One Year - Economy

The Government is rebuilding the economy responsibly, delivering results, and laying a foundation for sustainable growth. A strong economy is how we can create jobs, lift incomes and help New Zealanders get ahead.

National’s economic plan is focused on reining in wasteful spending and reducing business costs, tackling inflation, lowering interest rates, and ending Labour’s recession. By taking a disciplined approach to managing the books, the Government is creating the conditions for economic stability and long-term resilience.

Government spending is being prioritised for frontline services in health, education, and policing, ensuring taxpayers’ money is directed where it makes the greatest difference. These targeted investments support the critical services that strengthen New Zealand’s communities and prosperity.

We kept our promise to provide tax relief for the squeezed middle so Kiwi families can keep more of their hard-earned money. Overall, 83 per cent of Kiwis – 94 per cent of households are benefitting from our tax package. 

Over 40,000 households have also benefited from FamilyBoost payments, which provide up to $150 a fortnight to support early childhood education costs. This initiative is easing financial pressure on families, ensuring more parents can access quality care for their children. In addition to this support, recent economic improvements are creating further relief for households:

·         Inflation dropped from 3.3% in June to 2.2% in September, marking the first time since March 2021 it’s within the Reserve Bank’s target range of 1–3%.

·         Inflation is down from 5.6% a year ago and over 7% in 2022.

·         The Reserve Bank has lowered the OCR to 4.75%, providing relief for households and businesses through more affordable mortgages and greater investment opportunities.

·         Lower inflation and interest rates mean families are spending less on essentials, making it easier to manage household budgets, pay off debt, and save for the future.

The Welfare Traffic Light System has already helped to transition people off benefits and into meaningful employment and will continue to do so. By fostering accountability and encouraging job-seeking, this system creates opportunities for individuals to contribute to the economy while reducing reliance on long-term welfare.

Businesses are vital to New Zealand’s prosperity. Our Government introduced measures to ensure businesses are supported grow and thrive. Highlights include:

·         Requiring government agencies to adopt eInvoicing by 2026, ensuring 95% of invoices are paid within 10 business days to support small businesses.

·         The delivery of free resources for small businesses, to help them protect their business from cyber threats.

·         Our First Steps platform which offers free counselling, mentorship, and wellbeing resources for business owners and has now been used by more than 750,000 Kiwis.

To stimulate growth and build for the future, we’ve advanced projects that create jobs, unlock productivity, and support New Zealand’s transition to a low emission economy by:

Growing New Zealand's trade relationships is part of the Government's plan to grow the economy, lift incomes for all Kiwis, and create jobs.

That’s why our Government has set an aspirational target to double the value of our exports in 10 years. 

·         Securing new, diversified, and high-quality trade agreements.

·         Upgrading and enhancing the agreements we already have.

·         Addressing other obstacles like extra rules and standards that make trade harder.

This year we have led eight trade missions with delegates representing 128 NZ businesses to Brazil, China, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and the US. These delegations have helped strengthen New Zealand’s presence globally, championing our industries and showcasing the best of New Zealand on the world stage.