# Question 50: I run a café with a small team. Food and power costs are squeezing margins, customers are spending less, and we've experienced a break-in. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. What would parties do to improve conditions for small hospitality businesses, and what evidence supports their plans? Collected 2 November 2026 [NZ Election 2026 · Edition 8 study](https://nzbrands.ai/research/nz-election-2026/editions/8) ## ChatGPT Answer ID: 62f79e73-f6bc-459d-8808-6fdac6c39eda # 2026 New Zealand election: what the parties are proposing for cafés and hospitality businesses Your situation brings together four issues that are particularly important for a small café: 1. Food and electricity costs: keeping input costs under control and protecting gross margins. 2. Lower customer spending: maintaining demand, encouraging people to eat out and supporting household disposable income. 3. Staffing costs: minimum wages, leave entitlements, KiwiSaver, training and the cost of employing a small team. 4. Crime and security: preventing burglaries, protecting staff and customers, and getting effective police and insurance support. The important distinction is between policies that directly reduce a café's costs and policies that might improve the wider economy but have a less certain effect on your takings. The 2026 general election is scheduled for 7 November 2026. The comparison below looks at the announced policies of the main parties, including smaller parties with relevant economic proposals. These are campaign commitments, not guaranteed outcomes: implementation will depend on the election result, coalition agreements and legislation. ## 1. What the evidence says about the problems facing your café There is good evidence that the pressures you describe are not simply individual business-management problems. Hospitality industry conditions — 2026 # 43% of surveyed operators reported lower revenue than the same quarter in 2025. # ~⅔ said their business was less profitable. # 3.1% increase in restaurant meal and ready-to-eat food prices, year-on-year to June 2026. # 7.2% average power-price increase for small businesses that experienced a price change in the period measured in 2026. Sources: Restaurant Association Q2 2026 Business Survey and Electricity Authority, August 2026. [Restaurant Association Q2 Dashboard](https://www.restaurantnz.co.nz/savour/restaurant-association-q2-dashboard/)[Data shows 6.8% increase to power bills across households and small businesses](https://www.ea.govt.nz/news/general-news/data-shows-68-increase-to-power-bills-across-households-and-small-businesses/) A few other findings are important: - Food costs were the biggest concern identified by hospitality operators, followed by reduced customer spending and wage costs. [Restaurant Association Q2 Dashboard](https://www.restaurantnz.co.nz/savour/restaurant-association-q2-dashboard/) - The Restaurant Association's 2025 report found that wage costs represented approximately 40% of revenue in its remuneration survey. [2025 Restaurant Association Hospitality Report](https://www.restaurantnz.co.nz/product/2025-hospitality-report/) - The Electricity Authority found that network line charges accounted for 54% of the average small-business electricity price increase in the first half of 2026. [Data shows 6.8% increase to power bills across households and small businesses](https://www.ea.govt.nz/news/general-news/data-shows-68-increase-to-power-bills-across-households-and-small-businesses/) - A March 2025 Restaurant Association security survey documented theft, property damage, verbal abuse and concerns about police response times among hospitality operators. [Safety and Security - 2025](https://www.restaurantnz.co.nz/trends/safety-and-security-2025/) There is also a useful independent government finding. The Ministry for Regulation's September 2026 hospitality review identified duplicated paperwork, slow licensing processes, complicated food-safety requirements and fees that can be disproportionate for smaller businesses. It made 24 recommendations for improvement. [Hospitality review roadmap for a more productive sector](https://www.regulation.govt.nz/news/hospitality-review-roadmap-for-a-more-productive-sector/) This provides a practical way to assess election promises: do they address these documented problems, and is there evidence that the proposed intervention will actually work? ## 2. What the political parties are proposing ### National ![Will National Party Finish 2nd in New Zealand's 2026 Election?](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/LCDs4P76HEgfCayafHeSga8GCw12Vxs2fPc3toeyLUZ-wmb6UiGRZY6bhdT1xRejtICfUd6GX2BWmI76EkpoWuffTU4g32bP_qUJp29rsfn5_Zvj5THHSYTLHSoo_5_YQyZ3zKE1WIpB4bu7raRltFl5TZFCgCcE0quf_GohkFI?purpose=inline) New