Recently we canvassed the political views of our audience to bring you the Very Scientific Ensemble Election Poll™ – we also asked what questions you'd like put to the political parties vying for our votes this election.
Some say election promises ring hollow, but not ours. As we pledged to, we put your questions to those parties that are currently represented in parliament, or are polling to: National. Labour, ACT, The Green Party, Te Pāti Māori, and New Zealand First.
Some responded, others ignored us entirely (rude) – read their answers below, then lock in your plan to go and vote, if you haven't already!
Labour – Dr Megan Woods
What will you do to support long term renters who can’t afford to buy a house?
Housing affordability – whether it’s about owning or renting a home – is a supply problem. New Zealand has, for decades, not built enough new housing to keep up with population growth and demand.
Labour inherited a housing crisis, but we are starting to turn it around and are seeing green shoots of change with a record number of building consents (over 200,000) for residential properties that include rentals.
We’ve pulled a lot of levers to get more affordable housing built, by helping pay for infrastructure like pipes and roads to enable more housing, and support for affordable rental developments in areas of the country that are particularly hard hit by a lack of affordable rentals.
We’ve cut red tape to allow more density in urban areas where a lot of people – especially young people – want to live. Changes we’ve made to resource management rules will simplify the process for getting homes built faster and cheaper too.
We’ve also sweetened tax rules to grow the number of Build-to-Rent developments that offer long-term, secure tenancies. These types of developments which are common overseas are starting to take off in New Zealand and we will be seeing a lot more of them.
In terms of support for renters, we’ve modernised the outdated Residential Tenancies Act by banning no-cause terminations (which National and ACT want back), limiting rent increases to once a year, and enabling tenants to make changes like quake-proofing.
We got rid of unfair letting fees and we’ve put in place standards so rental properties have to ensure their properties comply with heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture, and draught standards.
We also have work underway to regulate tenancy managers to ensure they treat tenants fairly.
How will you ensure we meet our Paris Agreement commitments?
Despite all the years that successive New Zealand governments had to tackle emissions, it is only when we came into Government that real progress started to be made. We’ve [Labour] reduced emissions three years in a row, passed the Zero Carbon Act, reformed the emissions trading scheme, and overseen record levels of renewable energy generation and electric vehicle uptake.
We’ve got a massive programme of work underway through the Emissions Reduction Plan and emissions ‘budgets’ across sectors like energy and transport, and a plan to reduce agricultural emissions. We’re decarbonising industry by recycling Emissions Trading Scheme funding into support for companies so they can swap out coal and gas in their operations, to low emissions fuel like electricity and biomass. The deals we made with Fonterra and NZ Steel are equivalent to taking 420,000 cars off the road.
Since banning further offshore oil and gas exploration, we have been working hard to transition New Zealand to a low emissions economy. The latest modelling shows we’re on track to meet the first emissions budget – but it’s tight.
Making further progress will be determined by doing more, and it’s extremely worrying that opposition parties are saying they will wind back a lot of the work that’s already underway. The Climate Commission is due to release more advice in December, which will inform the second emissions reduction plan to put New Zealand on the path to be net zero by 2050.
How will you make NZ politics a less divisive area, given that we need all hands on the pump to move forward?
At a time of enormous global and domestic challenges, some of the most difficult any of us have ever faced, we are firmly of the view unity will get us through.
The past few years haven’t been easy, particularly as we’ve all navigated our way through a once in a generation global pandemic. But in recent years New Zealand’s seen numerous examples of where national unity achieved great things.
The way we came together after the March 15 terror attacks was an example to the world of how being empathetic and strong conquers fear and hate. And our Covid-19 response, where we worked together to defeat the virus, saved thousands of lives and protected jobs and businesses.
We’re at our best when we’re united. Division isn’t a path to progress, and it’s just not how I operate.
That doesn’t mean I won’t criticise my opposition, in fact I must. Elections are contests of policies and values. Disagreements are a fundamental part of a healthy democracy. But Labour won’t seek to divide our communities.
Why not a wealth tax? They’ve been successfully used elsewhere.
