilton and Palmerston North
Boosting funding to Pacific health providers to help them deliver our COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Pacific communities
Extended free doctors’ visits for children to include 13-year-olds
Responded to March 15 with a raft of initiatives to promote inclusion and safety for all New Zealanders
Rolling out frontline mental health services
Introduced learning support coordinators in schools to better support up to 300,000 children with diverse learning needs
Set a goal to get 1 million New Zealanders speaking te reo Māori by 2040
Working towards pay parity between teachers in education and care centres and their counterparts in schools and kindergartens
Taking action to protect endangered Māui and Hector’s dolphins
Investing in New Zealand’s long-neglected regions through the Provincial Growth Fund
Started planting one billion trees, with over 258 million already in the ground
Boosted student loans and allowances by $79 a week and made the first year of study fees free
Expanded the Oranga Marae repair and development fund to support the revitalisation of marae
Backed Kiwi research and development innovators and entrepreneurs with a substantial funding boost
Ramping up pest control programmes to protect farmers and our unique environment while creating jobs
Supported Māori communities in the face of COVID-19 with targeted support and advice for Māori businesses
Indexed main benefits to average wage growth for the first time in New Zealand’s history, to give those most in need a fair go
Funded more support for Kiwi kids with complex needs, as well as deaf and hard-of-hearing, and low-vision students
Scrapped the sanction cutting benefit income to women who don’t declare the name of their child’s father
Launched our Trade Recovery Strategy, to support businesses through the disruption of COVID-19 and adapt trade policy
Strengthened the National Animal Identification and Tracing system to ensure it keeps our primary sector safe
Taking the financial pressure off parents by increasing funding, so decile 1-7 schools don’t have to ask for donations
Rolling out the Tourism Communities: Support, Recovery and Re-set Plan, to re-set the industry on a more sustainable model
Rolling out 3,300kms of road safety upgrades through the Safe Network Programme to help save lives
Upgrading roads, rail and cycling and walking infrastructure around the country through the New Zealand Upgrade Programme
Delivering 1,000 additional new houses for Māori and funding repairs for whānau most in need
Made wellbeing – of people and of the planet – a key part of our economic approach
Replacing Upper Waikeria prison with a modern design including a 100-bed mental health and addiction facility
Supported more than 2,000 rangatahi Māori into employment, education, or training through He Poutama Rangatahi
Supported around 1.8 million jobs through the COVID-19 lockdowns with our wage subsidies
Addressing food waste by redirecting food to those in need
Taking action to protect kauri trees from dieback disease
Lifted abatement thresholds for Working for Families tax credits, making 39,000 more families eligible
Delivered the largest ever funding boost to primary maternity services, so kids can have the best start in life
Established a $300m Venture Capital Fund to back Kiwi innovation
Making a record investment into critical transport infrastructure and services across Auckland
Scrapped the need for consents for low-risk building work, such as sleep-outs, sheds and carports
Pursuing ambitious trade policy to help New Zealand businesses succeed overseas
Lifted abatement thresholds so people on a benefit who are working can keep more of what they earn
Extended nurses in schools to give more young people quick access to healthcare
Banned smoking in cars with children to protect young people
Introducing free period products in primary, intermediate, secondary schools and kura from term two, 2021
Made a record investment in public transport and walking and cycling improvements
Decarbonising the public bus fleet by 2035, by requiring councils to purchase only zero emissions buses by 2025
Supporting the transition to a clean, green agriculture sector with $50m for integrated farm planning
Funding more public EV chargers around New Zealand
Working with farmers on a world-first agreement to price and reduce agricultural emissions
Going hard against gangs and organised crime networks, seizing record amounts of drugs, firearms, and assets
Working to make Aotearoa smokefree by 2025
Set up the Suicide Prevention Office to reduce New Zealand's high rate of suicide
Established Te Arawhiti – The Office for Māori Crown Relations to make the Crown a better Treaty partner
Quadrupling funding to the Green Investment Fund – backing technology and innovation to help us deliver a low carbon economy
Reforming and investing in the Family Court to give New Zealanders a safe, sensitive platform to have their voice heard
Invested in Te Huia commuter rail service, connecting Waikato and Auckland
Banned unfair letting fees and no-cause tenancy terminations
Announced the next steps for Auckland light rail to develop a modern, connected mass-transit system
Banned offshore speculators from our housing market and introduced new rules ring-fencing residential property
Strengthened our health workforce by adding more doctors, nurses, midwives, and allied health workers