# Question 54: 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 do parties propose about retail and small-business crime, prevention and policing? Collected 2 November 2026 [NZ Election 2026 · Edition 8 study](https://nzbrands.ai/research/nz-election-2026/editions/8) ## ChatGPT Answer ID: 92e8d4d9-7761-410f-8314-b273bd730fc5 For your café, I would look at this election through two connected questions: 1. Can a government make your premises, staff and customers safer? This includes burglary, ram raids, theft, repeat offending, police response times and crime prevention. 2. Can it help keep your business financially viable? Lower operating costs and stronger customer spending matter because security measures are another expense when margins are already tight. There are some quite significant differences between the parties, particularly over whether the answer to retail crime is tougher enforcement and stronger powers, or prevention, rehabilitation and community investment. The following is a comparison of New Zealand's 2026 election positions, using Retail NZ's election policy tracker, updated party announcements and small-business policy information available as at 1 November 2026. ## 1. What the parties propose on retail and small-business crime The central comparison is based on Retail NZ's published retail crime policy tracker. ### National ![Parliamentary parties - New Zealand Parliament](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/P3l_MCTDhEFmMqOVSQ4NJMBzd_eFKC3vYSx5TGEUXkrZ2gU70maJSvqrXUUckQAd_f25efeHyHHTHD55AZok6TIfF6eF4RWEuIKLGwVHTyW4RZkdiipUoYMC0wWfQlC1-SCKynvOTlqJ8q2Id8eu6IeWa-qLuX98pLkzKqXS-Bo?purpose=inline) National Party Approach: Tougher enforcement, stronger deterrents and more policing. National supports: - Expanding citizens' arrest legislation to allow mechanical restraints. - On-the-spot fines for certain retail offending. - Increasing maximum trespass notice periods from two to three years. - Exploring facial recognition technology to identify repeat offenders. - Strengthening powers available to private security guards. - Introducing move-on orders to address persistent antisocial behaviour outside businesses. National also previously committed $480 million over four years to frontline policing and promised 500 additional police officers by the end of 2025. Its 2026 election programme also proposes a dedicated Auckland Transport Police team, with 50 additional sworn officers for public transport safety. What this could mean for your café: A stronger enforcement approach, potentially making it easier to deal with repeat offenders and persistent antisocial behaviour. However, some proposals involve changes to legislation and safeguards would matter when considering their practical effect. [Retail Crime](https://retail.kiwi/insights-media/election-hub/policy-positions-retail-crime/)[2026 Election Policy](https://www.national.org.nz/policies) ### Labour ![Parliamentary parties - New Zealand Parliament](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/dY_LgyZfjxLz_kJrchPRTRKzXz54YGyAVmSi-Vi3YFG5PIKaTbrVtM36ASJ4vIRAmEC5jkmTLoQRdjAfUGwhNx275MuYaeF8zZl4tLTDHjCf3GI5NTsblpoWWtXIuyXHiqPWXF--4-TXSUsRY4udHUVzMCcfo1eCKQ3YQkSjspE?purpose=inline) Labour Party Approach: Police capacity, crime prevention and safer workplaces. Labour: - Opposes expanding citizens' arrest powers, arguing that untrained retail employees should not be encouraged to physically detain offenders. - Has criticised frontline police numbers. - Previously funded anti-crime infrastructure, including fog cannons. - Had not announced a specific retail crime policy for the 2026 election in Retail NZ's latest detailed assessment. Labour's wider 2026 business programme includes: - A $10,000 instant asset write-off for eligible business investment. - Faster payment of small-business invoices. - An $80,000 GST threshold proposal. - Greater access for small businesses to government contracts. What this could mean for your café: Labour's approach places more emphasis on avoiding dangerous confrontations between staff and offenders, alongside practical business support. However, there is less specific detail about its 2026 retail crime response. [Retail Crime](https://retail.kiwi/insights-media/election-hub/policy-positions-retail-crime/)[Labour's 2026 Election Policies](https://www.labour.org.nz/policy)[Election 2026: What’s on Offer for Small Business?](https://www.businesscentral.org.nz/post/election-2026-what-s-on-offer-for-small-business) ### Green Party ![Parliamentary parties - New Zealand Parliament](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/MXiLeV2FzUtFvt6PUG3ATkjXB5R85eSGDzyoK_ApM9bWoZuoa0U-JZKIy9hos8qHh1Uk4QhJIkYHurpJr0C_4cHlOHMeWBTJAepo7widdzWDuwP--brE3ftyPcQPwy82yEw4YJyTGrzTLp5mjRmzBB5tqm2NL8rDLGXC1KSYKfc?purpose=inline) Green Party Approach: Prevention, early intervention and community-based solutions. The Greens strongly oppose: - Expanded citizens' arrest powers. - New move-on orders. - Expanded trespass powers. Their concerns include: - Increased risks of violence when retail workers physically confront offenders. - Potential racial profiling and disproportionate impacts on Māori and Pasifika communities. - Over-reliance on punitive responses rather than addressing the causes of offending. The Greens advocate funding community-led crime prevention and early intervention. Their wider economic approach also includes supporting local business districts, including proposals addressing commercial rents and long-vacant premises. What this could mean for your café: More emphasis on preventing offending before it happens and addressing underlying social issues. The trade-off is that the party opposes several of the stronger enforcement measures sought by retail businesses. [Retail Crime](https://retail.kiwi/insights-media/election-hub/policy-positions-retail-crime/)[Election 2026: What’s on Offer for Small Business?](https://www.businesscentral.org.nz/post/election-2026-what-s-on-offer-for-small-business) ### ACT ![File:Logo of the ACT New Zealand.svg - Wikimedia Commons](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/kqsCXnrTv-T5JqUcwKkDG248ozy61sBiO3Y_NElrGOzJSJI_FFvh6Yjp6-5N3sR5w8T-poagFpj96c-V7jjk9zjx7yu4yfPlK5y29q7CcKZSb8wE6VWysIKe87zNGSwukl5kVhGuIABvtE_iWPyPBpMif17wM3HXS8tJ6iFQ6hQ?purpose=inline) ACT New Zealand Strongest enforcement-focused proposals Approach: Stronger powers for business owners and security personnel, and tougher consequences for repeat offenders. ACT supports: - Expanded citizens' arrest powers. - A licensing system giving trained security guards additional powers, including reasonable force and consent-based safety searches. - A proposed minimum three-year prison sentence for someone convicted of a third burglary. - Early release incentives for prisoners who learn to read, gain trade skills and achieve qualifications. What this could mean for your café: ACT has some of the most directly relevant proposals for businesses experiencing burglary and repeat offending. Its approach is particularly focused on deterrence and giving trained security personnel greater authority. An important distinction: stronger powers for trained security guards are not the same as encouraging café owners or ordinary employees to physically intervene. [Retail Crime](https://retail.kiwi/insights-media/election-hub/policy-positions-retail-crime/) ### New Zealand First ![File:New Zealand First logo 2017.svg - Wikimedia Commons](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/9cKHxrD18TSGgdJHH_BGpN6330zkH4Xecz18MDmNIekLRLLCOIl8dxbol80UMT-5VwqxA47Z-M1Ub5kPIH-X7s-6KEtEl8uF0S2P0v3W6PMO7RluiqwcRt5FP-w0xhrqXWOvju3ptZ3Nlj7_LeSWvu0BJ0ZontqZWJtS5VGo8d8?purpose=inline) New Zealand First Approach: Targeting organised crime and the networks behind stolen goods. New Zealand First's focus includes: - Dismantling transnational criminal syndicates. - Targeting the black market for stolen retail goods. - Tackling illicit tobacco networks. - Investing in Customs equipment and personnel to support enforcement. What this could mean for your café: Its focus is particularly relevant if theft is connected to organised criminal activity or the resale of stolen goods. Its published retail crime proposals are less directly focused on everyday shoplifting or individual burglaries. New Zealand First has also proposed reducing the company tax rate to 20% for SMEs with turnover below $30 million. [Retail Crime](https://retail.kiwi/insights-media/election-hub/policy-positions-retail-crime/)[Election 2026: What’s on Offer for Small Business?](https://www.businesscentral.org.nz/post/election-2026-what-s-on-offer-for-small-business) ### Te Pāti Māori ![‘Kei te ū pūmau a Oriini me Hana’ rumours dispelled of further MP departures and what next for Te Tai Tokerau – Te Ao Māori News](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/weRNAPH1Spk-2b1TgQ1m1xiPmT1pECw8AgSss9pNk_J6N6xtSw_eZtCOXPEfnX5tNGYJoSqkX_-g9NWIIOKqmqFP6CupOAPEytFRIfN3H3LZEj8fIzu9W9X17rMALEAgRsv8qI5MQihhx4Byuzbmq3_4iRrDKR7-1iurGI22Rss?purpose=inline) Te Pāti Māori Approach: Prevention, rehabilitation and community-led alternatives. Te Pāti Māori: - Opposes expanded citizens' arrest and trespass powers. - Warns that tougher enforcement could disproportionately affect Māori and Pasifika communities. - Advocates moving resources away from ineffective imprisonment and towards prevention, rehabilitation and community-led solutions. What this could mean for your café: A longer-term focus on addressing the causes of crime rather than expanding enforcement powers. There is less detail about specific protections for businesses experiencing burglary. [Retail Crime](https://retail.kiwi/insights-media/election-hub/policy-positions-retail-crime/) ### The Opportunity Party ![](https://images.openai.com/static-rsc-4/KZ1zP60v_ZeHHj3ij4DA2sVh6oX86DHN4x_RGhm63IEKbj8P_3phlgxON0_dzBqruxZt_piBvLSwWYOzxGtRjeiBIDJnBczyBauAihY7VhbFruy9Xq4tPeGbXtvfFHap7T9ZV_eOqtHyttigv_yv7jT6ibug6IoPJMJnJ8SLOeE?purpose=inline) The Opportunity Party Approach: Evidence-based crime reduction. Opportunity advocates a 'Smart on Crime' approach, supporting investment in evidence-based measures to reduce offending. Its position is more focused on effective crime reduction than on expanding citizens' arrest powers. Its broader business programme includes support for innovation, small businesses, fairer retail payment systems and business investment. What this could mean for your café: Potentially greater attention to prevention and long-term reductions in offending, although its specific retail crime commitments are less detailed. [Retail Crime](https://retail.kiwi/insights-media/election-hub/policy-positions-retail-crime/)[Election 2026: What’s on Offer for Small Business?](https://www.businesscentral.org.nz/post/election-2026-what-s-on-offer-for-small-business) ## 2. Side-by-side comparison Here is how the parties compare on the issues most likely to affect a small café. | Party | Stronger enforcement | Prevention and rehabilitation | Direct retail crime proposals | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | National | Strong | Some | Extensive | | Labour | Moderate | Some | Limited 2026 detail | | Greens | Opposes expanded enforcement powers | Strong | Clear position | | ACT | Very strong | Some rehabilitation incentives | Extensive | | NZ First | Strong against organised crime | Less emphasis in retail policy | Focused on criminal networks | | Te Pāti Māori | Opposes expanded powers | Strong | Clear position | | Opportunity | Evidence-based approach | Strong emphasis | Less specific | This is a qualitative comparison of published positions, not an assessment of proven effectiveness. ## 3. What about the financial pressures on your café? Crime is only one part of the problem. Your food costs, electricity bills, labour costs and reduced customer spending can be just as important to whether the business survives. Some of the wider 2026 policies are worth considering alongside crime policy. | Party | Relevant small-business proposals | | --- | --- | | National | 47-point small-business plan, reducing compliance and regulatory costs, reviewing the GST threshold and simplifying government processes | | Labour | $10,000 instant asset write-off, faster invoice payments, proposed $80,000 GST threshold | | ACT | Employment flexibility, regulatory reform and reducing the cost and risk of employing staff | | NZ First | 20% company tax rate for qualifying SMEs with turnover below $30 million | | Greens | Support for local business districts, commercial rent initiatives and competition reforms | | Opportunity | Innovation and small-business support, fairer retail payment systems | | Te Pāti Māori | Māori enterprise development and economic self-determination | Sources: Business Central's 2026 small-business policy comparison and the parties' published election programmes. [Election 2026: What’s on Offer for Small Business?](https://www.businesscentral.org.nz/post/election-2026-what-s-on-offer-for-small-business)[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)[Labour's 2026 Election Policies](https://www.labour.org.nz/policy) One important distinction: a lower company tax rate does not necessarily mean lower tax for every café. Your business structure matters. Similarly, GST threshold changes affect registration and administration, not simply your overall tax bill. ## 4. What I would pay particular attention to as a café owner I would use five practical tests when evaluating the parties. 1. Burglary and repeat offending: Does the party have specific proposals to reduce burglaries and stop repeat offenders returning to businesses? 2. Police response: Does it commit to enough frontline officers, effective investigations and timely responses to business crime? 3. Staff safety: Will its policies protect your employees from having to confront potentially dangerous offenders? 4. Prevention: Does it support practical security measures and address the causes of offending? 5. Business viability: Does it have credible policies to reduce food, electricity, employment and compliance costs, while helping customers retain spending power? I would also ask candidates a question that often gets overlooked: If my café is burgled tonight, what specifically will your government do to improve the likelihood that the offender is identified, apprehended and prevented from doing it again? That is a more useful test than simply asking whether a party is tough on crime. ## 5. Where to check the original policies These are particularly useful resources before voting on 7 November 2026: - [Retail NZ – 2026 Retail Crime party comparison](https://retail.kiwi/insights-media/election-hub/policy-positions-retail-crime/?utm_source=chatgpt.com). Probably