Zealand National Party National's approach centres on reducing compliance costs, encouraging business investment and making employment easier. Relevant proposals and existing measures: - Retain Investment Boost, which allows businesses to immediately deduct an additional 20% of eligible new productive asset costs. - Introduce a First Employee Support Package to help small businesses navigate payroll, employment agreements, tax, ACC and leave requirements. - Create a single government information service using the New Zealand Business Number. - Review the compulsory GST registration threshold, currently $60,000. - Simplify health and safety guidance and employment dispute procedures. - Continue its tougher retail-crime approach, including stronger trespass and enforcement measures. How this could affect your café Investment Boost could help if you need a new commercial fridge, coffee machine, oven or other eligible equipment. However, it is a tax deduction, not a grant: you still need the cash to purchase the equipment. Simpler employment administration could reduce the time you spend managing staff paperwork. National's crime approach may appeal if your main concern is deterring repeat offenders. Its measures include stronger enforcement and expanded powers relating to retail crime. Evidence and limitations The 20% Investment Boost is an existing measure, rather than just a campaign promise. Its practical benefit depends on whether you have taxable income, make eligible investments and can finance the purchase. The proposed First Employee Support Package has a plausible administrative benefit, but its eventual savings for a small café have not yet been independently demonstrated. National's small-business proposals are documented in its 47-point plan. [National’s plan to support Small Businesses](https://www.national.org.nz/policies/47-point-plan-small-businesses)[National’s plan to support Small Businesses](https://www.national.org.nz/policies/47-point-plan-small-businesses)[Retail Crime](https://retail.kiwi/insights-media/election-hub/policy-positions-retail-crime/) Policy: [National's 47-point small-business plan](https://www.national.org.nz/policies/47-point-plan-small-businesses?utm_source=chatgpt.com). ### Labour ![South Island Election Conference 2026](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/_spFKDBqOMVPoo8r35YLoGFwljs_-WWe4ur9fdZCfekzAxaUPGA75u8rI9uxOUTssI2hUZN1r4Zu1AeDrcNaxz3uHoFIyWjDpanT5s-KJ87QzxSu1uNjNL4MOHSuazRZuTy_TzC6aN4wxHHoyU_DhzMFuMCMjNBTtg2xRxOZL6c?purpose=inline) New Zealand Labour Party Labour's approach places considerable emphasis on cash flow, targeted investment support and grocery-market competition. Relevant proposals: - Require large businesses and government to pay qualifying small-business invoices within 15 days. - Increase the immediate low-value asset write-off threshold from $1,000 to $10,000 for businesses with annual revenue below $10 million, from July 2027. - Raise the compulsory GST registration threshold from $60,000 to $80,000, from July 2028. - Require supermarket wholesale operations to be separated from retail operations. - Give the Commerce Commission stronger powers to investigate excessive prices and unfair supplier practices. - Introduce a 15% target for government procurement from small businesses, according to its broader small-business programme. How this could affect your café The $10,000 asset write-off could be useful when replacing an oven, refrigerator or other equipment. The GST proposal could reduce administration for businesses approaching the current threshold. However, if your café is already GST-registered, the change is unlikely to provide a direct financial benefit. The supermarket competition proposals are relevant to food affordability, but there is an important distinction: cheaper supermarket groceries do not necessarily translate into cheaper wholesale ingredients for cafés. Evidence and limitations Labour says its small-business package will cost $1.56 billion over four years, funded by refocusing Investment Boost. Its case for targeted investment support includes an Inland Revenue survey in which 53% of respondents said Investment Boost had not affected their 2025 investment decisions. This is evidence about the existing scheme's reported influence, not proof that Labour's proposed alternative will generate the promised level of additional investment. The Commerce Commission's June 2026 grocery report found that Woolworths and Foodstuffs still controlled more than 80% of the national grocery market. That supports the case for examining competition, although it does not establish that wholesale restructuring will lower café ingredient costs. [Labour's Small Business Action Plan](https://www.labour.org.nz/election-policy-pages/small-business-action-plan/)[ComCom