Politics for Dummies
Capital gains tax is a point of conversation this election, but what the f*ck actually is it and how does it work?
If you’ve ever said, “Gee, I wish there was one place where all the major political parties in the country are summed up, broken down and explained in a way that’s relevant to me as a student and isn’t trying to get me to vote for a particular party…” then do we have news for you. Here it is - a nice and neat little summary of New Zealand’s’ biggest political parties!
Unless you study politics, chances are you don’t know much about it other than that Aunty Cindy quit and it’s just another dude named Chris running the country. It’s okay, you can admit it - we’re all political dummies.
So to make it easier (and to make sure you actually vote) we’ve done the hard work for you. We’ve picked out policies that are relevant to you (because if we actually put all of them, it might take up the entire magazine) and broken down all the political jargon that confuses even the best of us at times. I know, I know, you’re so welcome, no really it was nothing (it took us five weeks lol). Go vote please.
Political terms explained
Political Spectrum
The whole ‘left wing, right wing’ thing is more of an American ideal, but New Zealand’s political parties can be loosely categorised on this spectrum. The specific positions and priorities of parties may shift in response to changing circumstances and public opinion.
Left: Left-leaning parties typically advocate for social equality, progressive policies, and government intervention in areas like healthcare, education, and welfare.
Centre: Centrist parties generally aim for a balance between social and economic policies. They prioritise practical decision-making and consensus across ideologies.
Right: Right-leaning parties tend to support free-market principles, individual liberties, and limited government intervention. They prioritise personal responsibility and economic growth.
Three Waters
Three Waters refers to the three essential services related to water - drinking water, wastewater (sewage) and stormwater. Currently, 85% of this is managed by councils and every year around 34,000 people in New Zealand get sick from drinking water, as well as thousands of households who have to boil their water to drink it safely. The Three Waters reform aims to create a safe and healthy way of managing our water systems.
Zero Carbon Act
Passed in 2019, the act aims to address climate change by setting long-term goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to limit the global average temperature increase to 1.5℃ under the global Paris Agreement. It’s based on 4 key components:
Set a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target for New Zealand to reduce net emissions of greenhouse gases to zero to 2050.
Establish a system of emissions budgets as smaller goals towards the long-term target.
Develop and implement policies for climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Establish an independent Climate Change Commission to keep successive governments on track to meet long-term targets.
Indexed Income Brackets
Tax brackets are adjusted to account for cost of living caused by inflation. This prevents taxpayers being pushed into higher tax brackets because of inflation, resulting in a tax increase.
Free Market
An economic system based on supply and demand with minimal or no government intervention.
NATIONAL - Centre Right
Leader: Christopher Luxon
Christchurch General Election candidates
- Dale Stephens (Christchurch Central)
- Matt Stock (Christchurch East)
- Hamish Campbell (Ilam)
- Tracy Summerfield (Wigram)
- Mahesh Muralidhar (Banks Peninsula)
In a nutshell:
- Aims to be the government of lower tax.
- Strengthen New Zealand’s economy and tackle the cost of living crisis.
Housing
- Continue to oppose a capital gains tax, as they blame wealth inequality in New Zealand on Labours’ economic mismanagement.
Economy
- Nationals’ five point plan to deal the with cost of living crisis:
- Refocus the Reserve Bank on price stability.
- Stop adding unnecessary costs to businesses, employers and the productive economy.
- Reduce bottlenecks in the economy that are holding back economic growth (50,000 people on jobseeker benefits whilst job vacancies are at record high).
- Income relief for taxpayers and will at the very least include indexed income brackets.
- Restore discipline to government spending.
Environment
- Repeal Labour’s Three Waters legislation and scrap the four mega-entities - The Water Services Entities Act, The Water Services Legislation Bill, The Water Services Economic Efficiency and Consumer Protection Bill.
- Set stricter water quality rules.
Health & Education
- Grow the skills to create the workforce by fixing broken immigration settings and getting the education system back to basics.
- Train more nurses and doctors and incentivise them to stay in NZ by paying student loan repayments of up to $4,500 for up to 5 years, provided they remain working in the country.
