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 Act 2022, 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 billion 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]

As part of National's agreement with New Zealand First, the Government agreed to end all remaining COVID-19 vaccine mandates and to hold an independent inquiry into how the COVID-19 pandemic was handled in New Zealand. This proposed independent inquiry would be conducted publicly by local and international experts and is expected to examine the use of multiple lockdowns, vaccine procurement and efficacy, social and economic impacts on both national and regional levels, and whether decisions and actions taken by the Government were justified.^[40][41] While the outgoing Labour Government had commissioned a Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons Learned, Peters claimed the inquiry's terms of reference were "too limited" during election campaigning. Luxon also stated that the Government supported broadening the inquiry's terms of reference.^[41]

2023

The new government was formally sworn into office on 27 November 2023.^[2] On 29 November, the Government announced its 100-day plan which would focus on implementing 49 economic, law and order, and public service policies. Notable economic policies have included introducing legislation to limit the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's mandate to combating inflation, cancelling various fuel taxes including the Auckland Regional Fuel Tax, repealing the Clean Car discount programme, reintroducing 90-day trials periods for all businesses, halting the Lake Onslow hydro scheme, and repealing the previous Labour Government's Water Services Entities Act 2022, Spatial Planning Act 2023 and Natural and Built Environment Act 2023. Notable law and order policies have included banning gang patches, preventing gang members from gathering in public and communicating with each other, ending taxpayer funding for Section 27 cultural reports, and extending rehabilitation programmes to remand prisoners. Notable public service policies have included beginning work on establishing a third medical school at the University of Waikato, banning cellphones in schools, testing new World Health Organization (WHO) regulations against a "national interest" test, and disestablishing Te Pukenga and the Māori Health Authority.^[42]

On 7 December, Foreign Minister Winston Peters successfully moved a motion calling for a ceasefire in the 2023 Israel-Hamas conflict. The motion also condemned Hamas' terror attack on 7 October 2023, called for the release of all hostages, recognised Israel's right to defend itself in accordance with international law, and called for civilians to be protected from armed conflict. The government's motion also incorporated an amendment by Labour MP Phil Twyford calling for the establishment of a State of Palestine in accordance with a two-state solution. Peter's motion was criticised as being insufficient by Labour MP Damien O'Connor and Green Party MP Golriz Ghahraman.^[43][44]

On 8 December, Minister of Transport Simeon Brown ordered Waka Kotahi (the New Zealand Transport Agency) to give primacy to its English name over its Māori name.^[45] That same day, Tertiary Education Minister Penny Simmonds confirmed that the mega polytechnic Te Pūkenga (New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology) would be dissolved and replaced by eight to ten institutions.^[46] That same day, Luxon announced during an official visit to Hawke's Bay that the Government would pause work on restoring the Napier-Wairoa railway line and focus on repairing State Highway 2.^[47]

On 11 December, Education Minister Erica Stanford announced that the Government would be delaying the previous Labour Government's plans to make online mathematics and literacy tests a prerequisite for National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) qualifications in 2026. Trial runs of the tests had recorded failure rates of more than 40% particularly among Māori, Pasifika students, and schools in poorer communities. Stanford said that the students had been let down by the education curriculum and that it would be unfair to make the tests the only way to achieve NCEA qualifications.^[48]

On 13 December, the Government passed its first new law reversing the previous Labour Government's law change in 2018 giving the Reserve Bank of New Zealand the dual mandate of managing inflation and supporting maximum sustainable employment. The Government's law change ordered the Reserve Bank to focus solely on managing inflation. The Bill was introduced by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. Labour's finance spokesperson Grant Robertson criticised the National coalition government for reversing his party's financial reforms.^[49] That same day, Willis declined KiwiRail's request for an additional NZ$1.47 billion to replace its ageing Interislander ferry fleet. The Government also cancelled the previous Labour Government's plans to buy new replacement ferries, with Willis stating that the Government would be looking at cheaper alternatives.^[50]

On 14 December, the Government passed legislation repealing the previous Labour Government's Fair Pay Agreements Act 2022 under urgency. While National, ACT and NZ First supported the bill, it was opposed by the Labour, Green, and Māori parties.^[51] Several unions including Stand Up, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, Post Primary Teachers' Association and Unite Union had also opposed the National-led government's plans to repeal fair pay agreements, staging protests outside the electorate office of ACT leader Seymour on 12 December.^[52] By contrast, Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young welcomed the repeal of Fair Pay Agreements, claiming they were unnecessary and complicated employment laws.^[53]

