General Election Results 2023

Transport and environmental initiatives:

• EV Charging Stations: an ambitious plan to install 10,000 new EV charging stations by 2030.
• Road User Charging: a shift towards electronic road user charging, beginning with electric vehicles.
• Clean Car Discount: the repeal of the Clean Car Discount by 31 December.

Employment and immigration reforms:

• Examining reforms in health and safety law and the expansion of 90-day trials for all businesses.
• Changes to immigration policies, particularly the Skilled Migrant Category visas.
• Remove median wage requirements from Skilled Migrant Category visas.
• Improvements to the Accredited Employer Work Visa Programme and exploration of an “Essential Worker” mechanism.

Tobacco legislation:

• Both agreements include the repeal of recent amendments to the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act, impacting retail and product regulations.
  
• NZ First agreement specifics:
• Repeal amendments to the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990 and regulations before March 2024, removing requirements for denicotinisation, removing the reduction in retail outlets and the generation ban, while also amending vaping product requirements and taxing smoked products only.
• ACT specifics:
• Repeal the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022 to remove the requirements for denicotinisation and the reduction in retail outlets.  

Workforce development in the automotive sector:

• The continuation of the Apprenticeship Boost scheme.
• Investigate the establishment of an “Essential Worker” workforce planning mechanism to better plan for skill or labour shortages in the long term.

100 day plan:

Both agreements commit to National’s eight-point commitment card, Fiscal Plan, Tax Plan, 100 day plan, and 100 point economic plan (with the exemptions as set out the separate coalition agreements). In our space that was: 

100 day action plan commitments:

• Introduce legislation to remove the Auckland Regional Fuel Tax.
• Cancel planned fuel tax hikes.
• Repeal the Clean Car Discount and Ute Tax by 31 December 2023.
• Issue a draft new Government Policy Statement on Land Transport.
• Stop blanket speed limit reductions and start work on replacing the Land Transport Rule.
• Withdraw Central Government from Let’s Get Wellington Moving.
• Cancel Auckland Light Rail.

Policy commitments:

• Roadside Drug Testing – introducing roadside drug testing using oral fluid testing devices for screening purposes and oral fluid samples for evidentiary purposes.
• Pothole Repair Fund – the establishment of a $500 million Pothole Repair Fund over three years paired with new pavement rehabilitation targets.
• Transport for the Future – building 13 new roads of national significance, delivering four major public transport projects, upgrading existing infrastructure to improve resilience.
• Accelerate NZ – building new roads of national significance to 110kph, reversing blanket speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads, limiting the unnecessary use of road cones and temporary speed limit reductions.
• Supercharge EV Infrastructure – investing $257m over four years to deliver 10,000 public EV chargers by 2030, reviving the UFB funding model to ensure EV chargers are where drivers need them, eliminating the need for resource consent for EV chargers, ending the CCD and Ute Tax.

Leadership and ministerial roles:

Chris Luxon is Prime Minister, Winston Peters is the Deputy Prime Minister for the first 18 months (and Minister of Foreign Affairs), and David Seymour will be Minister for Regulation and will take up the role of Deputy Prime Minister for the second 18 months of the parliamentary term.

Other ministerial portfolios of interest are:

• Simeon Brown – Energy, Transport
• Matt Doocey – Assoc Transport
• Erica Stanford – Education, Immigration
• Penny Simmonds – Tertiary Education and Skills
• Chris Bishop - Infrastructure
• Andrew Bayly – Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Small Business

Cabinet is to be sworn in next Monday, 27 November, with the 54th Parliament to sit for the first time on Tuesday, 5 December.

The MTA will continue to engage with Government ministers and officials to advocate for our members' interests and to seek further clarity on these developments. We encourage you to share your thoughts and concerns with us as the new Government takes office.