the most directly relevant independent industry resource for your circumstances. - [Retail NZ – 2026 Election Hub](https://retail.kiwi/insights-media/election-hub/retail-nz-2026-election-hub/?utm_source=chatgpt.com). Broader retail policy comparisons. - [The Conversation – 2026 Election Policy Tracker](https://stories.theconversation.com/nz-policy-tracker-2026/?utm_source=chatgpt.com). Wider comparisons across party policy areas. - [National's election policies](https://www.national.org.nz/policies?utm_source=chatgpt.com). - [Labour's election policies](https://www.labour.org.nz/policy?utm_source=chatgpt.com). ## My overall assessment There are three broad approaches emerging: - National and ACT: Prioritise enforcement, deterrence and stronger powers to protect businesses. - Labour and NZ First: Offer different combinations of policing, enforcement and practical business support, with NZ First particularly focused on organised crime. - Greens, Te Pāti Māori and Opportunity: Place greater emphasis on prevention, rehabilitation or evidence-based alternatives to punitive enforcement, although Opportunity's approach is less explicitly defined. None of these approaches automatically guarantees fewer break-ins or better business margins. For your decision, I would give considerable weight to whether a party has a credible plan for both sides of the problem: protecting the business you have built and making it financially sustainable to keep employing your team. One final point: I would not assume that retail crime policies automatically translate into better protection for cafés. Ask candidates specifically about hospitality premises, after-hours burglaries, security investment and the practical support available to small businesses after a break-in. ## Gemini Answer ID: 46fa1218-e6d6-4602-a8e3-ced865ef27f5 Running a hospitality business under the dual weight of escalating operating costs (power and food) and the profound stress of security incidents like a break-in is a difficult challenge. In the lead-up to the **2026 New Zealand general election**, political parties have put forward distinct policy packages addressing retail crime, policing, prevention, and broader small-business pressures. Below is an overview of what the major parties are proposing to tackle these issues. --- ### 1. Crime, Policing, and Prevention Parties have taken differing approaches to retail safety, spanning tougher sentencing, frontline support, and expanded powers for non-police personnel. * **National Party:** Focuses heavily on law and order and "fixing the basics". Their approach targets repeat offenders and improving community/public safety infrastructure, aiming to back police resources and ensure stronger legal consequences for property and violent crimes. * **ACT Party:** Has heavily targeted retail and small-business crime with specific proposals. Notably, ACT has proposed creating a formal licensing scheme for **Accredited Security Operators**. This would give trained private security guards expanded, legally-backed authority to manage threats, handle consent-based safety checks, and remove individuals threatening safety in shared spaces or retail environments before police arrive. ACT also pushes for strict mandatory minimum sentences for repeat property offenders (such as serial burglars). * **Labour Party:** Emphasizes a mix of prevention, intervention, and community-led security initiatives. Their framework generally focuses on addressing the root causes of youth and retail crime, providing structured support for at-risk young people, and ensuring police maintain a visible, responsive presence in commercial hubs. * **New Zealand First:** Concentrates on restoring strict law and order, advocating for heightened police visibility, tougher penalties for ram-raids and commercial burglaries, and ensuring that the justice system places a high priority on protecting business owners and victims. --- ### 2. Small Business Support, Costs, and Margins Beyond direct crime prevention, parties have addressed the broader economic squeeze (power, food costs, and declining consumer spending power) impacting hospitality and retail margins: * **Tax Relief and Compliance:** * **NZ First** has proposed lowering the company tax rate for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with turnovers below a certain threshold down to 20%. * **National** emphasizes broad economic management aimed at keeping inflation down, controlling government spending, and cutting red tape (such as streamlining commercial building and compliance consents) to lower overheads. * **Labour** has proposed lifting the GST-registration threshold to give smaller operators more breathing room with compliance, alongside small-business-first frameworks for government procurement. * **Energy and Operating Costs:** * Industry bodies like **Retail NZ** have actively lobbied the 2026 