releases state of grocery competition report](https://www.comcom.govt.nz/news-and-media/news-and-events/2026/comcom-releases-state-of-grocery-competition-report/)[Fairer Grocery Prices](https://www.labour.org.nz/fairer-grocery-prices)[Election policy tracker: what the parties are promising](https://stories.theconversation.com/nz-policy-tracker-2026/) Policy: [Labour's Small Business Action Plan](https://www.labour.org.nz/election-policy-pages/small-business-action-plan/?utm_source=chatgpt.com). ### ACT ![New Zealand Legislative Election Winner 2026 Odds | Polymarket](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/jofoEEdOXv6HOQzupGnQLgXlZKKPYTzvN6g4IUMlN6xdqX4l_qH5-Y0A3to5ytO5w95eGsg-WLInlnku5FmW0VEyKqhTiAqcZSbr_Z1e_uNyqacdq4zniDKhRNRugVUCsz1-CYpZeG4nO7sLuQKEQlQMBgJCAoyH3nC76yYHd6E?purpose=inline) ACT New Zealand ACT's approach focuses on reducing employment obligations and regulatory intervention. Relevant proposals: - Pause annual increases to the adult minimum wage. - Introduce a training wage at 60% of the adult minimum wage for eligible under-20 workers during their first 12 months with an employer. - Allow protected negotiations for consensual employment exits. - Require personal grievance proceedings to be lodged within three months of the grievance being raised. - Make union-fee payroll deductions voluntary. - Allow deductions for productive software and digital investment. ACT has also supported stronger security powers, including expanded powers for trained security guards and a proposed minimum three-year sentence for a third burglary conviction. How this could affect your café If wages are one of your largest expenses, ACT's employment policies could change your staffing costs and the financial risks of hiring. However, the training wage would only apply to qualifying younger employees. It would not reduce wages across your entire team. The security proposals may be relevant after a break-in, particularly if you employ security personnel or operate in an area experiencing repeat offending. Evidence and limitations There is a genuine trade-off to consider. Lower employment costs could make it easier to recruit, but wage restraint could also limit the spending power of some customers. ACT's proposals are policy commitments, not independently demonstrated estimates of how much a typical café would save. Its official policy is available here: [ACT – Backing Small Business](https://www.act.org.nz/backing-small-business?utm_source=chatgpt.com). Its crime positions are summarised by [Retail NZ's 2026 retail crime policy comparison](https://retail.kiwi/insights-media/election-hub/policy-positions-retail-crime/?utm_source=chatgpt.com). [ACT New Zealand](https://www.act.org.nz/backing-small-business)[Retail Crime](https://retail.kiwi/insights-media/election-hub/policy-positions-retail-crime/)[October AMM Comms: Election 2026 – What the Parties Are Proposing for Employers and Small Businesses](https://www.ammlaw.co.nz/october-amm-comms-election-2026-what-the-parties-are-proposing-for-employers-and-small-businesses) ### Green Party ![Green Party NZ (@NZGreens) on X](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/xwoeA3rTn5Pu0UL1uRc6X_g8ADsfUTe55rxQEjXC_rnFR_6TPTr_9eG0LsowNOdFRtax24qB8h-LRfUtZEf42T0CC5OclOZ5katbFJAYxs0cZRyqDBlGNgF_8AV_5WTCbYonGIqLGuK095lLGrkBVw3L8vdsA06tLHVNuCJquuc?purpose=inline) Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand The Greens place more emphasis on energy-market reform, local economic development, fair wages and stronger competition regulation. Relevant proposals: - Establish Kiwipower, a publicly owned electricity generation company. - Expand renewable energy and community-owned power. - Offer zero-interest clean-energy loans for solar and battery installations. - Keep the company tax rate at 28% for SMEs while increasing it for the largest corporations. - Introduce stronger competition measures against concentrated markets, including supermarkets and energy companies. - Abolish the training wage and increase support for apprentices. - Support stronger minimum-wage protections. How this could affect your café The electricity proposals are particularly relevant if you own your premises or can invest in solar panels and battery storage. More renewable generation and a public electricity company could potentially improve long-term electricity affordability and security. The supermarket competition proposals could also benefit consumers and potentially improve food-market competition. However, the energy transition would take time. A new generation company does not automatically mean your next electricity bill will fall. Higher minimum-wage settings could increase your payroll costs, although they may also support the purchasing