Other
- Combat youth offending by creating a Young Offender Military Academy where Young Serious Offenders (YSO) aged 15 to 17 can be sent for up to 12 months.
LABOUR - Centre Left
Leader: Chris Hipkins
Christchurch General Election candidates
- Duncan Webb (Christchurch Central)
- Reuben Davidson (Christchurch East)
- Sarah Pallett (Ilam)
- Megan Woods (Wigram)
- Tracey McLellan (Banks Peninsula)
In a nutshell
- Provide greater economic security for kiwis through keeping debt low and supporting businesses.
- Get on top of long-term issues such as the housing crisis and child poverty.
As of writing this, Labour have been quiet on the policy front but we’ve collected a few snippets of what they have officially state are in mind.
- Adjust the sentencing act to make posting crimes online an aggravating factor during sentencing.
- Introduce a specific offence targeting ram raids.
- Won’t bring in a capital gains tax or wealth tax or raise the age requirement for superannuation eligibility.
- Continue to increase the scale and pace of house building through their Housing Acceleration Fund.
- Invest in low carbon transport and further support schools, hospitals and businesses to switch to cleaner energy.
GREENS - Left Wing Environmentalism
Leader: Marama Davidson & James Shaw
Christchurch General Election candidates
- Lan Pham (Banks Peninsula)
- Kahurangi Carter (Christchurch Central)
- Mike Davidson (Ilam)
- Richard Wesley (Wigram)
- Sarah Ahmed (Christchurch East)
In a nutshell:
- “Push for the people, the planet and putting up ideas for economic transformation” - Marama Davidson.
Housing
- Ensure a safe, warm, and affordable home for everyone through improving Healthy Homes Standards, scaling up Kainga Ora building programme and supporting first-home buyers & the homeless, with a focus on affordable long-term homes and rentals.
Economy
- Enforce a capital gains tax or wealth tax.
- Introduce a tax-free threshold at the bottom end of the income scale (people earning under $125,000) as part of a wider tax reform.
Environment
- Support the autonomy of whānau/hapū/iwi and Māori businesses to develop their own climate change adaptation plans.
- Rapidly phase out the dependence of our economy on fossil fuels and cease new oil exploration.
- Require that all Government policies and actions align with our global obligation to restrict global warming to within 1.5℃ of pre-industrial levels.
Health & Education
- Work towards a ‘fee-free’ public tertiary education system.
- End classroom streaming or grouping by perceived ability.
- Meet health union demands for fair wages.
Other
- Change the voting age to 16.
- Progressively increase New Zealand’s refugee quota.
- Legalise recreational cannabis use.
ACT - Libertarian Right
Leader: David Seymour
Christchurch General Election candidates
- Laura Trask (Banks Peninsula)
- Matthew Fisken (Christchurch Central)
- Toni Severin (Christchurch East)
- Ben Harvey (Selwyn)
In a nutshell
- Increase the role of free markets and advocate for personal freedom and individual responsibility.
Housing
- Incentivise regional councils to build new homes through GST-sharing.
Economy
- Reduce the number of income tax rates to two rather than five
- Unilaterally abolish NZ’s remaining tariffs.
Environment
- Repeal and replace the Zero Carbon Act.
- Scrap Three Waters and allow community control of water assets.
Health & Education
- Introduce a Teaching Excellence Reward Fund to increase the pay for high performing teachers.
- Crack down on truancy with daily national attendance reporting and stricter monitoring.
- Publicly subsidise common elective surgeries in private hospitals.
Other
- Simplify immigration laws and processes.
- Increase the power of Police to seize the assets of gang members found with illegal firearms.
- Replace the Resource Management Act, reducing the need for consents to make it easier to build supermarkets and logistical infrastructure.
- Repeal aspects of the Arms Legislation Act 2020 and allow hobbyists and hunters to exercise their rights of use.
TE PĀTI MĀORI - Indigenous Rights
Leader: Debbie Ngarewa-Packer & Rawiri Waititi
Christchurch General Election candidates
- Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke (Wigram)
- Tākuta Ferris (Te Tai Tonga)
In a nutshell
- Push for improved Māori outcomes that are guided by kaupapa tuku iho values.
- Remove the British Royal Family as Head of State.
