Two years of the coalition: what the National, ACT and NZ First Government has done, and where it has stumbled

Since taking office in November 2023, the National led coalition with ACT and New Zealand First has moved fast on reversals, law and order, and a “back-to-basics” economic pitch. That speed has delivered clear, trackable change in several areas. It has also created political blowback, implementation issues, and a few high-profile retreats.

The big “reset”: repeals, rollbacks, and rewrites

One of the coalition’s defining features is an aggressive unwind of Labour era reforms.

It repeals Fair Pay Agreements early, returning bargaining settings to pre-FPA arrangements. It repeals Three Waters legislation (Water Services Entities and related Acts) and begins replacing it with a different “local water” approach. It repeals the Clean Car Discount (the rebate/fee scheme on vehicle imports) by the end of 2023.

In public health, it repeals key elements of the smokefree “endgame” package under urgency, including the smokefree generation measure, retail reduction, and denicotinisation settings.

In health governance, it legislates to disestablish Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority, with the disestablishment taking effect in 2024.

Cost of living and tax: delivered, but funded with trade-offs

The coalition’s headline “deliverable” is personal income tax relief in Budget 2024, including threshold changes that apply from 31 July 2024 and the FamilyBoost childcare rebate from 1 July 2024.

But one of the central funding pillars promised before the election, a foreign buyers tax, is dropped. RNZ reports it is not progressed and the Budget leans instead on spending cuts, reprioritisations, and more borrowing. That decision becomes a common opposition line: tax relief is “real,” but the financing story is messier than advertised.

On housing tax settings, the Government moves to restore a more investor-friendly regime, including shifting the bright-line test back to 2 years for many property sales from 1 July 2024.

Law and order: tougher tools, with civil liberties questions

The coalition expands “tough on gangs” settings. The Gangs Act 2024 brings a public gang insignia ban plus new dispersal and non-consorting powers, and comes into force in late 2024. Supporters argue it restores public confidence. Critics argue it risks overreach, uneven enforcement, and distraction from underlying drivers of crime.

Infrastructure and development: fast-track becomes the centrepiece

A major structural change is the Fast-track Approvals Act, passed in late 2024, creating a permanent fast-track consenting pathway for selected projects. The Government sells it as cutting red tape and accelerating growth. Critics say it sidelines local input and environmental safeguards, and the policy continues to generate protests and legal and political pressure.

The Treaty and Māori policy: the most divisive front

The coalition era is defined, in part, by fierce debate over Treaty settings. The ACT-backed Treaty Principles Bill reaches a second reading but is then voted down 112–11 in April 2025, after massive submissions and public mobilisation. Even though the bill fails, the episode leaves lasting tension: critics argue it fuels social division; supporters argue it forces long-avoided constitutional arguments into the open.

Delivery problems: where the Government takes hits

Not all challenges are ideological. Some are basic execution.

School lunches become a recurring controversy. A 2025 expert review cited by the Health Coalition finds examined lunches fail nutrition standards and provide only about half the recommended energy for a school lunch, intensifying scrutiny on quality and contracting.

In the public sector, the coalition’s tight fiscal approach and workforce pressure spark major confrontation, including a large-scale strike in 2025 framed by unions as a breaking point for staffing and pay.

Climate and energy: a clear change in direction

The Government’s energy stance shifts toward “security” and supply, including backing new fossil-fuel related moves. In 2025, it votes to lift the 2018 ban on new offshore oil and gas exploration permits, a major reversal that draws international and domestic criticism.

The bottom line so far

If you measure “doing” as passing laws and changing settings quickly, the coalition is one of the most consequential governments in recent years: repeals, restructuring, tougher policing tools, and a new approvals regime are all real and lasting.

If you measure “doing” as lifting living standards and rebuilding confidence in strained public services, the report card is more mixed. The tax package lands, but the funding story and service delivery pressures remain flashpoints. And on Treaty and identity issues, the Government’s era is marked by controversy that, even when it ends in parliamentary defeat, still reshapes the national mood.

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