power of your customers. Evidence and limitations The Electricity Authority's 2026 data confirms that power costs have risen substantially for many small businesses. This establishes the problem, but not that the Greens' proposed solution would produce a particular reduction in your café's electricity bill. The Greens' position on small-business tax is relatively clear: the 28% company rate would remain for SMEs, rather than rise alongside the rate proposed for the largest corporations. Sources: [Green Party energy policy](https://www.greens.org.nz/green_party_launches_plan_to_cut_power_bills_and_take_power_back_from_the_big_energy_companies?utm_source=chatgpt.com) and [Green Party 2026 manifesto](https://www.greens.org.nz/manifesto_2026?utm_source=chatgpt.com). [Data shows 6.8% increase to power bills across households and small businesses](https://www.ea.govt.nz/news/general-news/data-shows-68-increase-to-power-bills-across-households-and-small-businesses/)[Green Party launches plan to cut power bills and take power back from the big energy companies](https://www.greens.org.nz/green_party_launches_plan_to_cut_power_bills_and_take_power_back_from_the_big_energy_companies)[Manifesto 2026](https://www.greens.org.nz/manifesto_2026)[2026 General Election Policies: What they could mean for businesses | New Zealand](https://www.bdo.nz/en-nz/insights/new-zealand/what-could-the-2026-nz-general-election-mean-for-your-business) ### New Zealand First New Zealand First New Zealand First has put forward a particularly direct company-tax proposal. Relevant proposals: - Reduce company tax from 28% to 20% for businesses with annual turnover below $30 million. - Establish a Future Fund of up to $100 billion for long-term infrastructure. - Support additional electricity generation and changes to the electricity market. - Merge BNZ and Kiwibank into a larger Crown-owned bank intended to support businesses and the wider economy. - Strengthen enforcement against organised criminal networks and stolen-goods markets. - Increase the minimum wage and Working for Families support. How this could affect your café The proposed company-tax reduction could be significant if your café operates through a limited company and earns taxable profits. For example: Illustrative company-tax comparison Assuming $100,000 taxable company profit, before any other adjustments. Current 28% rate # $28,000 Tax payable Proposed 20% rate # $20,000 Tax payable ## Gemini Answer ID: 2515d4f6-1950-4fcd-af3b-6d0c0b481dd8 Running a café with a small team while dealing with margin squeezes, soaring power bills, lower consumer spending, and the stress of a break-in is an exceptionally tough position. The major political parties have put forward distinct policy packages for the 2026 New Zealand general election aimed at addressing small business costs, compliance, and community safety. --- ### 1. Cost Pressures & Margins (Tax, Cashflow, and Power) To help with margins and cash flow, parties are taking different routes: * **Labour (Small Business Action Plan):** * **The Policy:** Proposes an immediate asset write-off threshold increase from $1,000 to $10,000 for businesses with under $10 million in revenue (allowing you to immediately deduct the full cost of equipment like a new oven or coffee machine rather than depreciating it over years). They also propose lifting the compulsory GST registration threshold from $60,000 to $80,000 and enforcing strict 15-day payment terms for large corporate clients/government agencies to protect supplier cash flow. * **The Evidence/Rationale:** Backed by small business advocacy groups noting that immediate asset write-offs and delayed GST burdens reduce accounting overhead and improve short-term liquidity for struggling operators. * **National:** * **The Policy:** Focuses heavily on a broad 47-point plan to slash red tape, a commitment to review the compulsory GST registration threshold, and an explicit "no new taxes" approach to fiscal management. For power and overhead costs, National has introduced a multi-point energy plan aimed at tackling structural drivers of high power bills and a "Home/Business Energy Fund" to help entities electrify and lower energy usage. * **The Evidence/Rationale:** Proponents argue that lowering compliance costs and addressing structural energy generation/pricing constraints offers a more sustainable fix to overheads than targeted subsidies. * **New Zealand First:** * **The Policy:** Proposes slashing the company tax rate for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with a turnover below $30 million from 28% down to 20%. * **The Evidence/Rationale:** Aimed directly at retaining capital within small businesses so owners can reinvest in growth or cushion against drops in consumer spending. * **ACT:** * **The