Making sense of the coalition agreements

Policy prescription or laundry list? The three leaders sign up to the new coalition. (Image: BusinessDesk)

Tue, 28 Nov 2023

Having grizzled for weeks that coalition negotiations were taking far too long, politics-watchers now face a different challenge: working on what the coalition agreements all add up to.At first blush, the degree of detail was impressive.There are eight pages apiece of detailed bullet points in National’s agreement with the Act and New Zealand First parties, covering a very wide set of policy agreements with considerable but not total overlap.It has also since become clear that the shape of the government’s policy agenda cannot be fu...

Subscribe to BusinessDesk

Stay informed on business, government and financial developments across New Zealand.

Deeply researched, twice-edited and fact-checked news
Annual subscribers also receive a complimentary subscription to The Wall Street Journal
Personalised email news alerts, plus gift up to 5 stories a month to non-subscribers

You can cancel anytime with two clicks, an email or a phone call.
Find out more.

We are serious about journalism.

Already a Subscriber ? Sign in here.

Name {{ registerForm.errors.get('name') }}

Email address {{ registerForm.errors.get('email') }}

Phone Number {{ registerForm.errors.get('phone') }}

Job Title {{ registerForm.errors.get('title') }}

Password Minimum password length of 8 characters.
Require at least one upper and lowercase, numeric, and special character. {{ registerForm.errors.get('password') }}

Repeat password {{ registerForm.errors.get('password_confirmation') }}

We had trouble validating your card. It's possible your card provider is preventing us from charging the card. Please contact your card provider or customer support.

Credit Card

Cardholder's name

{{ __(plans[index].name) | capitalize }} {{ plans[index].attributes.old_price | currency }} {{ plans[index].price | currency }}

All subscriptions auto renew but are easy to cancel.

I Accept The Terms Of Service

{{ registerForm.errors.get('terms') }}

Tax: {{ taxAmount(selectedPlan) | currency }}

Total Price Including Tax: {{ priceWithTax(selectedPlan) | currency }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerSeat ? '/ '+ spark.seatName : '' }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerTeam ? '/ '+ __('teams.team') : '' }} / {{ __(selectedPlan.interval) | capitalize }}

Infrastructure

Wellington expressways save $173m a year, report finds

Transmission Gully saves up to 31 minutes in peak times some days, report says.

John Anthony 10:00am

Primary Sector

Co-ops last five times longer than limited liability companies - report

Riley Kennedy 9:30am

The Quiz Free

QuiznessDesk, Friday, Sept 19

Can you get them all correct without cheating?

The Quizmaster 9:15am

Sponsored

Future leaders start by Dreaming Big

How OnBeingBold empowers Year 13 girls at free leadership events.

OnBeingBold

Sponsored

Free AI training blitz targets 10,000 Kiwis

Workshops aim to close NZ’s AI skills gap and boost productivity – no tech skills required.

Sponsored by Lumify

More Economy

Economy

Willis teases new RBNZ governor after GDP drop

Finance Minister Nicola Willis says a new Reserve Bank of New Zealand governor will be announced “very shortly” as she comes under growing pressure to tackle NZ’s economic woes.Economists are calling on the RBNZ to cut the official cash rate (OCR) more aggressively after yesterda...

Staff reporters 9:00am