On 14 December, the Government passed the Land Transport (Clean Vehicle Discount Scheme Repeal) Amendment Act 2023 under urgency. This bill repealed the previous Labour Government's Clean Car Discount, which encouraged consumers to buy electrical and hybrid vehicles by imposing a tax on high-emissions vehicles such as utes. While the governing National, ACT and NZ First parties supported the Bill, it was opposed by the opposition Labour, Green and Māori parties.^[54]

On 16 December Transport Minister Brown instructed the New Zealand Transport Agency to halt the Transport Choices Programme, which involved funding various local council projects to promote cycling, walking and public transportation. The Government's transport policy changes were criticised by Cycling Action Network spokesperson Patrick Morgan and Mayor of New Plymouth Neil Holdom but were supported welcomed by New Plymouth councillor Murray Cheong.^[55] Notable projects affected by the Government's transportation policy change included the "Let's Get Wellington Moving" programme. Following negotiations with the Wellington City Council (WCC) and the Greater Wellington Regional Council, the three parties reached an agreement in which the Government would fund the Basin Reserve upgrade while the WCC would take over the Golden Mile project.^[56]

On 20 December, the Government passed legislation repealing the Natural and Built Environment Act and the Spatial Planning Act as part of its plans to reform the Resource Management Act framework.^[57] That same day, Finance Minister Willis released the Government's mini-budget, which delivered NZ$7.47 billion in operational savings.^[58]

On 21 December, the Government passed legislation reinstating 90-day trials for all employers, a key campaign promise by National and Act. While the bill was supported by National, ACT, and NZ First, it was opposed by Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori. Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden argued the legislation would provide employers and employees with certainty and allow the removal of difficult employees. By contrast, Labour's Workplace Relations and Safety spokesperson Camilla Belich criticised the repeal as an attack on working people.^[59] That same day, Reti announced that the Government would invest NZ$50 million over the two next years to help Māori health providers boost immunisation rates within the Māori community.^[60]

2024

On 12 January 2024, Foreign Minister Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins expressed New Zealand's support for Anglo-American airstrikes against Iranian-backed Houthi forces in Yemen, which had been disrupting international shipping in response to the 2023 Israel-Hamas war.^[61][62]

On 14 January 2024, Transport Minister Brown confirmed the cancellation of Auckland light rail, stating that the projected NZ$29.2 billion cost of the project. He also criticised the previous Labour Government for spending NZ$228 million on the project over the past six years with little to show for it.^[63]

Agriculture

• Easing restrictions on gas and methane emissions.^[33]
• Reverse the ban on live animal exports.^[33]
• Introduce legislation easing restrictions on genetic engineering.^[33]
• Reforming the membership, mandate and function of the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee.^[33]
• Halting the review of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme.^[33]
• Incentivising emissions reduction mitigations such as low methane genetics and animal feed.^[33]
• Encouraging government agencies to use woollen fibres at government buildings.^[33]

Democracy

• Introducing legislation to extend the Parliamentary term from three years to four years.^[33]

Education

• Shifting the "Fees Free Scheme" from the first year to final year of tertiary study.^[34][35][33]
• 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][33]
• Restore balance to the school history curriculum.^[33]
• Combating truancy through enforcement action, data collection, and publishing school attendance data.^[33]
• Improve the cost-effectiveness of school lunch programmes.^[33]

Economy

• Increase spending on wealth creation and infrastructure development.^[33]
• Reducing Core Crown expenditure as a proportion of the overall economy.^[33]
• Strengthening the powers of the Grocery Commissioner and promoting competition in the supermarket sector.^[33]
• Expanding the Inland Revenue Department's tax audit capacity.^[33]
• Prioritising fair trade agreements with export markets including India.^[33]

Employment and social services

• Repeal the Fair Pay Agreements regime by Christmas 2023.^[33]
• Expand 90-day trials to include all businesses.^[33]
• Commit to moderate increases in the minimum wage each year.^[33]
• Implementing sanctions against beneficiaries who can work but refuse to find work including electronic money management.^[33]
• Strengthening obligations on Jobseeker beneficiaries to find work including sanctions.^[33]
• Restricting the number of doctors who can issue medical certificates for health and disability limits.^[33]

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 1983.^[36][33]
• Transferring the firearms regulator to a different agency.^[36]
• Reviewing the national Firearms Registry.^[36][33]

Fiscal

• Public sector organisations will be given "expenditure reduction targets" including reducing "non-essential" back office functions.^[35][33]
• Assessing government expenditure against the criteria of public goods, social insurance, regulating market failure and policy choice.^[33]

Foreign

• 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.^[64]
• Recognising Israel's right to self-defence in the 2023 Israel-Hamas conflict.^[43][44]
• Supporting a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.^[43][44]
• Condemning Hamas for initiating the 2023 Israel-Hamas conflict and rejecting Hamas' role in any future governance of the Gaza Strip.^[65]