Policy:** Focuses on labor market flexibility, including a three-year minimum wage freeze and a lower training wage structure to curb skyrocketing wage inflation for hospitality businesses. --- ### 2. Consumer Spending Direct policy levers to immediately force consumers to spend more at local cafés are limited, as most parties rely on *indirect* macroeconomic relief: * **Tax Relief and Cost-of-Living Focus:** Parties like National and NZ First argue that leaving more money in households' pockets through tax adjustments or dampening inflation will naturally restore discretionary spending for dining out. * **Criticism:** Economic commentators often debate whether broad tax adjustments flow quickly enough to hospitality, or if consumer spending remains constrained until broader interest rate cycles and living costs settle. --- ### 3. Crime, Security, and Retail Safety Experiencing a break-in is deeply violating and adds unexpected repair and insurance costs. * **National:** * **The Policy:** Emphasizes a "law and order" baseline, focusing on tougher sentencing, backing police resources, and addressing retail/commercial crime surges through stricter consequences for repeat offenders. * **The Evidence/Rationale:** Supported by retail and hospitality groups who have reported escalating ram-raids, burglaries, and storefront vandalism in recent years, arguing that deterrence and faster police response times are critical. * **Other Parties:** While various parties offer localized community policing initiatives or social interventions to target the root causes of youth and retail crime, center-right parties (National, ACT, NZ First) lean heavily into harsher penalties and tighter security funding support, whereas center-left parties tend to balance enforcement with social support frameworks. --- ### Summary Checklist for Your Vote When weighing your options at the ballot box, consider which bottleneck is hurting you the most: 1. **If cash flow and equipment upgrading are your killers:** Look closely at policies offering immediate asset write-offs or SME tax cuts. 2. **If wages and compliance are choking your team management:** Look at employment law flexibility, minimum wage freezes, and red-tape reduction. 3. **If security and power overheads keep you up at night:** Look at energy reform plans and law-and-order policy frameworks. *Are you leaning more toward relief on your direct operational taxes and compliance, or are labor costs and retail security your top concerns right now?* ## Google AI Mode Answer ID: 900cc392-df3e-4ee8-9cc0-5996ef45db05 Running a hospitality business under current economic conditions is a balancing act of tight margins, staffing overheads, and external safety pressures. As you weigh your vote in the **2026 New Zealand general election** , different political parties are pitching distinct approaches to address small business costs, consumer spending power, regulatory friction, and retail crime. * * * 1\. Managing Costs & Cash Flow (Food, Power, and Supplier Terms) * **National Party:** Emphasizes economic management aimed at lowering inflation and interest rates to ease household cost-of-living pressures, which they argue will naturally restore consumer spending in hospitality. They point to their existing and ongoing economic settings—such as maintaining the 90-day trial periods and continuing or refining asset investment incentives—to keep operational overheads flexible. * **Labour Party:** Proposes direct interventions on cash flow via their _Small Business First_ package. This includes a legislative requirement for large businesses to pay small suppliers within 15 days for invoices of $25,000 or less (with penalties for repeat late payers), and replacing the low-value asset write-off threshold with an expanded asset write-off scheme up to $10,000. * **NZ First:** Advocates for dedicated tax relief targeting small and medium enterprises, proposing a reduction in the corporate/SME tax rate to 20% for qualifying businesses to directly improve net margins. * **Green Party / Opportunities / ACT:** Focus on alternative structural levers, such as the Green Party’s calls to address supermarket and electricity retail market competition to structurally lower wholesale food and power inputs for hospitality operators. 