Every question, every answer, every source

If your main question is “which policies could leave a working renting couple with more cash each month, while also improving our chances of buying?”, I’d separate the issue into two different levers:

1. Put more money in your pockets now — tax, transport, health, groceries, energy, student-loan costs.
2. Stop the deposit target moving away from you — rents, house prices, housing supply and access to lower-deposit lending.

Those don't always point to the same party.

The policies most relevant to you

Policy approach	How it could help a renting couple	Main trade-off
National: wider 5% First Home Loan access	Potentially the biggest immediate change to your deposit problem. National proposes raising the First Home Loan income cap to $300,000 for all applicants, rather than the current $150k combined limit for most couples. That could turn a 20% deposit target into 5% if you qualify for the scheme. National is backing first home buyers | National Party	You still need to service the mortgage, and a smaller deposit means more debt, interest and vulnerability if house prices fall. It could also increase demand for entry-level homes, potentially bidding prices up.
National/ACT: no new taxes	If you're middle-income and working, avoiding new taxes leaves more of your existing income available for saving. National has explicitly pledged no new taxes; ACT is also campaigning on no new taxes. No new taxes under National | National Party	Less additional government revenue means fewer resources for public services or housing programmes unless spending is reduced elsewhere.
National: lower student-loan repayments	If either of you has a student loan, National proposes cutting compulsory repayments from 12% to 10%, directly increasing take-home pay. Nicola's News - September 2026 | National Party	This isn't useful if you don't have student debt, and it slows repayment of the loan.
Labour: cheaper transport + healthcare	Labour proposes a $20 weekly public-transport fare cap, three free GP visits and free prescriptions. For a couple who regularly uses public transport or has healthcare costs, those are genuine reductions in household expenditure that could become deposit savings. Labour's 2026 Election Policies	The benefit depends heavily on what you currently spend. These aren't necessarily extra cash in your pay packet; they're avoided expenses.
Labour: more housing + investment-property CGT	Labour proposes more Kāinga Ora construction and a 28% capital-gains tax on investment-property gains. Its argument is that taxing property investment and building more homes could reduce the advantage investors have over first-home buyers and improve affordability. Start Work Now - NZ Labour	The CGT doesn't put cash in your pocket today. Its effect on house prices and rents is uncertain, and Labour's own policy leaves the family home exempt.
Greens: $10,000 tax-free threshold	If you're ordinary wage/salary earners, this could increase take-home pay. The Greens propose making the first $10,000 of income tax-free, while raising the top rate for income over $160k. Greens commit to tax the super-rich and large corporates fairly, cut income tax for 96% - Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand	The overall package includes substantially higher taxes on wealth, large companies and landlords, so the effect on the economy, investment and potentially housing/rents is contested.
Greens: 2% rent-increase cap	This directly attacks the “moving target” problem: if your rent could only rise by 2% a year, more of your income could reliably go towards your deposit. The Greens also propose stronger rental-quality and security rules. Greens announce plan to end homelessness & fix housing crisis - Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand	A hard rent cap can discourage new rental supply or cause landlords to exit if rents can't cover costs. Whether it ultimately helps renters depends heavily on how housing supply responds.
NZ First: tax-free first $14,000	NZ First has proposed making the lowest $14,000 of income tax-free, which it says would provide about $28.27 a week to workers. It also supports restoring landlord interest deductibility. 2023 Election Policies - NZ First	Restoring landlord deductions is intended to support rental supply and rents, but it also gives a tax advantage to property investors rather than directly to first-home buyers.

For your particular situation, I'd focus on three things

1. The deposit hurdle may matter more than a tax cut

Suppose you were looking at a $700,000 home.

• 20% deposit = $140,000
• 10% = $70,000
• 5% = $35,000

So National's proposed expansion of the First Home Loan scheme is potentially enormous for someone who can afford the mortgage but is stuck renting because accumulating $140k takes years. The current scheme requires only 5% for eligible buyers; the proposal is principally about making many more higher-earning couples eligible. National is backing first home buyers | National Party

But there's an important catch: it changes the financing constraint rather than making the house cheaper. You're exchanging a smaller deposit for a larger mortgage.