contenders regarding the crippling impact of skyrocketing energy/power prices on bricks-and-mortar stores, calling for structural measures to ease fixed operational overheads. While parties vary on market interventions (such as electricity market reviews or competition settings), cost-of-living and input-cost pressures remain a focal point of debate. --- ### Summary for Your Decision * If you lean toward **tighter law enforcement, harsher penalties for repeat offenders, and structured security frameworks**, the policies from National and ACT (such as ACT's security guard proposals and National's law-and-order focus) will likely align with your priorities. * If you are looking primarily for **direct tax relief on business revenue (like company tax cuts)** or measures targeting input costs and regulatory compliance, parties like NZ First, National, and Labour offer distinct structural adjustments for SMEs. Would you like to explore how specific party tax policies or compliance changes might directly affect your café's bottom line? ## Google AI Mode Answer ID: 392e606c-d65b-4fcc-aaec-d205808086b7 Running a hospitality business under the current economic squeeze—balancing food, power, margin pressures, and the stress of a break-in—is a challenging reality. As you consider your vote at the New Zealand country level for the upcoming general election, the major political parties offer distinct approaches to policing, retail crime prevention, and small-business support. * * * **National (and Government / Coalition Actions)** National’s approach is anchored through its implementation of the Ministerial Advisory Group (MAG) for Victims of Retail Crime and legislative overhauls via the Justice portfolio. * **Citizen’s Arrest & Restraints:** Backed the _Crimes Act Amendment Bill_ , which broadens citizen’s arrest powers (allowing daytime interventions for theft and property offences) and clarifies that reasonable force and mechanical restraints can be used to defend property. * **Penalties & Infringements:** Introduces a formal shoplifting infringement (on-the-spot fine) regime and increases maximum trespass notice durations from two years to three years. * **Frontline Policing:** Pledged and rolled out significant funding for frontline policing, aiming to increase overall police numbers and operational capacity. * **Technology & Tools:** Supports exploring the use of facial recognition technology (FRT) to identify repeat offenders and strengthening powers for private security. **Labour Party** Labour focuses heavily on structural economic relief for small businesses alongside a critical view of shifting physical security burdens onto retail staff. * **Skepticism on Citizen’s Arrest:** Opposes policies that encourage or expand citizen’s arrest and physical intervention powers for shop staff. Labour argues that asking untrained workers to detain shoplifters escalates safety risks and physical danger on the shop floor. * **Frontline Capacity:** Emphasises boosting absolute frontline police numbers and resourcing rather than expanding retail-worker enforcement duties. (During previous terms in government, they also co-funded security infrastructure like fog cannons for vulnerable stores). * **Broader Small Business & Cost Pressures:** Promotes small business policy support, alongside anti-price gouging measures and grocery market reforms aimed at easing supply chain and wholesale food costs for independent operators. **Green Party** The Green Party takes a prevention-first stance that heavily opposes punitive or enforcement-heavy expansions on the shop floor. * **Opposition to Extra Enforcement Powers:** Strongly opposes expanding citizen’s arrest powers, move-on orders, or extended trespass powers, arguing they increase the likelihood of physical conflict and vigilantism. * **Social and Community Intervention:** Argues that retail crime and community offending are symptoms of economic inequality and poverty. They advocate for shifting justice funding into community-led social prevention, mental health, and early intervention programs rather than harsher policing metrics. **ACT and NZ First** * **ACT** strongly aligns with law-and-order tightening, championing stiffer penalties for property crime, backing tools that empower business owners and private security to protect their livelihoods, and emphasizing reduced regulatory friction and compliance costs for small enterprises. * **New Zealand First** emphasizes restoring strict public order, backing frontline police capabilities, and increasing consequences for repeat offenders and burglaries impacting commercial storefronts. * * * **Summary to Help Weigh Your Vote** * If you believe **business owners and staff should be legally empowered** with expanded arrest, restraint, and trespass tools to directly deter offenders while police response catches up, you will find alignment with **National, ACT, and NZ First**. * If you believe that putting the onus on retail/café workers to detain people **creates unacceptable safety risks** and that the focus should strictly be on funding more professional police and addressing the wider cost-of-living/grocery squeeze, you will find closer alignment with **Labour** or the **Greens**. ## AI Overviews Answer ID: b75254ab-8fd2-4eb3-861d-7b15f9599a1b Running a café under compounding overheads, suppressed customer spending, and the violation of a break-in is an incredibly stressful position to navigate. In the **2026 New Zealand general election** , political parties have drawn distinct battle lines over how to handle law and order, specifically regarding retail and small-business crime. The major parties approach the issue through two main philosophies: expanding immediate deterrents and intervention powers on the shop floor, or focusing on systemic, community-led prevention to stop the cycle of reoffending. * * * 🔵 The National Party National focuses on tougher sentencing and increasing the operational tools available to business owners. * **Enhanced Interventions:** National passed the Crimes Act Amendment Bill, which significantly **expanded citizens' arrest powers** , enabling retail workers and security guards to physically intervene and use mechanical restraints (such as zip-ties). They have also backed "move-on" laws to give police more leverage to clear disruptive or intimidating behaviour directly outside storefronts. * **Deterrents & Sentencing:** National has restored the "Three Strikes" regime, introduced a specific shoplifting infringement system, capped sentencing discounts at 40%, and increased maximum trespass notice durations from two to three years. * **Policing:** They have committed funding toward frontline policing targets, boosting foot patrols, and utilising the National Retail Investigation Support Unit to target prolific, high-harm repeat offenders. 🔴 The Labour Party Labour strongly opposes shifting security burdens onto business owners, arguing that pushing untrained staff to perform citizens' arrests introduces extreme safety risks. * **Evidence-Based Prevention:** Labour’s platform relies on **evidence-based crime prevention and early intervention programmes** designed to address the root socioeconomic causes of theft and break-ins. * **Physical Infrastructure:** Their focus for retail security centres on funding defensive infrastructure (such as subsidising fog cannons and security fit-outs) rather than rewriting laws to encourage physical intervention. * **Sentencing & Accountability:** While keeping National's public ban on gang patches in place, Labour rejects punitive strategies like military-style boot camps for youth offenders and aims to reduce crime volumes by investing heavily in youth rehabilitation. 🟡 ACT ACT focuses heavily on empowering private security forces to protect commercial precincts. * **Private Security Expansion:** ACT has proposed significantly **increasing the powers of private security guards** , effectively elevating them to a tier between average citizens and police. Under their plan, guards with specialized training could stop, search, and legally detain offenders for up to 30 minutes while waiting for police. * **Punitive Measures:** They support a complete freeze on the minimum wage to assist small businesses with costs, while advocating for stricter sentencing, including expanding "Three Strikes" to cover burglary offences. 🟢 The Green Party The Greens focus entirely on systemic reform and social safety nets. * **Social Prevention:** The party strongly opposes the expansion of citizens' arrests, move-on orders, and expanded trespass powers, arguing they elevate shop-floor violence and lead to racial profiling. * **Community Resources:** They propose that commercial justice is achieved by fully **funding community-led prevention and wrap-around social services** to eliminate the poverty driving retail theft. ⚫ NZ First NZ First prioritises maximum deterrence and strict post-offence consequences. * **Mandatory Minimums:** Their platform introduces **tougher sentences for serious commercial crimes** , including mandatory minimum sentences, cumulative sentencing for those who offend while on bail, and a minimum three-year sentence for anyone convicted of burglary three times. * **Business Relief:** To offset systemic financial pressures, they also advocate for lowering the SME (Small and Medium Enterprise) tax rate to 20%. * * * If you want to look closely at specific operational details, let me know: * If you want to know more about the rules and police advice regarding **citizens' arrest legislation**. * How the different parties propose addressing your **power and food supply chain costs** (e.g., supermarket duopoly breakups or electricity market reforms). * Details on current **government-funded security allocation grants** for small businesses.