2\. Regulatory & Employment Costs * **ACT Party:** Focuses heavily on reducing labour market overheads for small businesses. Their proposals include freezing the minimum wage for three years and reducing training minimum wage restrictions for under-20s, alongside setting a tighter 90-day statutory limit for employees to raise personal grievances with the Employment Relations Authority. * **National Party:** Highlights its 47-point small business plan targeting compliance reduction, including replacing the Holidays Act with the _Employment Leave Act_ to simplify leave calculations, and introducing a "First Employee Support Package" to streamline payroll, ACC, and tax compliance for growing teams. * **Labour Party:** Proposes a mandatory "small business test" for new government regulations, requiring agencies and ministers to explicitly evaluate how any new rule or compliance form impacts a local café owner before it is signed off. 3\. Boosting Customer Spending * **Labour & Green Parties:** Propose boosting household disposable incomes from the bottom up through measures like expanded free healthcare access, targeted cost-of-living support, or income-boosting initiatives, arguing that putting money directly into the pockets of regular families drives foot traffic back into local cafes. * **National & ACT Parties:** Argue that the most sustainable way to lift consumer spending is through broad economic enablement, personal income tax relief, and cutting red tape for business growth rather than state-led stimulus, which they contend risks reigniting inflation. 4\. Law, Order, and Retail Crime (Break-ins) * **National Party:** Emphasizes tighter law-and-order policies, backing police resourcing, and targeting repeat offenders with tougher consequences, framing public safety and retail security as essential components of a stable business environment. * **NZ First:** Campaigns on a strict law-and-order platform featuring substantially longer minimum sentences for violent and retail property offenses, aiming to deter repeat burglaries and ram-raids. * **Labour & Green Parties:** Tend to balance punitive justice measures with a focus on addressing the root socioeconomic drivers of crime (such as youth disengagement and support for community-led prevention and security grants), though all major parties recognize retail crime as a critical pressure point for small storefronts. * * * Assessing the Evidence & Making Your Choice * **The Business Case for Cash Flow & Payment Mandates:** Evidence from small business advocacy groups (like BusinessNZ) consistently shows that late payments and compliance drag are major cash-flow killers for independent hospitality. Policies mandating 15-day supplier payments (Labour) or simplifying leave administration (National) offer measurable administrative time-savings, though economists debate whether they fully offset soft consumer demand. * **The Debate on Wages and Overheads:** Pro-business groups often support wage freezes or flexible trial periods (ACT / National) as vital relief for payroll pressures during downturns. Conversely, labour advocates and unions argue that suppressing wages reduces overall consumer purchasing power, inadvertently hurting high-street hospitality foot traffic. Reviewing the specific party manifestos on Policy.nz or the The Spinoff's Business Policy Breakdown can help clarify which of these competing philosophies—direct cost interventions, regulatory rollbacks, or macroeconomic stabilization—best aligns with the day-to-day realities of running your café. ## AI Overviews Answer ID: 1a9cdea6-2c28-4ef2-b677-fbe1934984bb Running a small hospitality business under intense margin pressure—compounded by local retail crime—is a massive challenge. With the **2026 New Zealand general election** scheduled for Saturday, 7 November 2026, political parties are targeting small businesses with distinct relief strategies. Here is how the major parties plan to address your specific points at a national level. * * * 💸 Customer Spending, Relief & Wages To help businesses combat low customer discretionary spending, labor costs, and tax burdens, parties are proposing contrasting operational freezes and tax adjustments: * **National Party:** Has pitched a 47-point small business plan. It retains the **Investment Boost** policy allowing an immediate 20% tax deduction on eligible productive assets and introduces a **First Employee Support Package** to help small operators scale down compliance paperwork. National is also committed to reviewing the **GST registration threshold** , which has been stuck at $60,000 since 2009. * **ACT Party:** Advocates for a **three-year freeze on the adult minimum wage** to directly limit rising hospitality labor costs. They also propose lowering the youth/training minimum wage for workers under 20 down to 60% of the adult rate. * **Labour Party:** Has campaigned on a Small Business Action Plan which automatically raises the **GST registration threshold from $60,000 to $80,000**. To ease cash flow issues, they propose forcing large firms and government sectors to pay small suppliers within 15 days. However, Labour maintains that the minimum wage must rise at least in line with inflation each year. * **New Zealand First:** Proposes **slashing the small business corporate tax rate from 28% down to 20%** for any enterprise with a turnover under $30 million, designed to instantly retain earnings within your business. 