Finance spokespeople clash over Investment Boost in Queenstown debate
Six finance spokespeople debated tax, investment and retirement policy in Queenstown before an audience of 800 at the ASB Great finance debate, moderated by TVNZ's Jack Tame. RNZ
The line-up was National's Nicola Willis, Labour's Barbara Edmonds, ACT's David Seymour, New Zealand First's Shane Jones, the Greens' Chlöe Swarbrick and the Opportunity Party's Qiulae Wong. Edmonds told the room in her opening remarks she would be the next finance minister.
Willis and Edmonds disagreed on Investment Boost. Willis defended the government's policy. Edmonds would scrap it and replace it with support aimed at small business. Tame asked Edmonds what a business like Coronet Peak, which had used the tax support, would do without it. Edmonds replied: "I don't have to copy Nicola, we are two very different people". Seymour described the Willis-Edmonds exchange as "like two bald men fighting over a comb in the middle there".
Investment Boost started in Budget 2025 as a tax incentive to encourage businesses to invest, grow the economy and lift wages, according to the government. Beehive It passed into law and took effect immediately in May 2025. Beehive The government later said it was changing investment behaviour, bringing projects forward, increasing scale and lifting productivity. Beehive In simple terms, it lowers the after-tax cost of new equipment, like a discount for firms that buy productive assets. Willis has put its cost at $5.5 billion over the forecast period, the years covered in the Budget outlook. RNZ
Labour has rejected Willis' claim about its own costing, while admitting a $90 million error in its calculations relating to the policy. RNZ Labour says its Small Business Action Plan will be fully funded by refocusing Investment Boost and giving more support to small businesses. Labour That includes lifting the tax write-off for equipment or tools bought by small businesses from $1,000. Labour has also proposed requiring big businesses to pay small suppliers within 15 days on invoices of $25,000 or less and to publish how quickly they pay suppliers. Labour
Jones said of the economy: "Look at my beloved fast-track, it's turned into a constipated beast". On local revenue, Wong, Edmonds, Jones and Swarbrick all said yes when asked if they would back a bed tax for Queenstown if in government. A bed tax is a small charge on overnight visitors, paid to the local council. Willis warned Labour would bring in a capital gains tax, a tax on profit from selling assets, and that Swarbrick, who wants a wealth tax, would expand it. All were asked if they backed a cross-party review of superannuation and retirement, New Zealand's state pension settings. Seymour answered yes and Wong expressed support.
Willis has separately signalled she is keen in future on some form of business tax relief. RNZ Willis and Edmonds have also met on RNZ's Morning Report, where they debated the cost of living. Labour has vowed to put a $20-a-week cap on public transport, with a $10-a-week cap outside the main centres. RNZ
The broader context here is that the campaign finance argument is narrowing to whose investment story voters trust. National is asking voters to judge Investment Boost on business uptake and productivity. Labour is asking them to judge it on distribution, and whether the same money would work harder aimed at small firms. The bed tax answers and the support for a cross-party look at superannuation matter for a different reason. They point to pressure points where a finance minister in an MMP Parliament may have to trade policy for votes, on local government funding and on retirement settings that neither major party wants to own alone.