As leader, Chris Hipkins has made it clear that under a government he leads there will be no wealth or capital gains tax after the election. New Zealanders want to see us focused on the issues they're very concerned about at the moment.
They're concerned about the cost of living, they're concerned about the overall state of the economy, they're concerned about issues of law and order, and they're concerned about the quality of our public services.
How are you going to address the massive inequality in our country?
This election, the people we’ve been meeting want to know their hard work will be rewarded with a better life for them and their whānau.
Labour recognises that not everyone has things going equally for them, so our track record in government has been and will continue to be firmly focused about striving to help create that better life, while helping out those who need it most.
We’ve lifted the minimum wage by nearly $7 an hour, or $556 for a full time minimum wage worker a fortnight.
We’ve extended the living wage to public service employees and employees of contractors in the cleaning, catering and security guard sectors.
We’ve increased paid parental leave to 26 weeks and increased the payments every year in line with inflation.
We’ve implemented Fair Pay Agreements.
We’ve kept unemployment below 4% for over 2 years – ensuring Kiwis have a job in hard times.
We’ve doubled sick leave entitlements to 10 days, re-introduced rest and meal breaks and limited 90-day trials.
We’ve increased the Family Tax Credit by up to $47 per child per week and increased main benefit and Working for Families abatement rates so those on low incomes can keep more of what they earn.
We passed the Equal Pay Amendment Act and have delivered pay equity to over 150,000 workers including nurses, school librarians and social workers.
We are keeping the age of Superannuation at 65. Lots of Kiwi workers work hard and wear their bodies out. I think they deserve to retire at 65 and we’re sticking to that.
We established the Winter Energy Payment, which helps so many of our older and low-income New Zealanders keep their houses warm over the coldest months. In fact our Winter Payment is so good, National has pledged to keep it.
What does the future for NZ look like for you?
Labour leader Chris Hipkins has set out his top five priorities for growing the economy which include ambition for New Zealand to be a global leader in sustainable agriculture and renewable energy.
Labour’s economic priorities for the next term are:
1. Grow an export-led economy with a strong global reputation
2. Turn New Zealand into a Centre of Excellence for sustainable agriculture and agricultural technology
3. Be a global leader in renewable energy
4. Harness New Zealand’s digital creativity and expertise, and
5. Boost our premium tourism offering
These priorities will be underpinned by:
1. High paying jobs
2. Building infrastructure that lasts
3. Better skills and practical education for better jobs, and
4. A balanced fiscal plan
Our vision is for a smart, modern and green economy that profits from our brand and natural offerings as well as our leadership on climate.
By seizing strategic advantage globally in areas we have existing strengths we can grow our economy and create well paid jobs that help Kiwi families get ahead.
Labour is proud of what this country stands for in the world and how the rest of the world looks at us. These values will drive how Labour supports Kiwis to get ahead.
The Green Party – Marama Davidson
What will you do to support long term renters who can’t afford to buy a house?
The Green Party’s pledge to renters will guarantee that rents never increase by more than 3% a year, and will introduce a rental warrant of fitness to ensure every home is warm and dry.
The Green Party will deliver 35,000 more Kāinga Ora homes in places people want to live over the next five years. We will enable thousands more through development bonuses, and underwrites for community housing providers. We recognise housing is a human right and everyone deserves a secure home whether they rent or own.
How will you ensure we meet our Paris Agreement commitments?
The Green Party is committed to strong climate action in Aotearoa – tackling emissions from transport, energy, agriculture and industry as fast as possible. We will also ensure that all offsetting through sequestration is sustainable – and will prioritise native reforestation over exotic carbon farming.
As well as strong action in Aotearoa, we will ensure any overseas measures towards Paris commitments are environmentally and socially responsible, with a focus on initiatives in the Pacific.
How will you make NZ politics a less divisive area, given that we need all hands on the pump to move forward?
All politicians need to take responsibility for creating a space where people can debate ideas in good faith and with respect, while acknowledging that women, rainbow communities, and ethnic and religious minorities are particularly targeted by growing political animosity.
Aotearoa is a vibrant, multicultural and diverse nation and we are at our best when that is celebrated and cherished.