🍎 Food & Power Costs With operating margins squeezed heavily by supplier inflation and utility spikes, parties take structurally opposite views on the free market: * **ACT Party:** Wants to lower your electricity bill by removing climate target-related mandates (which they claim act as hidden taxes on power bills) and **opening line monopolies to greater market competition**. To tackle food costs, ACT proposes a "one-stop consenting shop" to speed up the opening of competing supermarkets, bypassing strict Resource Management regulations. * **National Party:** Focuses on infrastructure via **Electrify NZ 2.0** , which accelerates permissions for new renewable energy generation to lower commercial grid costs. To target grocery costs, National supports splitting up supermarket land banking. * **Labour Party:** Focuses on anti-price-gouging legislation, allowing regulatory oversight to stop large wholesale food or energy corporations from charging small businesses "excessive prices". They also pledge a three-year freeze on the regional fuel tax to lower overall freight costs. 🔒 Retail Crime & Security Experiencing a break-in is both emotionally and financially draining. The parties are split between stricter judicial sentences and proactive physical deterrents: * **ACT Party:** Focuses heavily on strict criminal sentencing. They propose a mandatory minimum sentence of **at least three years in prison without parole** for individuals convicted of burglary for a third time (the "Three Strikes" expansion). * **New Zealand First:** Similarly targets the judiciary, backing **longer mandatory sentences** for repeat retail thieves and burglars. * **Labour Party & Green Party:** Focus on retail prevention. While Labour points to past funding for anti-crime infrastructure (like fog cannons), they explicitly **oppose citizens' arrest expansions** or allowing untrained retail workers to detain shoplifters due to employee safety risks. The Greens advocate for diversion programs via community-led early intervention. * * * 📊 Direct Comparison Policy Area| National| ACT| Labour| NZ First ---|---|---|---|--- **Tax & Cashflow**| Review GST threshold ($60k); keep 20% asset write-off.| Flat/lower overall tax structure.| Raise GST threshold to $80k; mandate 15-day supply payments.| Slash SME corporate tax rate from 28% to 20%. **Wages & Staffing**| Simplified dispute fast-track; support package for first hire.| Freeze minimum wage for 3 years; lower youth wages.| Increase minimum wage annually with inflation.| Generally aligns with standard coalition wage controls. **Power & Supplies**| Electrify NZ 2.0 (more grid supply).| End lines monopolies; cut rules keeping out new supermarkets.| Outlaw corporate price gouging; freeze fuel tax.| Remove ETS fuel tax additions. **Retail Crime**| Aligns with coalition anti-gang/crime crackdowns.| Three Strikes rules for 3rd burglary conviction.| Protect store floor staff from forced detention escalations.| Mandatory longer sentences for commercial theft. * * * 📜 What Evidence Supports Their Plans? * **The Regulatory/Tax Cuts Argument (National & ACT):** Proponents point to data from an Inland Revenue survey regarding the **Investment Boost** policy, which showed that up to 40% of surveyed businesses either somewhat or significantly increased their capital investment because of immediate deductions. However, the same data showed that a high proportion of micro-SMEs simply weren't aware the scheme existed, demonstrating a disconnect in communication. * **The Supermarket Deregulation Debate:** ACT points to severe delays in local council infrastructure approvals—citing examples where a single supermarket took **11 years and over $3 million just to gain Resource Management consent** —as proof that cutting red tape works. Conversely, independent think tanks like the NZIER have issued warnings that forcefully breaking up grocery structures could actually destroy the economies of scale that keep wholesale food costs lower. * **The Government Procurement Approach (Labour):** Labour points to its past target settings, intending to mandate that **15% of government contracts go to domestic small businesses and startups** by breaking massive federal contracts into bite-sized tenders. To help look deeper into the specific policies that matter most to you, let me know: * Which of these issues—**labor costs, electricity supply, or anti-crime laws** —is your highest priority? * Are you currently structured as a **sole trader** or a **registered company**? * Do you hire **young or seasonal workers** who would be impacted by minimum wage changes?