Colinxy: Labour’s 2026 Policy - Powered by Unicorn Farts

The Fiscal Strategy That Isn’t a Strategy

Every election cycle produces its share of political fantasy, but Labour’s 2026 offering is something else entirely: a fiscal plan seemingly powered not by numbers, economics, or reality, but by the gaseous emissions of mythical creatures. According to Labour’s own documents, they’ve conceded their policies require $12 billion more in spending, while their so‑called Simple Capital Gains Tax, a rebrand of taxing inflation, is so transparent it’s almost endearing, will raise barely a tenth of that.

Ele Ludemann: Taxing talk

Could Labour be stupid enough to include family homes in a Capital Gains Tax?

Labour’s refusal to rule out taxing the family home is a frightening prospect for ordinary Kiwis, says National MP Chris Bishop.

Christie: The Truth and the Tax Debate

They say there is nothing more certain than death and taxes, but bringing the latter of these matters to the fore in an election campaign is often political suicide. The Greens do it on a regular basis, as a shout-out to their own voters, but the main parties generally know to leave it well alone during the run up to an election. That is why it is so surprising to see taxation as a headline issue in Labour’s current campaign. By telling us what they are not going to do before this election, they are, perhaps unwittingly, telling us what we can look forward to if they are re-elected. And the resignation of the Revenue Minister in a fit of pique because he could not get his way on wealth and capital gains taxes is a sure sign that these policies are on the agenda; and, if Labour wins again, they will be implemented sooner rather than later.

Francesca Rudkin: Is Grant Robertson being undermined by Labour?

Mike Hosking said something interesting to me on Friday, when I was hosting Early Edition. He told me Labour probably needs Grant Robertson to quit now- because how does a Finance Minister sell something he doesn’t believe in? This is of course a result of the Prime Minister making all the calls on the Labour Government’s tax policies.

It may make sense, but can Labour afford to have Robertson, the politician regarded as most likely to succeed Jacinda Ardern if he’d wanted the role, to make a move at this point? How much more destabilising would it be for an already wobbly Labour Government to lose one of their few competent ministers?