Labour Rules Out Opportunity Party Land Tax, Cites Pay-Equity Contingency and Public-Service Cuts

Finance spokeswoman Barbara Edmonds told Ryan Bridge TODAY that Labour will not adopt the Opportunity Party’s proposed land tax. She reiterated that Prime Minister Chris Hipkins had already dismissed the idea, emphasizing that “it’s not going to happen.”

The New Zealand Herald

Opposition finance spokeswoman Nicola Willis has estimated a gap of roughly $18.2 billion between Labour’s projected revenues and the funding needed for its policies. Labour’s Treasury officials have placed the cost of a pay-equity settlement at about $10 billion. Edmonds said Labour will embed a “sufficient contingency” for pay equity in its fiscal plan, describing the figure as part of ongoing negotiations between unions and employers.

The New Zealand Herald

The government’s current public-service reform mandates baseline savings of 12 percent across most agencies and aims to trim the core workforce to 55,000 full-time-equivalent staff within three years. Edmonds labelled the cuts “disgusting and cruel,” noting they are “arbitrary” and that the Treasury has not yet detailed how the savings will be allocated. She indicated Labour will review the cuts as part of its fiscal plan before any final decision is set.

The New Zealand Herald

Edmonds stressed Labour’s commitment to pay-equity legislation and to maintaining a fiscal contingency for it, while also signaling that the party will reassess the public-service cuts once the full impact on jobs and services is clearer. She framed the government’s approach as one of “contingency” rather than pre-allocating funds, contrasting it with the opposition’s claim that Labour has set aside nothing for these initiatives.

The New Zealand Herald

• “It’s not going to happen, and Chris Hipkins said that later in your show,” — Barbara Edmonds, labour's finance spokeswoman

The New Zealand Herald