Why not a wealth tax? They’ve been successfully used elsewhere.
Yes to a wealth tax! Wealth in New Zealand is severely out of balance, with just 311 families owning $85 billion in assets. A wealth tax will provide the resources to pay for an income guarantee including a tax free threshold of $10,000, free dental for all, extending healthy school lunches and more.
How are you going to address the massive inequality in our country?
The Green Party has a plan to rebuild social support, paid for by a wealth tax. We will lift every single family out of poverty by fixing Working for Families, lifting benefits, and creating a tax free threshold of $10,000.
We will also transform ACC into an Agency for Comprehensive Care so that everyone who is unable to work due to a health condition gets the long term income support they need, instead of a punitive approach that ignores their wellbeing. At the same time, we will build thousands of new houses to ensure everyone has a decent home as well as a decent income.
What does the future for NZ look like for you?
With the right people in power, making the right decisions, we can build the Aotearoa our tamariki deserve. An Aotearoa where everyone has enough to cover life’s essentials. Where everyone has a warm, dry, affordable and accessible home, powered by cheap, clean solar energy. Where everyone has access to free dental care. Where we have restored the health and mauri of the ocean.
It is all possible with the right political decisions, and we will keep working now and in the future to build the future our kids deserve.
ACT - David Seymour
What will you do to support long term renters who can’t afford to buy a house?
A better rental market needs more homes. Higher rents are the outcome of the government making it harder to maintain rental properties through increasing red tape and removing financial incentives.
ACT will ensure more homes are built with policies to fund infrastructure better by sharing GST with councils, reform planning laws, and reform building consent laws so it’s easier to build, then make it easier to be a landlord so that it’s more attractive to rent out a house and tenants have more choice.
How will you ensure we meet our Paris Agreement commitments?
ACT’s climate change policy is the best any political party has put forward because it is simple, effective, and is not going to make life more costly for New Zealanders. For those reasons, it will also be the most durable.
ACT will tie New Zealand’s emissions cap to our top five trading partners’ emissions so New Zealand businesses can be competitive overseas. That would meet our climate commitments and allow consumers to choose how they limit their emissions. If you emit less, you keep more of your own money.
How will you make NZ politics a less divisive area, given that we need all hands on the pump to move forward?
Last November a New Zealand Herald commissioned poll found 64% of New Zealanders feel the country has become more divided in the past few years, compared with only 16% saying it has become more united. This outlines exactly why we need real change. New Zealand can’t continue this path where different sets of rights are offered based on factors beyond peoples’ control.
Where will New Zealand be in 50 years’ time if the current path continues, where Kiwis are offered different rights based on their ancestry? We can ensure Māori language and culture are preserved, that every child has equal opportunity, and that the wrongs of the past are put right. Attributing separate rights through co-government will never achieve this, it only causes more division.
Why not a wealth tax? They’ve been successfully used elsewhere.
Since 2017, government spending has risen by 30% above inflation. The size of the public service has grown similarly. And yet, Kiwis have seen nothing in return but higher prices, higher mortgage rates, and higher rents. In every area, public services have declined.
Taxing more, redistributing more and dividing more doesn’t work. A strong economy needs to be built around creating conditions for prosperity, giving people the opportunity to get ahead.
How are you going to address the massive inequality in our country?
The next government needs to not be focused on who gets what and how much, it’s about setting New Zealand back on a path to prosperity, with a strong economy that will serve generations to come. ACT will fight for responsible economic management like this as part of the next ACT/National government.
Other major drivers of inequality are housing and education. ACT will make it easier to build homes, increasing housing supply and making it easier for people to find an affordable home. We’ll provide more choice in education with student education accounts and charter schools.
What does the future for NZ look like for you?
New Zealand has huge challenges ahead of it, and this election is a chance to elect a government that will tackle them head on and set the tone for future generations.
ACT’s vision for New Zealand is for every Kiwi to have the opportunity to get an education that will set them up to excel in life, to be able to get a well-paying job in a growing economy, to own a place of their own, to leave a clean pristine environment – not a slew of empty slogans, to be safe on the streets, workplace and in their home, and to be treated the same no matter how they’re born.