That's why I'd distinguish “we can't save the deposit” from “we can't afford the mortgage.” The former is exactly what the National proposal targets; the latter isn't solved by it.

2. Rent control could help your savings rate — but supply matters

The Greens' proposed 2% rent cap is probably the most direct policy for someone who says “our target keeps moving.” Greens announce plan to end homelessness & fix housing crisis - Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand

If your rent is $650/week, for example, a 2% ceiling would limit the annual increase to $13/week, assuming the policy applied as described. That's potentially hundreds of dollars a year that could stay in your savings account.

The trade-off is that rent controls don't create houses. If landlords respond by selling rental properties or developers build fewer rentals, the shortage can worsen. Conversely, stronger renter protections can have substantial value even if they don't reduce the headline rent.

3. Don't overlook boring cost-of-living policies

For a couple with steady jobs, policies such as cheaper public transport, cheaper prescriptions, lower student-loan deductions, electricity costs and grocery competition can be surprisingly important.

If a policy saves you $100 a week, that's $5,200 a year towards a deposit. You don't necessarily need a policy labelled “first-home buyers” to get there.

Labour, for example, is proposing the $20 weekly public-transport cap, free prescriptions and GP visits, while National is proposing lower student-loan repayments and a home-energy fund. 2026 Election Policy | National Party

One particularly important trade-off: taxing landlords

This is probably the most consequential disagreement for someone in your position.

The Greens want to reverse the current landlord tax advantages, including interest deductibility, while Labour has proposed a capital-gains tax on investment property. A tax system for all of us - Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand

The theory is:

less attractive property investment → less investor demand → less competition for first homes → potentially lower house prices.

The opposing theory is:

higher landlord costs → landlords pass costs to tenants or leave the rental market → rents rise / rental supply falls.

And this isn't just theoretical political rhetoric. Labour has now explicitly ruled out reversing interest deductibility, despite previously attacking the policy, so you shouldn't assume a Labour vote means a return to the previous landlord-tax regime. Labour rules out interest deductibility changes for landlords

That makes the 2026 choice considerably more nuanced than simply “left parties tax landlords, right parties don't.”

My bottom line

For a working renting couple trying to buy their first home, I'd rank the policy questions roughly like this:

1. Can we qualify for a smaller-deposit mortgage?
   National's proposed $300k First Home Loan threshold is unusually relevant if you're above the existing income cap but genuinely struggling to accumulate 20%. National is backing first home buyers | National Party

2. How much of our income disappears into rent?
   The Greens' rent-cap proposal is the most direct response, but carries the greatest rental-supply question. Greens announce plan to end homelessness & fix housing crisis - Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand

3. Which policies reduce our recurring bills?
   Labour has a particularly broad package here — transport, healthcare, groceries and jobs — while National emphasises tax restraint and individual take-home income. Labour's 2026 Election Policies

4. Will the policy make houses themselves more affordable?
   This is ultimately more important than whether you save an extra $50–$100 a week. Policies that increase housing supply or reduce speculative demand may affect the denominator — the house price you're trying to reach — rather than merely helping you chase it.

5. How much risk are you comfortable taking?
   A 5% deposit gets you into the market much sooner, but with substantially more leverage. A policy that makes the deposit easier isn't automatically a policy that makes home ownership financially safer.

One final point: don't evaluate the election solely through the lens of your next year's savings balance. MMP means coalition bargaining matters, and several of the more dramatic policies may be negotiated or diluted. How does New Zealand's electoral system work and does it favour coalitions?

If you tell me roughly your combined gross income, current weekly rent, approximate savings, and the price range of the homes you're targeting, I can turn this into a much more concrete comparison — e.g. “under policy A you'd potentially reach a $50k deposit X months sooner; under policy B your ongoing costs might fall by roughly Y.”