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We own a home with a mortgage, have school-age children and rely on two wages. After mortgage payments, rates, power and groceries, there is little buffer. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. What are the parties proposing about household costs, and which proposals would actually apply to a working family like ours?
For the 7 November 2026 New Zealand general election, the major parties are taking quite different approaches to household costs. For a family that owns its home with a mortgage, has school-age children and depends on two wages, the important distinction is between policies that put money directly into your household, policies that aim to lower particular bills, and longer-term measures whose effect is much less certain. Reuters
One notable point up front: none of the major parties is offering a general mortgage-payment subsidy or direct relief for homeowners simply because they have a mortgage. The Reserve Bank's interest-rate settings remain separate from election promises.
What would actually affect a family like yours?
| Party | Mortgage/homeowner | Power | Groceries | Tax/income | Children/family costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National | No direct mortgage relief; policies aimed at growth and keeping rates affordable | Home Energy Fund loans for solar, batteries, insulation etc.; more generation/competition | More supermarket competition | No new taxes | Various education/family measures; focus on keeping taxes low |
| Labour | Family home exempt from proposed CGT | SolarSaver low-interest loans + support; price-gouging rules | Break open supermarket wholesale supply; prohibit price gouging | Targeted 28% CGT on investment-property gains, not family home | Free school lunches, cheaper public transport, free prescriptions/GP visits |
| Greens | Family home exempt from wealth tax | Zero-interest clean-energy loans; Kiwipower; warmer-home measures | Publicly owned KiwiMart + price controls/stronger Commerce Commission powers | $10,000 tax-free threshold; higher taxes on very high wealth/income and large corporations | Expanded school lunches and broader social support |
| NZ First | No general mortgage subsidy | Break up major power companies | Break up supermarket duopoly | Substantial increase to Working for Families; minimum-wage increases | Potentially particularly relevant if eligible for Working for Families |
| ACT | No direct mortgage relief | More generation, competition and ability to sell household-generated power | Competition-oriented rather than price controls | No new taxes; faster debt reduction; some targeted tax changes | Emphasis on lower government spending rather than broad new household benefits |
These are the parties' stated proposals; whether and how quickly they would translate into lower household bills is a separate question. National Party
National
National's approach is principally "keep more of your existing income and reduce costs through competition and investment".
It promises no new taxes, while targeting a return to surplus in 2028/29. Its 2026 policies include more supermarket competition, an energy programme intended to increase electricity supply, and a Home Energy Fund. National Party
The Home Energy Fund is particularly relevant to a homeowner: eligible ratepayers with at least 20% equity could obtain long-term, low-interest loans for solar, batteries, insulation and heat pumps. Repayment would be secured against the property and made through rates or on sale. National Party
So, for your household, National's more immediate relevance is:
- No new income taxes.
- Potentially cheaper power over time from its electricity-supply/competition policies.
- Access to financing for energy improvements if you have sufficient home equity.
- More supermarket competition intended to improve grocery prices.
- Its rates policy is aimed at keeping council rates affordable, but it isn't a promise to pay your rates bill. National Party
The trade-off is that much of the household-cost strategy relies on economic growth, competition and increased supply, rather than direct payments or large new household subsidies.
Labour
Labour has the most explicitly itemised weekly-bills package.
For your family, the potentially relevant measures include:
- Fuel excise frozen for three years.
- Public-transport fares capped at $20 a week in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch and $10 elsewhere, including children travelling to school.
- Fresh, locally made school lunches restored from Term 1 2028.
- $5 prescription charges removed from July 2027.
- Three free GP visits a year from July 2028.
- Low-interest SolarSaver financing for household solar and batteries, with up to $3,000 additional support for low- and middle-income households.
- Rules against price gouging in essentials including groceries, power and fuel.
- Measures to make it easier for smaller grocery retailers to compete with the major supermarkets. Labour Party NZ
Some of those benefits only matter if you actually use the relevant service. For example, if your family doesn't use public transport, the fare cap does nothing for your household budget; if you drive extensively, the fuel-tax freeze is more relevant.
The mortgage question is interesting: Labour proposes a 28% tax on gains from residential investment property and commercial property sold after 1 July 2027, but explicitly exempts the family home (as well as farms, KiwiSaver, shares and business assets). So simply owning and living in your mortgaged home would not subject you to this tax. Labour Party NZ
Green Party
The Greens propose the most extensive restructuring of household costs.
Their tax package would introduce a $10,000 tax-free income threshold, which they say would give 96% of New Zealanders an income-tax cut. They would simultaneously introduce a 2.5% tax on net assets above $10 million, higher taxation of the largest corporations and banks, and a higher income-tax rate above $160,000. Family homes are exempt from the wealth tax. Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
For a working family, the practical proposals include:
- A tax-free first $10,000 of income.
- Much larger public investment in affordable power.
- Zero-interest clean-energy loans covering up to 90% of homeowners' eligible costs.
- Warmer-home/insulation assistance.
