Hipkins Outlines Policy Platform for Second Term
Labour leader Chris Hipkins is campaigning on his own platform for a second term as prime minister, according to the Otago Daily Times. The publication released an interview with Hipkins regarding his three years as leader of the opposition and his bid to return to power.
Hipkins described the 2023 election as a "learning exercise," noting that Labour suffered a 23% swing against it, dropping from 65 seats to 34. He stated he is "relentlessly focused" on making New Zealand more affordable and preventing costs from rising.
Key policies in Labour’s platform include a 28% capital gains tax on profit from selling investment property, excluding family homes, farms, or businesses. Revenue from this tax would be dedicated to funding three free doctor visits annually for all citizens.
Other proposed measures include forgiving 10% of debt on eligible student loans and implementing a weekly public transport fare cap of $20 in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch, with a $10 cap elsewhere. The party also plans to expand apprenticeship boost scheme funding and raise compulsory KiwiSaver employer contributions to 6% by 2032.
Hipkins claimed that free primary health care would be the "biggest and boldest change" to the health system since Michael Joseph Savage introduced free hospital access. He accused the National Party of making up "absolute outright lies" about tax in billboards, stating they are critiquing taxes Labour is not proposing.
Parliamentary Service Commission Bans Chinese Applications
In a separate development regarding parliamentary security, the Parliamentary Service Commission has banned four Chinese applications from devices connected to the parliamentary network due to cybersecurity risks. The banned applications include DeepSeek, WeChat, Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), and Jianying.
The ban does not apply to MPs' private devices not connected to the parliamentary network. Parliamentary Service Commission CEO Rafael Gonzalez-Montero stated the decision was made after consulting with domestic and international partners and analyzing cybersecurity risks.
Gonzalez-Montero confirmed that ChatGPT is not banned on devices connected to the parliamentary network and that all banned applications will be reviewed regularly. TikTok remains banned on parliamentary devices since March 2023.
Political Reactions to the Digital Ban
The decision has drawn varied responses from across the political spectrum, with National Party members supporting the move while Greens criticized its scope. National Party MP Carlos Cheung said he uses WeChat only on personal devices and supported the ban as an effective measure to reduce potential national risk.
Another National Party MP, Nancy Lu, stated she uses WeChat and Xiaohongshu only on personal devices to communicate with her community and will continue to do so within parliamentary rules. Her comments highlight the distinction between official parliamentary infrastructure and private communication tools used by legislators.
Green Party MP Lawrence Xu-Nan criticized the ban as a political move rather than a technical one, arguing that US applications like Meta and Twitter should face similar scrutiny. His critique suggests concerns about selective enforcement of cybersecurity standards based on the origin of the technology providers.