Labour leader Chris Hipkins has used his State of the Nation speech to argue New Zealand is at a crossroads, warning that rising living costs, stagnant productivity and accelerating climate impacts are eroding opportunity and driving thousands of New Zealanders overseas.
Speaking to the Auckland Business Chamber, Hipkins said New Zealanders are “working harder than ever and falling further behind,” pointing to higher grocery, power and insurance costs. He criticised the Government for “tinkering around the edges” while 2,000 people leave the country each week, saying nearly 240,000 have departed in the past two years.
Hipkins framed the election-year choice around three priorities: jobs, health and homes. Labour is promising three free GP visits per year for every New Zealander, expanded investment in renewable energy, and a rejection of the Government’s proposed gas import terminal, which he said would “add costs to every power bill in this country for decades to come.”
He also confirmed Labour will pursue a targeted capital gains tax on investment and commercial properties, arguing too much capital is tied up in speculation rather than productive industries. The revenue would support a new “New Zealand Future Fund” aimed at backing infrastructure and innovative local businesses.
Hipkins acknowledged Labour “tried to do too much, too fast” in government, but said the current administration has delivered “higher costs, job losses and a shrinking economy.”
National’s Finance Spokesperson Nicola Willis dismissed the speech as empty rhetoric, accusing Labour of offering “not a single new idea for New Zealand.”
“Two years on from promising a series of policy documents, Hipkins has given another State of the Nation speech with not a single new idea,” Willis said. “It’s pretty sad that the largest party in Opposition has no new ideas for how it will help New Zealanders get ahead.”
Willis said Labour’s capital gains tax proposal shows the party is “set to repeat the same formula of ‘spend more, tax more, borrow more’ that wrecked our economy,” arguing National has spent two years “undoing the damage Labour did.”
She warned a Labour–Greens–Te Pāti Māori government would be “an economic wrecking ball” and said Hipkins must answer “basic questions” to prove Labour won’t jeopardise the recovery.