- A publicly owned electricity generator/retailer, Kiwipower.
- A publicly owned supermarket chain, KiwiMart.
- Stronger powers to prohibit excessive supermarket and energy pricing.
- Restoration and expansion of school lunch programmes. Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
Again, your family home wouldn't be caught by the proposed wealth tax, but the broader tax package is considerably more consequential for higher-income households and people with substantial assets.
New Zealand First
NZ First has unusually direct proposals for families with children.
Its policy would make a temporary $50-a-week increase to the in-work tax credit permanent and add another $70, taking the proposed Working for Families in-work tax credit to $120 a week. It also proposes increasing the minimum wage at least in line with inflation each year of the next parliamentary term. New Zealand First
That means the crucial question for a two-income family is whether you qualify for Working for Families. If your household income is above the relevant thresholds, the benefit could be much smaller or disappear altogether.
NZ First is also proposing to restructure the electricity industry by separating generation and retail, and to break up the supermarket duopoly. New Zealand First
Those latter policies are intended to reduce prices, but unlike a tax credit, the amount your particular household would save cannot be specified in advance.
ACT
ACT's approach is principally to reduce government spending, avoid new taxes and encourage competition/investment.
Its 2026 fiscal plan promises no new taxes and faster debt reduction, while proposing targeted tax changes including removing tax on KiwiSaver investment earnings. ACT New Zealand
For power bills, ACT proposes more electricity generation and competition, greater freedom for households to generate electricity and sell surplus power to the buyer of their choice, and changes intended to prevent unnecessary network costs being passed through to consumers. ACT New Zealand
For your household, that means less emphasis on immediate cash assistance and more on reducing taxation and attempting to lower costs through market competition.
What about your biggest four expenses?
If I translate the manifestos into the expenses you've actually identified:
1. Mortgage
There isn't a major-party policy that directly cuts your mortgage repayment.
The indirect mechanisms are:
- National/ACT: economic growth, lower government debt and policies intended to keep taxes lower.
- National: energy/home-improvement financing secured against your property.
- Labour: family home protected from its proposed capital-gains tax.
- Greens: family home exempt from their proposed wealth tax.
Your mortgage interest rate itself would continue to be principally determined by monetary policy and your bank, rather than by a government subsidy.
2. Rates
This is also an area where the parties' promises are less direct.
National explicitly promises to keep rates affordable and refocus councils on core services. National Party
Other parties' central-government policies don't translate neatly into a particular reduction in the rates bill, because rates are primarily a local-government revenue issue.
3. Power
This is probably the area where there is the greatest policy divergence.
- National: more generation, competition, household solar/battery financing and the Home Energy Fund. National Party
- Labour: SolarSaver, additional assistance for lower/middle-income households and regulation against electricity price gouging. Labour Party NZ
- Greens: Kiwipower, zero-interest clean-energy loans and stronger public intervention in electricity. Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
- NZ First: break up the large integrated power companies. New Zealand First
- ACT: more generation, competition, network reform and freedom to sell household-generated electricity. ACT New Zealand
The important caveat is that none can guarantee a particular reduction in your monthly power bill. These are different theories about how to achieve lower prices.
4. Groceries
Again, there is a fairly clear divide.
- National: increase competition, including separating New World and PAK'nSAVE so they compete more directly. National Party
- Labour: force major supermarkets to open up wholesale supply and prohibit price gouging. Labour Party NZ
- Greens: go substantially further, including a publicly owned supermarket and direct controls against excessive pricing. Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
- NZ First: break up the supermarket duopoly. New Zealand First
- ACT: generally favours competition and reduced regulation rather than government intervention in prices.
The particularly relevant question for a two-income family
I'd separate "working family" from "low-income family" when assessing these promises.
A household can be under enormous financial pressure while still earning too much to qualify for targeted assistance. That matters here.
For your circumstances, the policies worth checking against your actual household numbers are:
- Combined taxable income — particularly for Green tax changes and NZ First's Working for Families proposal.
- Whether either child uses public transport — Labour's fare cap could matter substantially if so.
- Your petrol consumption — Labour's fuel-tax freeze becomes more relevant for a driving-heavy household.
- Your mortgage equity — National's Home Energy Fund requires at least 20% equity. National Party
- Whether you could use solar/battery/insulation financing — several parties have proposals here.
- Whether you own any property besides the family home — this matters for Labour's proposed CGT, although the family home itself is exempt. Labour Party NZ
- Whether your household qualifies for Working for Families — particularly relevant to NZ First's proposal. New Zealand First
So rather than asking "Which party has the best cost-of-living policy?"—which depends on your priorities—you can make the comparison much more concrete: how much would each party's proposals change your household's after-tax income and annual spending, and when?
If you give me your approximate combined annual household income, number/ages of children, approximate mortgage balance and interest rate, annual rates, and rough monthly power/grocery/fuel spending, I can turn the 2026 party policies into a household-by-household comparison in NZ dollars, while keeping the political assessment neutral.
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