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For your circumstances—keeping your independence while renting, getting healthcare, and relying on accessible transport/support services—the biggest differences are around how disability support is governed, how much choice/control disabled people have, healthcare affordability, and transport subsidies.

The 2026 election is scheduled for Saturday 7 November 2026. Access 2026: accessibility action plan for the 2026 General Election | Elections NZ

At a glance

Party	Healthcare	Disability support & independence	Accessible transport
National	Focuses on increasing capacity and timely access: more doctors, nurses, medicines and local decision-making. National is delivering quality healthcare | National Party	Has established a national DSS assessment approach and passed the Disability Support Services Act 2026, emphasising consistency, sustainability, flexible funding and choice. Bill to strengthen disability support | National Party	The government reduced Total Mobility's taxi subsidy from 75% to 65% from 1 July 2026, while subsequently announcing further changes to expand transport choice. Total Mobility card | New Zealand Government
Labour	Proposes three free GP visits per year and removing the $5 prescription charge, alongside measures to improve GP availability. Labour's 2026 Election Policies	Says it would repeal the 2026 DSS Act and replace it with legislation developed with disabled people, emphasising rights, independence, choice and safeguards. Release: Labour will scrap harmful disability Bill	Its headline transport policy is a $20 weekly cap on bus/train fares, beginning July 2027. The policy isn't specifically a Total Mobility restoration. Labour's 2026 Election Policies
Green	Wants an equitable, accessible health system with stronger public provision and investment. Manifesto 2026 - Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand	Places particularly strong emphasis on disabled people's autonomy, co-design, Enabling Good Lives and human-rights protections. It opposes the current DSS legislation. Disability Support Services Bill | New Zealand Legislation	Has specifically pledged to restore the 75% Total Mobility subsidy and expand accessible transport; its October 2026 transport plan also proposes free public transport for Total Mobility users. How do the different parties fare on disability issues this election? | The Spinoff
ACT	Its disability-related approach is closely tied to welfare eligibility and work capacity rather than expanding disability services.	Proposes independent medical certification for health/disability benefits and reassessment of existing recipients, while allowing long-term arrangements for people with enduring disabilities. ACT New Zealand	I found no equivalent commitment to restore the Total Mobility subsidy.
NZ First	Its health approach emphasises primary care, reducing waiting lists and increasing medicines funding; its current detailed health policy is less specifically disability-focused. 2023 Election Policies - NZ First	Introduced an Accessibility Standards Bill aimed at removing barriers to participation and independence, including through accessibility standards. Establishing an Accessible New Zealand for everyone - New Zealand First	Its proposed accessibility approach is broader than just transport subsidies, seeking accessibility standards for infrastructure and public services. Establishing an Accessible New Zealand for everyone - New Zealand First
Te Pāti Māori	Supports rebuilding Māori-led health services, prevention and whānau-centred care. Policy - Te Pāti Māori	Explicitly proposes Māori-led disability services and decision-making, easier and less degrading access to support, and funding based on whānau circumstances rather than bureaucratic categories. Policy - Te Pāti Māori	Its policy stresses transport affordability as part of cost-of-living support, but I found less detail than the Greens on Total Mobility specifically. Policy - Te Pāti Māori

What this could mean for you

1. If maintaining disability support is your biggest concern

There is a particularly clear difference between National and Labour/Greens.

National has actually implemented a new framework. Its position is that the system needed a clearer legal basis, more consistent assessments and sustainable funding. It says flexible funding now gives disabled people more choice and that the legislation ultimately strengthened recognition of choice, safety, dignity and disabled people's participation in future decisions. Disability support improvements begin | National Party

Labour says the legislation went too far and would repeal it, replacing it through co-design with disabled people. Release: Labour will scrap harmful disability Bill

The Greens similarly oppose the legislation and put considerably more emphasis on high-trust support, self-determination, Enabling Good Lives and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Disability Support Services Bill | New Zealand Legislation

So one useful question for you is: Do you prefer the current government's emphasis on standardisation and sustainability, or Labour/Green proposals for greater co-design, autonomy and rights protections?

2. Accessible transport is a particularly concrete difference

This may be one of the most relevant issues given what you've described.

The current Total Mobility taxi subsidy is 65%, down from 75% before July 2026. In Auckland, Total Mobility also provides a discounted public-transport concession and free companion travel on buses. Total Mobility card | New Zealand Government

The Greens have explicitly promised to restore the 75% taxi subsidy, increase accessible vehicle capacity, and their latest transport policy proposes free bus/train travel for Total Mobility users. How do the different parties fare on disability issues this election? | The Spinoff

Labour's $20 weekly public-transport cap could reduce costs if you can use ordinary buses/trains, but its published policy doesn't appear to make the same specific commitment to restoring the Total Mobility subsidy. Labour's 2026 Election Policies

That distinction matters if standard public transport isn't a practical substitute for door-to-door transport.

3. Healthcare costs

For someone who needs regular medical care, Labour's proposal is unusually direct: three free GP visits a year for everyone and free prescriptions by removing the $5 charge, with the policies scheduled from 2027. Labour's 2026 Election Policies

National's approach is different: increasing healthcare capacity and access—more doctors, training places, funding for practices, urgent/after-hours clinics and medicines—rather than making GP visits universally free. National is delivering quality healthcare | National Party

The Greens favour substantially greater public investment and an explicitly equitable/accessibility-focused health system. Manifesto 2026 - Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand

4. Renting and independent living

This is an area where housing policy becomes disability policy. The Greens' 2026 disability platform explicitly links independent living with accessible, affordable housing, including stronger universal-design standards. How do the different parties fare on disability issues this election? | The Spinoff

Te Pāti Māori similarly links disability support, housing and whānau wellbeing, with policies for more public/affordable homes and Māori-led services. Policy - Te Pāti Māori

For National and Labour, the disability policies I found are more focused on DSS and healthcare than on a dedicated accessible-rental programme.

5. ACT is a significantly different approach

ACT's proposal deserves particular attention if you receive Supported Living Payment or health/disability-related Jobseeker Support.

ACT proposes that health and disability benefits be medically assessed by an MSD-approved pool of designated doctors, with existing recipients reassessed under the new criteria. It says people with genuine enduring disabilities could receive long-term arrangements. ACT New Zealand

That is materially different from the Labour/Green emphasis on protecting choice and independence and from National's recent move toward nationally consistent DSS assessments. Bill to strengthen disability support | National Party

A useful way to compare them for your vote

Rather than asking which party is "best" overall, you could compare their policies against five things that directly affect your ability to remain independent:

1. Can I reliably get the support I currently receive?
2. Will I have genuine choice and control over how support is provided?
3. Can I afford the transport I need when ordinary public transport isn't accessible?
4. Can I afford GP visits, prescriptions and other healthcare?
5. Does the party address accessible, affordable housing for someone who rents?

On those specific questions, the parties' published policies reveal some fairly substantial differences—particularly Total Mobility, DSS legislation, benefit assessments and healthcare costs.

One important caveat: a policy announcement isn't the same thing as an implemented programme. Eligibility rules, funding and legislation can change after an election, so I'd treat the details above as the parties' current published 2026 positions, not guarantees of what an eventual government would deliver.

If you'd like, I can next make a side-by-side comparison specifically for a mobility-impaired renter, covering National, Labour, Greens, ACT, NZ First and Te Pāti Māori across Supported Living Payment, DSS funding, equipment/home modifications, accessible housing, Total Mobility, public transport, GP costs and prescriptions.