# Question 126: For the 2026 New Zealand general election: What are parties offering on job creation, wages, retraining and employment rights? Collected 2 November 2026 [NZ Election 2026 · Edition 8 study](https://nzbrands.ai/research/nz-election-2026/editions/8) ## ChatGPT Answer ID: 8b578449-9cd3-4a6b-9b50-bc80d486fd79 The key issues to compare are not just how many jobs parties promise to create, but also whether those jobs will pay better, offer secure employment, and give workers opportunities to retrain as the economy changes. For the 2026 election, it is useful to compare parties across four areas: 1. Job creation: Investment, business growth, infrastructure, public-sector employment and support for small businesses. 2. Wages: Minimum-wage policy, pay increases, collective bargaining and the cost of living. 3. Retraining: Apprenticeships, vocational education, skills shortages and support for workers changing careers. 4. Employment rights: Job security, sick leave, redundancy, union rights, minimum standards and protections against unfair dismissal. 1. What the major parties are offering The following comparison covers National, Labour, ACT, the Greens, New Zealand First, Te Pāti Māori and The Opportunity Party (TOP). Overall approach: - Business-led growth and reducing the cost of employing people. - Government investment to create jobs, with stronger worker protections. - Private-sector job growth, business flexibility and less employment regulation. - Good-quality jobs, fair pay and investment in sustainable industries. - Supporting businesses, raising family incomes and protecting economic opportunities. - Building a more productive, innovative and higher-skilled economy. In summary, each party focuses on different aspects of the economy and worker protections, reflecting their unique political platforms and priorities as the elections approach. Voters should consider which approach aligns best with their values and expectations for the future of work in New Zealand. The election is scheduled for 7 November 2026, so these are campaign commitments rather than guaranteed outcomes. Coalition negotiations will also influence which proposals can actually be implemented. ## Gemini Answer ID: d70603bd-29dd-41e0-899a-2dbef6a7be74 For the **2026 New Zealand general election**, political parties have drawn distinct lines across job creation, wages, retraining, and employment rights. The policy platforms reflect a sharp ideological divide regarding labor market regulation, business compliance, and worker protections. --- ### 1. Job Creation & Small Business Support * **National:** Focuses heavily on activation measures for beneficiaries, including cracking down on long-term unemployment with benefit sanctions and work-readiness mandates (such as random drug testing for Jobseeker beneficiaries) to drive people into the workforce. * **Labour:** Proposes targeted job creation and small business measures, including a "Small Business First" procurement target (aiming for 15% of government contracts to go to local small businesses and start-ups), fast-tracking invoice payments for small businesses, and a $10,000 immediate write-off for equipment investment. They also guarantee job offers within the public health system for all eligible New Zealand-trained graduate nurses. * **Green Party:** Advocates for a "Good Jobs for All of Us" framework, focusing public investment heavily on green infrastructure, public transport, and community-led renewable energy projects to create sustainable employment. * **ACT:** Emphasizes deregulation, aiming to reduce the risk and cost of hiring for employers, simplify employment law, and promote digital and software investment to boost business productivity. ### 2. Wages & Income * **National:** Proposes a three-year freeze on the adult minimum wage and the introduction of a lower "Training Wage" (set at 60% of the minimum wage) for workers under 20 during their first 12 months on the job. They also intend to shorten the timeframe for lodging personal grievances to 90 days. * **Labour:** Focuses on pay equity and cost-of-living adjustments, promising to reinstate pay equity legislation within their first 100 days and immediately raise pay for care and support workers. * **New Zealand First (NZF):** Supports raising the minimum wage by at least the rate of inflation and expanding Working for Families tax credits. * **Green Party & Te Pāti Māori:** Push for the minimum wage to be aligned directly with the **Living Wage**, alongside heavier taxation on corporations and wealth to address income inequality. ### 3. Retraining & Skills Development * **Labour:** Proposes expanding the *Apprenticeship Boost* scheme by extending employer payments to two years ($500 a month) and introducing a $1,000 "toolbox grant" to help new apprentices cover initial gear and uniform costs. They also pledge dedicated funding ($21 million annually) for Māori-led trades and workforce training. * **Green Party:** Supports removing youth wage restrictions and scaling up robust support structures for modern apprenticeships and transitioning workers into green industries. * **National:** Places a strong emphasis on targeted industry retraining—particularly addressing severe skill shortages in the health and education sectors—by incentivizing the retention and upskilling of older workers and healthcare professionals. ### 4. Employment Rights & Workplace Law * **Left-Bloc (Labour, Greens, and allied unions):** Strongly advocate for strengthening worker power. Their collective goals include protecting or restoring Fair Pay Agreements, expanding collective bargaining rights (including for contractors), making union access easier via automatic "opt-out" union membership, and repealing recent legislative changes that weaken personal grievances or health and safety protections. * **Right-Bloc (National, ACT):** Focuses on flexibility for employers. This includes supporting 90-day trial periods, streamlining employment dispute resolution processes to lower costs for businesses, and modifying health and safety frameworks to reduce administrative burdens on small businesses. ## Google AI Mode Answer ID: fc2a652a-35b8-4a6a-9203-c6737b1964c1 For the 2026 New Zealand general election (held on 7 November 2026), political parties outlined differing approaches to the labor market, covering job growth, wage structures, workforce training, and employment standards. **New Zealand Labour Party** According to the Labour Party Official Policies and campaign announcements reported by Newswire, Labour’s platform focuses strongly on worker protections and industry-level bargaining: * **Job Creation & Economy:** Proposed grassroots economic support, including a small business plan, expanded apprenticeship support via an expanded Apprenticeship Boost, and targeted backing for Māori skilled work and enterprise. * **Wages:** Pledged to tie the minimum wage directly to inflation, move toward the Living Wage across the public service, and restore pay equity laws with an immediate pay increase for care and support workers. * **Retraining:** Focused on expanding structured industry training initiatives and the Apprenticeship Boost scheme to encourage ongoing skills acquisition. * **Employment Rights:** Promised to reintroduce Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs) for industry-wide minimum standards, roll back recent reductions to leave frameworks, protect collective bargaining, and strengthen health and safety laws—including introducing a corporate homicide offense. **National-Led Government / Incumbent Direction** As outlined in legal and political analyses of the 2026 term by DTI Lawyers, a National-led continuation represents a focus on flexibility for business and regulatory streamlining: * **Job Creation & Economy:** Emphasizes private-sector growth, infrastructure investment, and public-sector fiscal restraint over state-led job creation programs. * **Wages:** Favors moderate, market-aligned adjustments to the minimum wage (which reached $23.95 per hour in April 2026) without tying increases statutorily to inflation mandates. * **Retraining:** Focuses on employer-led vocational training models and industry alignment through regional skills priorities. * **Employment Rights:** Supports the retention of 90-day trial periods, streamlined contracting rules, and maintaining recent reforms to holiday and leave legislation rather than reintroducing industry-wide union bargaining structures like FPAs. **Other Parties (Green Party / ACT New Zealand)** * **Green Party:** Campaigns typically emphasize green job creation in renewable energy and conservation, strengthening individual employment protections, lifting baseline incomes to match the living wage, and expanding access to free retraining and education. * **ACT New Zealand:** Focuses on deregulation of the labor market, opposing industry-wide bargaining or rigid wage mandates, and advocating for greater flexibility in hiring and firing to stimulate enterprise-driven job creation.