2023 general election

In the 2023 general election held on 14 October, the National Party defeated the incumbent Labour Party,^[3][4] winning 48 seats and 38.1% of the popular vote.^[5] Labour won 27% of the popular with its share of parliamentary seats dropping from 64 to 34. Prime Minister and Labour leader Chris Hipkins conceded the election and congratulated National Party leader Christopher Luxon.^[4]

Coalition negotiations

Following the 2023 general election, National entered into coalition negotiations with both the libertarian ACT New Zealand and populist New Zealand First parties.^[6][7] Luxon stated that he would be conducting these negotiations privately and would not confirm how his stance on policies such as ACT's referendum on co-governance.^[6] University of Otago law professor Andrew Geddis speculated that National's coalition talks with ACT would be influenced by NZ First leader Winston Peters' demands and history of playing a "kingmaker" role in previous elections. Peters had also publicly criticised several National and ACT policies during the 2023 election campaign including National's proposal to ease the ban on foreign home purchases, tax cuts, agricultural emissions pricing, proposal to raise the retirement age from 65 to 67, and ACT's proposal to slash government expenditure and public service jobs.^[7]

Coalition talks between the three parties could also be influenced by close results in several marginal seats including Te Atatū, Banks Peninsula, Nelson, Tāmaki Makaurau, and Te Tai Tokerau.^[8] Nicola Willis is expected to be Finance Minister.^[9] Following the release of final results on 3 November, National's parliamentary representation dropped from 50 to 48 seats. Since National and ACT did not meet the 62 seat threshold needed to form a government, a prospective National-led government would need New Zealand First to form the next government.^[5]

On 8 November, ACT and NZ First made first contact in their coalition talks with National during a meeting between ACT's chief of staff Andrew Ketels and NZ First's chief of staff Darroch Ball. This introductory meeting was meant "to establish a line of communication" between the two parties. In addition, Luxon, Peters alongside senior colleagues and chiefs of staff from both National and NZ First held talks in Wellington that same week. Peters' negotiation team included Ball and fellow NZ First MP Shane Jones while National's negotiation team included Chris Bishop.^[10] Following the release of final results, Seymour had attempted to contact Peters via text message but the NZ First leader had dismissed it as a scam.^[11] On 9 November, Seymour expressed hope that coalition negotiations and government formation would be completed before an upcoming APEC meeting in mid-November 2023.^[12] That same day, Peters criticised a law change by the previous Labour Government allowing voters to register on election day for delaying the Electoral Commission's publication of final results by one week. Peters had previously supported the law change in 2020.^[13]

The ACT party has proposed a referendum on the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, something that gained media attention during the 2023 New Zealand general election campaign.^{[14][15][16][17][18]} The referendum is a negotiation issue for the incoming government. However the referendum idea drew criticism from Green Party co-leader James Shaw, Labour MP Willie Jackson, and former Prime Minister and National MP Jim Bolger, who expressed concerns that it would antagonise Māori people and provoke violence.^[19][20][21]

In addition, NZ First and ACT have both expressed disagreement with National's proposed 15% tax on foreign house buyers, a key component of its tax policy which is estimated to raise NZ$740 million a year.^[22]

On 13 November, Luxon said it was unlikely he would go to the 2023 APEC summit in the United States due to prioritising a government coalition.^[23] Instead, the outgoing Trade Minister Damien O'Connor represented New Zealand at the 2023 APEC summit.^[24]

On 15 November, Luxon, Seymour and Peters met at Pullman Hotel's boardroom in Auckland. It was the first time the three leaders had met in person since the election.^[25][26]

On 20 November, Luxon confirmed that National had reached an agreement on policy positions with ACT and New Zealand First. In response to Luxon's announcement, Peters stated that it was an "assumption" to state that a policy agreement had been reached.^[27][28] In addition, Seymour said "that Luxon had maybe had too many Weet-Bix that day." Seymour also opined that ACT as the second largest party in the coalition should hold the position of Deputy Prime Minister and have more ministerial portfolios than NZ First.^[29] That same day, the three parties entered into talks about allocating cabinet ministerial positions.^[28][29] On 21 November, Luxon met with Seymour to discuss ministerial portfolios.^[30]

Coalition agreement

Coalition negotiations between the three parties concluded on the afternoon of 23 November. That same day Luxon, Seymour and Peters met in Wellington to finalise the agreement between National, ACT, and NZ First. Later that night, Luxon informed Governor-General Cindy Kiro that he had the numbers to form the incoming government. On the morning of 24 November, the leaders of the three parties signed the coalition agreement, which was subsequently released to the public.^[31][32] Seymour welcomed the coalition deal and told The New Zealand Herald that the Government would announce a 100-day plan that could include repealing some legislation passed by the outgoing Labour government.^[31]

The terms of National's two coalition agreements with NZ First and ACT were unveiled on 24 November 2023.^[33] As part of National's agreement with NZ First, National would no longer proceed with its proposed foreign buyer tax but would instead fund tax cuts via reprioritisation and other forms of revenue gathering. The Government would also adopt ACT's policies of restoring interest deductibility for rental properties and pet bonds. In addition to adopting National's youth crime and gang policies, the new Government would adopt ACT's policies of rewriting firearms legislation and NZ First's policy of training 500 new Police officers. The new Government would also scrap the previous Labour Government's fair pay agreements, proposed hate speech legislation, co-governance policies, Auckland light rail, Three Waters reform programme, and Māori Health Authority. The Government would also establish a new regulatory agency answerable to Minister for Regulation Seymour that would review the quality of new and existing legislation. The Government would also adopt NZ First's policy of establishing $1.2 billon Regional Infrastructure Fund. In addition, fees-free tertiary education would be shifted from the first to last year of tertiary study.^{[33][34][35][36]}