Health

• Disestablish the Te Aka Whai Ora (Māori Health Authority).^[38]
• Repeal the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022.^[64]
• Repeal the Therapeutic Products Act 2023.^[33]
• Review the University of Auckland's Māori and Pacific Admission Scheme and University of Otago equivalent.^[38][64][66]
• Allowing the sale of cold medication containing pseudoephedrine.^[64][67]
• End all remaining COVID-19 vaccine mandates.^[40]
• Establish an independent public inquiry into the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand.^[40]

Housing and tenancy

• Restoring interest deductibility for rental properties.^[34]
• Allowing local governments to opt out of the previous government's medium density residential standards.^[36]
• Restoring no-cause evictions with a 90-day notice.^[33]
• Returning tenant's notice period to move back to 21 days.^[33]
• Returning landlord's notice period to sell property back to 42 days.^[33]
• Introduce pet bonds for tenants.^[33]

Immigration

• Raise the cap on the number of workers allowed under the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme.^[33]
• Introduce a five-year, renewable parental category visa, conditional on covering health costs.^[33]
• Remove median wage requirements from Skilled Migrant Category visas.^[33]
• Make it easier for the family members of visa holders to immigrate to New Zealand.^[33]
• Improve the Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme to ensure that NZ is attracting migrants and skills needed.^[33]
• Toughening Immigration New Zealand's risk management and verification process.^[33]

Infrastructure, energy and natural resources

• Establishing a National Infrastructure Agency to coordinate government funding and private investment to boost infrastructural development.^[33]
• Establishing a NZ$1.2 billion Regional Infrastructure Fund.^[34][35][36]
• Prioritise infrastruture needed to support New Zealand's heavy industry.^[33]
• 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][33]
• Scrap the Kāinga Ora "Sustaining Tenancies Framework" and taking action against state housing tenants engaging in "anti-social behaviour."^[33]
• Reverse speed limit reductions where it is safe to do so.^[33]
• Amending the Resource Management Act 1991 to boost farming, housing, and other economic activities.^[33]
• Ensure that climate change policies do not affect energy security.^[33]

Justice and Law

• Abolishing concurrent sentencing when an offence is committed on parole, on bail or whilst in custody.^[35][68]
• Requiring prisoners to work.^[35]
• Equipping Corrections officers with body cameras.^[35]
• Introducing legislation dealing with "coward punching".^[35]
• Reintroducing three strikes.^[64]
• Removing prisoner reduction targets.^[64]
• Training 500 new police officers within two years.^[36]
• Increase the number of Youth Aid officers.^[33]
• Boosting funding for community policing including Māori and Pasifika Wardens, Community Patrol New Zealand, and Neighbourhood Watch.^[33]
• Protect freedom of speech by ruling out the introduction of hate speech legislation and stop the Law Commission’s work on hate speech legislation.^[64]
• Boosting funding to the Department of Correction to raise staffing levels.^[33]
• Amending the Sentencing Act 2002 and other legislation to ensure tougher consequences for criminals and to emphasise victims' rights.^[33]
• Introducing legislation to make it a specific offence to assault Police and other first responders.^[33]
• Boosting rehabilitation programmes for prisoners including driving licenses.^[33]
• Combating youth crime including consideration of a Youth Justice Demerit Point system.^[33]
• Toughen legislation against fleeing drivers.^[33]

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]
• Repeal the Canterbury Regional Council (Ngāi Tahu Representation) Act 2022.^[33]

Monetary policy

• Narrow the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's mandate to managing price stability and inflation.^[33]

Natural resources

• Repeal the ban on offshore gas and oil drilling.^[33]
• Replacing the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020.^[33]

Public sector

• 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]
• Creating a new independent monitoring agency for Oranga Tamariki (the Ministry for Children).^[33]
• Halting several workstreams including Auckland light rail, Let's Get Wellington Moving, and the Lake Onslow pumped hydro programme.^[33]

Regulation

• Creating a new regulatory agency (the Ministry for Regulation) to assess the quality of all new and existing legislation.^[36][33]
• Amend the Overseas Investment Act 2005 to limit ministerial decision making to national security concerns.^[64]
• Reducing regulatory barriers to promote competition.^[64]

Seniors

• Retaining the superannuation age at 65 years.^[36][33]
• Upgrade Super Gold Card and Veterans cards.^[33]
• Boost funding for dementia patients.^[33]
• Amending legislation and the resource consent process to make it easier to build "grannie flats."^[33]

