The stardust from the Governor-General appointing Ministers, opening Parliament, and confirming a Speaker has long settled. The National-ACT-New Zealand First coalition government is now in the trenches with the House under urgency to implement its 100 Day plan. In its second sitting week, the 54th Parliament has:
- passed the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Economic Objective) Amendment Bill requiring a single mandate of inflation reduction for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand;
- passed the Fair Pay Agreements Act Repeal Bill repealing the Fair Pay Agreements legislation; and
- progressed the Land Transport (Clean Vehicle Discount Scheme Repeal) Amendment Bill which will repeal the clean vehicle discount scheme to the committee stage.
The House will continue sitting under urgency next week, so that the Government can implement more of its other priorities, for example, repealing the Natural and Built Environment Act 2023 and Spatial Planning Act 2023 (and reinstating the RMA in place of those two Acts).
Last week, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon also signalled that he would like to start the business of executive and legislative government earlier than usual next year. The first Cabinet meeting may be as early as 15 January 2024, with the recommendation that the House resume on 30 January 2024 (we understand that the House will sit for one week, adjourn the week of Waitangi Day, and then resume sitting the following week). For comparison, the House usually starts sitting the week after Waitangi Day.
But what will occupy the government for the rest of its first 100 days and indeed for the rest of the Parliamentary term through to 2026? In this edition of Watching Brief, we summarise the Government's priorities through four matrices setting out the contents of the ACT and New Zealand First coalition agreements, and the relevant National Party election policies. In this way you can see the full scale of the coalition government's priorities, and the source of the priority. The coalition agreements establish that National's Fiscal Plan, Tax Plan, 100 Day Action Plan, and 100 Point Economic Plan have been agreed to by the three coalition partners, except for any specific policies to the contrary in the coalition agreements.
Note: the text and titles have been directly copied from the corresponding documents to reflect the language used by the new government.
Please contact one of our experts if you would like to discuss any of the Government's priorities and its implications for you.
Economy and Productivity
Topics covered in the matrix include:
- Government spending
- Planning and Recovery
- Energy
- Transport | Roads | Fuel
- Employment
- Regulation and Competition
- Infrastructure
- Natural Resources
- Investments
- Cost of living
- Housing and Tenancy
- Agriculture and Primary sector
- Banking and Finance
- Taxes and Levies
- Immigration | Trade | Tourism
>> Here is the link to pdf
Law and Order
Topics covered in this matrix include:
- Policing
- Sentencing
- Prisons
>> Here is the link to pdf
Public Services
Topics covered in this matrix include:
- Reports and Reviews
- Education
- Health
- Social Welfare
- Seniors
>> Here is the link to pdf
Constitution and Rights
Topics covered in this matrix include:
- COVID-19
- Treaty of Waitangi
- Public service
- Freedom of speech
>> Here is the link to pdf