While the new Government would not support Act's proposed referendum on the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, the Government would introduce a Treaty Principles Act and amend exiting Treaty of Waitangi legislation to focus on the "original intent of the legislation."^[35][37] The Government also adopted NZ First's policy of legislating the English language as an official language of New Zealand and requiring all government departments to use English in their communications and keep their primary name in English, except for those dealing with Māori people. The Government also adopted NZ First's policy of halting all work related to the He Puapua report and confirming that the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has no legal basis in New Zealand law. The Government would also restore the right to local referendum on the establishment or ongoing use of Māori wards.^[35][38][39] In addition, the new Government would adopt most of National's fiscal, taxation, 100-day and 100-point economic plans, with exceptions specified in the agreements with ACT and NZ First.^[35]

The new government was formally sworn into office on 27 November 2023.^[2]

Education

• Shifting the "Fees Free Scheme" from the first year to final year of tertiary study.^[34][35]
• Eliminating all references to gender, sexuality and "relationship-based education guidelines" in educational curriculums.^[35]
• Requiring schools to institute one hour of reading, writing, and mathematics each day.^[35]
• Reintroducing charter schools and allowing state schools to convert to charter schools.^[35]

Employment

• Repeal the Fair Pay Agreement regime by Christmas 2023.^[40]
• Expand 90-day trials to include all businesses.^[40]

Environment

• Repealing the previous Government's ban on offshore gas and oil exploration.^[35]
• Introducing new resource management legislation to emphasise property rights.^[35]

Firearms

• Rewriting the Arms Act.^[36]
• Transferring the firearms regulator to a different agency.^[36]
• Reviewing the national gun registry.^[36]

Foreign agreements

• Ensure a "National Interest Test" is undertaken before New Zealand accepts any agreements from the UN and WHO that limit national decision-making and reconfirm that New Zealand’s domestic law holds primacy over any international agreements, and by 1 December 2023 reserve against proposed amendments to WHO health regulations.^[40]

Health

• Retaining the superannuation age at 65 years.^[36]
• Disestablish the Te Aka Whai Ora (Māori Health Authority).^[38]
• Repeal the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022.^[40]
• Review the Māori and Pacific Admission Scheme and University of Otago equivalent.^[38][40]
• Allowing the sale of cold medication containing pseudoephedrine.^[40]

Housing

• Restoring interest deductibility for rental properties.^[34]
• Allowing local governments to opt out of the previous government's medium densitiy residential standards.^[36]
• Restoring "no-cause" evictions and introducing pet bonds for renters. While Renters' United criticised the Government for favouring landlords over tenants, the Property Investors Federation welcomed these new policies for alleviating the pressure on landlords and giving them greater "flexibility."^[41]

Infrastructure, energy and natural resources

• Establishing a NZ$1.2 billon Regional Infrastructure Fund.^[34][35][36]
• Progressing a business case to establish a dry dock at Marsden Point.^[36]
• Repealing the Natural and Built Environment Act 2023 and Spatial Planning Act 2023 by Christmas 2023.^[35][40]

Justice and Law

• Abolishing concurrent sentencing when an offence is committed on parole, on bail or whilst in custody.^[35][42]
• Requiring prisoners to work.^[35]
• Equipping Corrections officers with body cameras.^[35]
• Introducing legislation dealing with "coward punching".^[35]
• Reintroducing three strikes.^[40]
• Removing prisoner reduction targets.^[40]
• Training 500 new police officers within two years.^[36]
• Protect freedom of speech by ruling out the introduction of hate speech legislation and stop the Law Commission’s work on hate speech legislation.^[40]

Māori issues and the Treaty of Waitangi

• Introducing the Treaty Principles Bill and support it to a Select Committee as soon as practicable.^[37][38][39]
• Enshrining Treaty Principles legislation into law.^[35][37][39]
• Amending Treaty of Waitangi legislation to "refocus the scope, purpose, and nature of its inquiries back to the original intent of that legislation."^{[35][37][38][39]}
• Removing all mentions of Treaty principles with "specific words relating to the relevance and application of the Treaty, or repealing the references."^[35][38][39]
• Halting all work related to the He Puapua report.^[35][39]
• Confirming that the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has no binding legal effect on New Zealand law.^[35][38][39]
• Restore the right to local referendum on the establishment or ongoing use of Māori wards.^{[38][39][33][36]}
• Remove Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989.^[39]

Public sector

• Public sector organisations will be given "expenditure reduction targets" including reducing "non-essential" back office functions.^[35][40]
• Removing co-governance from the delivery of public services.^{[34][35][38][39]}
• Legislating the English language as an official language.^[35][39][36]
• Requiring all government departments to have their primary name in English and to communicate in English "except for those specifically related to Māori."^[35][38][39]
• Ensuring that government contracts are awarded based on value rather than race.^[38]
• De-establishing the Water Services Reform Programme and returning assets to local councils.^[39]

Regulation

• Creating a new regulatory agency to assess the quality of all new and existing legislation.^[36][40]
• Amend the Overseas Investment Act 2005 to limit ministerial decision making to national security concerns.^[40]
• Reducing regulatory barriers to promote competition.^[40]

Social services and community

• Remove ban on over-the-counter sales of pseudoephedrine.^[43]

Taxation

• Tax cuts will be funded by the reprioritisation of government expenditure and revenue gathering rather than a tax on foreign housing buyers.^[34][35]
• Repeal the Clean Car Discount.^[40]

Ministers

Under-Secretaries & Private Secretaries