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.^[33]
• Repeal mortgage interest deductibility for rental properties in various stages between 2023 and 2026.^[33]

Ministers

Under-Secretaries & Private Secretaries

Relationship with Māori

Several of the National-led coalition government's policies including a proposal to discontinue financial incentives for public servants to learn the Māori language, instructions for government departments to prioritise their English language names over their Māori names, a proposed Treaty Principles Bill, and the proposed dissolution of Te Aka Whai Ora (the Māori Health Authority) and the proposed repeal of the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022 were controversial among the Māori community, who perceived them as hostile and harmful towards Māori language, culture, and well-being.^{[72][73][74][75]}

On 6 December 2023, the Public Service Association, the New Zealand Educational Institute and the Māori Language Commission voiced opposition to the Government's plans to review financial incentives for civil servants to learn Māori; a programme which dated back to the 1980s.^[73] The Government plan gained support from the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union.^[76] On 12 December, a Tauranga-based iwi (tribe) Ngai Te Rangi Settlement Trust filed an urgent claim with the Waitangi Tribunal, claiming that the Government was breaching Article Two of the Treaty of Waitangi by plans to discontinue financial incentives for public servants to learn Māori and instructing government departments to give primacy to their English names. The plaintiffs also claimed that Government directives for Waka Kotahi (NZ Transport Agency) and Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ) to use their English names breached Article One of the Bill of Rights by suspending the operation of the Treaty.^[72]

On 14 December, Lady Tureiti Moxon and Janice Kuka filed a claim at the Waitangi Tribunal against the Government's plans to dissolve the Māori Health Authority, claiming that it breached the Treaty of Waitangi.^[74] On 18 December, the Government filed a memorandum of counsel opposing Moxon and Kuka's claim. The Government also admitted that it had no alternative plan to address poor Māori health outcomes and that it had not consulted Māori according to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. The Government also conceded its policy to dissolve Te Aka Whai Ora had been motivated by political expediency during the 2023 election campaign.^[77]

The Māori health organisation Hāpai Te Hauora and Health Coalition Aotearoa's co-chairwoman Professor Lisa Te Morenga also expressed concern that the proposed repeal of Smokefree legislation would have adverse health effects on New Zealanders including Māori.^[75][78]

On 23 December, Te Tāwharau o Ngāti Pūkenga, the post settlement body for the Ngāti Pūkenga iwi (tribe) filed an urgent claim at the Waitangi Tribunal challenging the Government's plans to repeal Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989. Section 7AA required Oranga Tamariki (the Ministry for Children) to prioritise a Māori child's ancestry or whakapapa (genealogy) when making uplifting decisions. Minister for Children Karen Chhour had lobbied for the repeal of Section 7AA, arguing that the policy placed the Treaty of Waitangi and cultural needs over the well-being of at-risk Māori children.^[79]

On 10 January 2024, the Waikato-Tainui iwi filed a legal challenge at the Wellington High Court against the Government's plans to roll back the use of the Māori language in the public sector, claiming that it breached the Crown's 1995 Raupata treaty settlement. The iwi also plans to file a separate legal challenge against the Government's changes to the Resource Management Act 1991. In response to Waikato-Tainui's legal challenges, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Paul Goldsmith reaffirmed the Government's commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi.^[80]

Transgender issues

On 21 December 2023, The New Zealand Herald reported that the Government was threatening to withhold public funding from sporting bodies if they did not comply with a policy to "ensure publicly funded sporting bodies support fair competition that is not compromised by rules relating to gender." This policy was promoted by New Zealand First, whose sports and recreation spokesperson Andy Foster would promote fairness and safety for female athletes. Transgender athlete and national champion mountain biker Kate Weatherly claimed that the Government's new policy would force transgender women to compete in men's competitions or be sidelined completely.^[81] During the 2023 election, NZ First had campaigned about transgender people in bathrooms and sports; which included introducing legislation requiring public bodies to have "clearly demarcated" unisex and single-sex toilets, restricting toilet access to individuals from the opposite sex, and requiring sporting bodies to have an "exclusive biological female category."^[82]

Tenancy policies

As part of National's coalition agreement with ACT, the Government restored "no-cause" evictions, reducing the notice period that tenants and landlords have to give for moving or selling property, gradually reintroducing mortgage interest deductibility on rental properties and establishing pet bonds for renters.^[33] While Renters' United criticised the Government for favouring landlords over tenants, the Property Investors Federation welcomed the new policies for alleviating the pressure on landlords, and stopping "tenants' tax".^[83] Meanwhile, Greyhound as Pets (GAP) NZ spokesperson Daniel Bohan welcomed the introduction of a pet bond, saying that it would make it easier for tenants to own pets.^[84]