National and Labour agree on independent election costing unit — but not how to build it
National and Labour agree on independent election costing unit — but not how to build it
National and Labour both support the idea of an independent unit to check election policy costings, but they disagree on how it should work. RNZ reported the agreement on 17 June 2026. The fact that both parties back the principle at all is progress. The real argument is over the details.
This idea has been around for a while. Back in August 2019, the government said an independent costing unit was coming closer, and asked Treasury to work out how to set it up. Treasury published its advice in September 2025. That we're still debating this heading into the 2026 election tells you something — working out the fine details turns out to be hard.
What each party is proposing
The Greens have the most detailed plan: a new Parliamentary Budget Officer who would publicly cost major parties' election policies. This refines a position the Greens have held for some time.
National and Labour haven't settled on one model. Both think independent costings would be useful in campaigns, but they don't agree on key questions: which parties would be covered, who asks the costing unit to do work, whether parties have to use it or can choose to, and how it fits with Parliament's budget team and Treasury.
These aren't just bureaucratic details. Australia's Parliamentary Budget Office, which New Zealand advocates often point to, works as a permanent government body that costs policies when parties ask and publishes them once the election campaign starts. A New Zealand version could work the same way — or quite differently. That choice affects everything from how many staff it needs to what laws would have to change.
Why election costings keep coming up
Elections in New Zealand have a pattern: each party produces numbers for its own policies, the other parties say the numbers don't add up, and voters are left guessing who's right. In August 2023, National's deputy leader Nicola Willis defended National's costings against Labour criticism; Labour disputed them. No one had an independent referee. That scenario — where the public can't trust either side's figures — is exactly what supporters of an independent costing unit want to fix.
Treasury's 2025 report gives both parties a foundation for serious work. But a Treasury report doesn't mean action will follow. The gap between good advice on paper and a bill getting through Parliament is where earlier versions of this idea have got stuck.
What has to happen now
For this to move from both parties saying "good idea" to actual legislation, National and Labour need to agree on how to do it — or find enough common ground to push a bill through with support from other parties. The Greens' PBO proposal is one ready-made option. The question now is whether National and Labour accept its shape, especially if it means every major party's election manifesto has to be publicly costed.
The 2026 election is coming fast. A costing unit that works in time would need a law passed, staff hired, and systems built. That's tight, and leaves little time for long arguments over how to set it up.
Both parties agree the principle is sound. How to build it is still unresolved. That's where the work begins.
