An expanded chronological timeline (2023–2026) capturing major legislation, complete with critical questions interrogating the government's claims regarding financial savings and job creation. Includes explicit ⚠️ annotations for urgency bills.
Cabinet officially adopts a 49-point 100-Day Plan, triggering the immediate drafting of several pieces of urgency legislation to repeal Labour-era policies.
Repealed the dual mandate of the Reserve Bank. Removed the requirement for the central bank to maximize sustainable employment, forcing it to focus solely on keeping inflation between 1% and 3%.
Abolished the Labour government's framework for sector-wide collective bargaining before any employment agreements had been finalised.
Officially repealed the Clean Car Discount programme, ending taxpayer subsidies for electric vehicles and removing the "Ute Tax" on high-emission vehicles.
Reinstated 90-day work trials for businesses of all sizes, removing the restriction that had limited them strictly to small businesses.
Ministers officially cancelled Auckland Light Rail, Let's Get Wellington Moving (LGWM), the Lake Onslow Pumped Hydro scheme, and the Interislander Ferry upgrade (Project iReX).
The government announced a minimal 2% increase to the adult minimum wage (rising to $23.15 per hour), significantly below the inflation rate.
Removed legal aid funding for Section 27 cultural reports, which are used during sentencing to provide judges with background on an offender's upbringing and cultural context.
Dismantled Te Aka Whai Ora. Its staff and funding were folded back into Health New Zealand (Te Whatu Ora).
Repealed the smokefree endgame measures, scrapping the mandated de-nicotinisation of tobacco, retail outlet reductions, and the generational ban.
Passed legislation requiring owners of light electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids to purchase Road User Charges, ending their previous exemption.
Allowed residential property investors to claim mortgage interest as a tax-deductible expense (phased in to 100% by April 2025).
Delivered the first income tax threshold adjustments in 14 years. Funded by strict baseline cuts across government departments, establishing a hard cap of 55,000 FTEs for the public service (resulting in ~8,700 targeted job losses).
Following the Bill English-led review, the government sacked the Kāinga Ora board and instituted a strict new directive to crack down on rent arrears, aggressively evict disruptive tenants, and prepare to transfer state housing to community housing providers.
Citing a severe $130 million-a-month deficit, the government sacked the Health NZ (Te Whatu Ora) board, installing Lester Levy as Commissioner to drive extreme financial restructuring and hiring freezes.
Passed via urgency, forcing councils that established Māori wards without a referendum to either hold a binding poll at the 2025 elections or abolish them.
Following a sudden freeze on flexible disability funding earlier in the year, the government announced Whaikaha would be stripped of its service delivery functions, transferring the massive disability support budget back to the Ministry of Social Development (MSD).
Facing record wholesale electricity prices, the government abandoned the 100% renewable electricity target, keeping gas/coal generation active and clearing paths for LNG imports to prevent factory shutdowns.
Passed legislation bringing back a revised version of the "Three Strikes" law, enforcing mandatory minimum sentences without parole for repeat violent and sexual offenders.
Passed sweeping legislation to bypass standard RMA and Conservation Act environmental consenting. Included 149 pre-selected projects encompassing massive solar farms, seabed mining, coal mining, and hydro-dams.
Reversed the 2018 ban on new offshore petroleum and gas exploration to address energy security vulnerabilities, with the government considering underwriting the financial risks to attract drillers.
The government overhauled the school lunch program, cutting the per-meal budget from $8 down to $3 to save $130 million annually, outsourcing to commercial suppliers.
Mandated a new "knowledge-rich" National Curriculum based heavily on structured literacy and phonics. Schools must provide consistent, twice-yearly progression reports showing where children sit against national standards.
Stripped out the legal requirement for the child protection agency to explicitly consider the Treaty of Waitangi in its policies and child placement decisions.
Passed via urgency, significantly raising the threshold required for workers to make pay equity claims against employers. Forced 33 existing pay equity claims to be dropped and refiled.
The controversial ACT Party bill advanced to a Select Committee phase, seeking to legally redefine the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, triggering historic nationwide Hīkoi protests.
The Natural Environment Act and Planning Act are drafted to replace the RMA, aiming to end restrictive regulations on geothermal, solar, wind, and housing development.
Ground is broken on several major highway projects. The government pivoted massive funding away from urban rail, walking, and cycling initiatives, directing it entirely toward heavy freight corridors and rural road expansions.
The aggressive enforcement of a "traffic light" sanction system for welfare recipients who fail to meet job-seeking obligations officially goes into effect.
Fisheries Minister Shane Jones restricted public access to on-board camera footage from commercial vessels, altered quota management to prioritize extraction profits, and eased discarding regulations.
Creates new offences for attacks on first responders and "coward punches", expands citizens' arrest powers, and enacts tougher penalties for retail crime.