Tuesday 06 October 2026
Labour has made a nearly
$90 million error in its fiscal plan by incorrectly
recording a $44.8 million cost
(https://www.interest.co.nz/sites/default/files/2026-10/Labour%20Fiscal%20Plan%202026.pdf)
to reverse the Government’s Income Related Rent Subsidy
and Accommodation Supplement changes as a saving.
The
figures in Labour’s fiscal plan appear to use the
Government’s published fiscal impacts without reversing
the signs to account for Labour undoing those
changes.
Between 2026/27 and 2030/31, Labour records a
$44.8 million saving. Reversing the Government’s policy
would instead produce a $44.8 million cost, overstating
Labour’s fiscal position by $89.6 million over the
forecast period.
Taxpayers’ Union Head of Policy
James Ross said:
“Labour won’t open its books and
share its workings, and perhaps this shows why. The more
people pore over its fiscal plan, the more gaps and mistakes
they seem to find.”
“This isn’t some complicated
forecasting dispute. Labour seems to have taken the
Government’s own numbers and forgotten to reverse the
signs when undoing their policy, turning a $44.8 million
cost into a $44.8 million saving.”
“Hiding behind
the defence that its costings were reviewed by consultants
no longer holds water. We saw an almost identical problem
with the Greens getting confused by negative numbers in
their tax plans, and those numbers were externally verified
too.”
“Labour maintains it is confident in its
numbers, and that every policy is properly costed. If
that’s the case, Hipkins would have no problem releasing
his party’s workings and correspondence with Hall Chadwick
for scrutiny.”
Notes
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The Government’s IRRS
reform costings can be found here: www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/newsroom/budget/2026/factsheets/increasing-the-minimum-housing-cost-contribution.html
The
Government’s Accommodation Supplement reform costings can
be found here: www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/newsroom/budget/2026/factsheets/accommodation-supplement-increasing-the-maximum-rates-for-all-areas.html
The
New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is an independent and
membership-driven activist group, dedicated to being the
voice for Kiwi taxpayers in the corridors of power. Its
mission, lower taxes, less waste, more
accountability, is supported by 200,000 subscribed
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