100-day plan: The 49 actions Govt pledges to act on
1. Stop work on the Income Insurance Scheme.
2. Stop work on Industry Transformation Plans.
3. Stop work on the Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme.
4. Begin efforts to double renewable energy production, including a NPS on Renewable Electricity Generation.
5. Withdraw central government from Let’s Get Wellington Moving (LGWM).
6. Meet with councils and communities to establish regional requirements for recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle and other recent major flooding events.
7. Make any additional Orders in Council needed to speed up cyclone and flood recovery efforts.
8. Start reducing public sector expenditure, including consultant and contractor expenditure.
9. Introduce legislation to narrow the Reserve Bank’s mandate to price stability.
10. Introduce legislation to remove the Auckland Fuel Tax.
11. Cancel fuel tax hikes.
12. Begin work on a new GPS reflecting the new Roads of National Significance and new public transport priorities.
13. Repeal the Clean Car Discount scheme by 31 December 2023.
14. Stop blanket speed limit reductions and start work on replacing the Land Transport Rule: Setting of Speed Limits 2022.
15. Stop central government work on the Auckland Light Rail project.
16. Repeal the Fair Pay Agreement legislation.
17. Introduce legislation to restore 90-day trial periods for all businesses.
18. Start work to improve the quality of regulation.
19. Begin work on a National Infrastructure Agency.
20. Introduce legislation to repeal the Water Services Entities Act 2022.
21. Repeal the Spatial Planning and Natural and Built Environment Act and introduce a fast-track consenting regime.
22. Begin to cease implementation of new Significant Natural Areas and seek advice on operation of the areas.
23. Take policy decisions to amend the Overseas Investment Act 2005 to make it easier for build-to-rent housing to be developed in New Zealand.
24. Begin work to enable more houses to be built, by implementing the Going for Housing Growth policy and making the Medium Density Residential Standards optional for councils.
Restore law and order
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25. Abolish the previous Government’s prisoner reduction target.
26. Introduce legislation to ban gang patches, stop gang members gathering in public, and stop known gang offenders from communicating with one another.
27. Give Police greater powers to search gang members for firearms and make gang membership an aggravating factor at sentencing.
28. Stop taxpayer funding for section 27 cultural reports.
29. Introduce legislation to extend eligibility to offence-based rehabilitation programmes to remand prisoners.
30. Begin work to crack down on serious youth offending.
31. Enable more virtual participation in court proceedings.
32. Begin to repeal and replace Part 6 of the Arms Act 1983 relating to clubs and ranges.
Deliver better public services
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33. Stop all work on He Puapua.
34. Improve security for the health workforce in hospital emergency departments.
35. Sign an MoU with Waikato University to progress a third medical school.
36. By 1 December 2023, lodge a reservation against adopting amendments to WHO health regulations to allow the government to consider these against a “national interest test”.
37. Require primary and intermediate schools to teach an hour of reading, writing and maths per day starting in 2024.
38. Ban the use of cellphones in schools.
39. Appoint an Expert Group to redesign the English and maths curricula for primary school students.
40. Begin disestablishing Te Pukenga.
41. Begin work on delivering better public services and strengthening democracy.
42. Set five major targets for health system, including for wait times and cancer treatment.
43. Introduce legislation to disestablish the Māori Health Authority.
44. Take first steps to extend free breast cancer screening to those aged up to 74.
45. Repeal amendments to the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990 and regulations.
46. Allow the sale of cold medication containing pseudoephedrine.
47. Begin work to repeal the Therapeutics Products Act 2023.
48. Establish a priority one category on the social housing waitlist to move families out of emergency housing into permanent homes more quickly.
49. Commission an independent review into Kāinga Ora’s financial situation, procurement, and asset management.
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Poll: Are our Kiwi summer holidays helping us recharge, or holding the economy back? ☀️🥝
There’s growing debate about whether New Zealand’s extended Christmas break (and the slowdown that comes with it) affects productivity.
Tracy Watkins has weighed in ... now it’s your turn. What’s your take? 🤔
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73.1% We work hard, we deserve a break!
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16.2% Hmm, maybe?
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10.7% Yes!
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How many balls of string does it take to reach the moon?
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Minimum wage to increase from April next year, Govt commits to bigger rise than last year
The Government will increase the minimum wage by 2% from April next year.
Workplace Relations Minister Brooke Van Velden announced the hourly wage would move from the current $23.50 to $23.95 in line with advice from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
“Moderate” increases of the minimum wage formed part of NZ First’s coalition agreement with National.
Van Velden says the new rate, which would impact around 122,500 New Zealand workers, strikes a right balance between keeping up with the cost of living – the Reserve Bank expects inflation to fall to around 2% by mid-2026 – and no adding more pressure to the costs of running a business.
The starting out and training minimum wage would be move to $19.16 to remain at 80% of the adult minimum wage.
The minimum wage was last increased on April 1 this year. That 1.5% increased to $23.50, affecting between 80,000 and 145,000 workers, was not at the time in line with inflation which sat around 2.5% in March.
“I know those pressures have made it a tough time to do business, which is why we have taken this balanced approach. With responsible economic management, recovery and relief is coming,” Van Velden said.
“I am pleased to deliver this moderate increase to the minimum wage that reflects this Government’s commitment to growing the economy, boosting incomes and supporting Kiwis in jobs throughout New Zealand.”
Official documents from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) show the department provided the Minister with seven options for the minimum wage, ranging from maintaining the current rate or increasing by 3% up to $24.20 per hour.
A 2% increase was recommended, the Ministry said, as this was ”considered to best balance the two limbs of the objective - protecting the real income of low-paid workers and minimising job losses."
“CPI inflation forecasts suggest annual inflation will ease to be within the 2–2.5% range in the first half of 2026 and remain relatively stable at around 2% from June 2026 through to 2028.
“These forecasts indicate that a 2% increase would largely maintain the real income of minimum wage workers relative to the level of the minimum wage when it last increased on 1 April 2025.”
Officials said a 2% increase wouldn’t have significant employment restraint effects.
But given recent economic data, including a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contraction and elevated unemployment, MBIE said it favoured a “cautious approach”.
“A 2% increase to the adult minimum wage is expected to affect approximately 122,500 workers, including those currently earning at or below the minimum wage, or between the current rate and $23.95.”
The key groups that would be impacted include youth, part-time, female, and Māori workers, as well as sectors like tourism, horticulture, agriculture, cleaning, hospitality, and retail.
“While these workers would benefit from a wage increase, they may also be more exposed to employer responses to increased labour costs such as reduced hours or adjustments to non-wage benefits,” the ministry said
“The estimated fiscal cost to government from this increase is relatively modest, at $17.5 million annually, consistent with the small cost estimates across all rate options.”
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