Housing
- Build 2000 houses on our ancestral lands over the next two years and ensure half of all new social housing is allocated to Māori.
Economy
- Remove GST from all food.
- Raise the minimum wage to $25 per hour and plan for annual increases.
Environment
- Ban seabed mining to prevent international companies targeting the Taranaki Coast and more.
- Fund Māori-led community energy projects, clean technology projects, and transitions to regenerative Māori farming practices.
- Focus on the restoration and protection of degrading freshwater habitats and acknowledge Māori proprietary rights and interests relating to freshwater.
Health & Education
- Further fund and resource Māori students.
- Make te reo Māori and Māori history core-curriculum subjects for students up to year 10.
- Introduce a universal student allowance and double student allowance rates.
- Free public transport for students at all levels.
- Work towards writing off the total student loan for those who work in Aotearoa for at least five years and write off the living cost component of all student loans.
- Establish a Māori health funding authority.
Other
- Return land to Māori whānau and iwi.
- Establish a Māori Parliament.
NEW ZEALAND FIRST - Populist
Leader: Winston Peters
Christchurch General Election candidates
- Mark Arneil (Christchurch Central)
- Shane Wiremu (Christchurch East)
In a nutshell
New Zealand First Pillars
- Fair democracy and equal citizenship.
- Building a prosperous nation.
- Protecting community and country.
- Sovereignty and responsible government.
- Self-sufficiency and pragmatic environmentalism.
Housing
- No policies on housing have been released as of 30th July 2023.
Economy
- Ensure adequate funding for St John, Plunket, Mike King’s Gumboot Friday, Rescue Helicopters and Surf Lifesaving NZ.
- Ensure tax brackets are adjusted to inflation.
- Get people on unemployment benefits back into the workforce.
Environment
- Replace the Dome Valley rubbish dump in Northland with a Waste to Energy plant.
Health & Education
- Ensure Pharmac has more funds and “concentrate on performance not puffery.”
- Remove GST from basic foods including fresh food, vegetables, meat, dairy and fish.
- Restore education and “stop indoctrination by removing gender ideology from the curriculum, especially from primary school.”
Other
- End vaccine mandates.
- No change to the age requirement for Superannuation (65).
- Change all of the “woke virtue signalling” names of every Government department back to English.
- Establish a designated gang prison to minimise prison recruitment of non-gang members.
THE OPPORTUNITIES PARTY (TOP) - Centrist
Leader: Raf Manji
Christchurch General Election candidates
- Raf Manji (Ilam)
In a nutshell
- Focus on implementing a fair tax system, affordable housing and climate opportunities.
Housing
- Switch to a land value tax of 0.75% of the value of urban residential land which would fund income tax cuts and increase housing affordability.
Economy
- Implement a tax-free threshold for people earning under $15,000 per year, affecting 1.7million kiwis.
- Shift income tax brackets providing $5.8b in tax cuts.
Environment
- Increase biodiversity via a national system that rewards native regeneration of landscapes.
- Strengthen the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to increase emission reductions rather than incentivise offsetting.
- Ensure a 100% zero-emission bus fleet of 3000 by 2030.
Health & Education
- Introduce a “Teal Card” - the under-30 equivalent to a Gold Card. It allows young people access to fully-funded healthcare and public transport, and a Universal Savings Boost’ of $5000 into a KiwiSaver account upon completion of a National Civic Service Programme.
NEW CONSERVATIVE - Right Wing
Leader: Ted Johnston & Helen Houghton
Christchurch General Election candidates
- Helen Houghton (Christchurch East)
- Chris O’Brien (Ilam)
In a nutshell
- Honour Christian heritage through conservative tradition.
Much like Labour, New Conservative are still finalising their policies for the upcoming election. Here are their seven principles.
- Defend the right to life and stand against abortion and euthanasia.
- Remain family focused and advance the well-being of families
- Support lower levels of authority and defend the authority over affairs of families, institutions, and communities.
- Protect New Zealand’s natural resources.
- Provide equal access to justice regardless of economic status.
- Improve conditions for the ownership of production and property, support workers’ rights, and provide sufficient income for those unable to work.
- Protect the heritage of distinct New Zealand communities from “hostile agendas.”