NZ needs a smaller, more efficient government

Party: ACT

Sender: ACTion I ACT New Zealand <[email protected]>

Date Received: 2026-02-15 18:56

HTML Version

Dear [Name],

This week, ACT set out a clear case for the kind of country New Zealand can be – and the kind of Government it needs.

At his State of the Nation address in Christchurch, David spoke plainly about the challenges facing our country: rising costs, outward migration, and a growing sense that opportunity is getting harder to find.

ACT isn't here to manage the decline. So, David laid out his plan to turn it around: with equal rights, reward for effort, and a smaller, more efficient government.

Here’s how ACT has been telling it like it is – and driving the change 👇

State of the Nation 2026: Telling it like it is

This morning the ACT team was in Christchurch, where David delivered his State of the Nation address to a sold-out room of supporters.

He spoke about the challenges facing New Zealand – rising costs, outward migration, and a growing sense that opportunity is getting harder to find, but also about the choices we can make to turn things around.

David reflected on what ACT has achieved in government over the past two years: cutting waste, improving services, and making sure taxpayers’ money goes further. From faster consenting for medicines and overseas investment to reforms lifting school attendance and restoring efficiency across departments, ACT has focused on practical outcomes and real results.

A key theme looking ahead was the need for a smaller, more efficient Government. Running so many agencies now consumes an enormous share of the economy, while layers of regulation make life harder for businesses and families.

Which is why David announced that this year, ACT will campaign for a smaller, more efficient Government.

Its features would be simple:

No more than 20 ministers – all sitting in Cabinet.
No more than 30 departments – so most ministers are responsible for just one.
No department answering to more than one minister.
No vanity portfolios – just departments with budgets to manage.

Reducing the number of departments and ministers will save money. But more importantly, it will change the purpose of being a minister. No more symbolic titles designed to appeal to narrow interest groups. Instead, one minister will be solely accountable for delivering results from their department – and responsible for every dollar of taxpayer money they spend.

Inquiry into COVID-era money printing

The Government has launched an independent review into the Reserve Bank’s COVID-19 response.

The review – to be released in September – will focus on the central bank’s actions, including cutting the Official Cash Rate to 0.25 percent and printing tens of billions of dollars.

The review’s purpose is to identify key lessons, in light of the following spike in inflation and house prices.

The Reserve Bank has traditionally had a single mandate: controlling inflation. But in 2018, Grant Robertson added a second mandate of encouraging employment. Then came COVID, and the Bank fired up the money printers, and sharply slashed interest rates.

ACT warned at the time that loose money would mean higher inflation, and higher inflation would mean sharply higher interest rates in the long term.

That is exactly what happened.

Inflation surged to 30-year highs. To contain it, rates were hiked aggressively. Mortgage holders, renters, and businesses paid the price and are still paying today.

Extraordinary powers were exercised with little restraint, little scrutiny, and little accountability. ACT has restored the Reserve Bank’s focus on inflation, but an independent inquiry is needed to ensure the same mistakes aren’t made again.

Return to common sense on health and safety a step closer

It’s been a big week for ACT’s Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden, with the first reading of the Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill passing in Parliament – a key step toward reforming New Zealand’s health and safety laws.

The changes in this Bill will make it easier to run a business in New Zealand by increasing certainty and removing fear, helping to ease compliance costs and improve safety outcomes.

Two key ways it does this are by expanding the use of Approved Codes of Practice (ACOPs) and sharpening WorkSafe’s role.

ACOPs give businesses guidance on how to manage health and safety risks. Insead of broad, blunt rules, guidelines are tailored for specific industries and can be more easily updated than regulations.

The Bill will also shift WorkSafe away from expecting every workplace to eliminate every possible risk, and toward focusing on the critical risks businesses must manage to meet their obligations under the Act.

“This frees up businesses to put the resources and efforts they had been using on unnecessary paperwork towards things that not only improve their own organisation, but also contribute to economic growth and quality of life for Kiwis, like creating jobs, promoting workers, and keeping costs low.” – Brooke van Velden

Documentary on Green co-Leader turns into an expensive joke

ACT is often critical about the way NZ on Air chooses to spend taxpayer money. But the saga surrounding a documentary about Chlöe Swarbrick is on another level...

NZ On Air’s $200,000 funding for Being Chlöe was announced in late 2021, with the expectation the film would be released after the 2023 election. Another $20,000 was pitched in by the Film Commission.

Four years later, the film is unfinished. And now Sky has confirmed that it won't be released until after the 2026 election!

Here's what our own Todd Stephenson told the media:

“This film never should have been funded in the first place, but my heart does go out to Chlöe’s fans who now have to wait another nine months or more.

“Sky has made the right call. Releasing a taxpayer-funded film about a politician in an election year would have been very dodgy.

“But it’s ridiculous we’ve got to this point. In 2021, taxpayers funded a film meant showcase our then-youngest MP, climaxing with the 2023 election. It should have been finished two years ago. Now the whole idea is stale.

“Even with taxpayer support, we’re now looking at a production time of five years, from funding to screening. Oppenheimer only took two.

“It raises questions about the level of accountability at NZ on Air. This is the system that Labour wants to prop up with a levy on streaming subscriptions, forcing Kiwis to pay more for Netflix, to fund more films like ‘Being Chlöe’ that can’t attract private funders.”

Karen demands answers from Oranga Tamariki

Imagine a clause in your employment contract that entitles you to “discretionary paid cultural leave”. You get to decide what occasion warrants "cultural" leave, it's unlimited, and it's not subject to managerial scrutiny.

Sadly, you don’t have to imagine, this is the case for Māori staff at Oranga Tamariki, who can apply for discretionary paid leave for cultural reasons, such as attending kapa haka festivals or land claim hearings, which isn’t offered to anyone else.

The clause was negotiated into collective contacts at Oranga Tamariki by the public sector union under the previous government. Now, Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has given her agency a 'please explain'. You can listen to her interview with Mike Hosking on the subject here.

To be clear, ACT opposes race-based leave. And while we cannot tear up contracts signed under previous governments, our ministers can ensure new collective contracts are colourblind, fair, and focused on service delivery.

Get involved

ACT is for everyone. Our MPs are walking in the Auckland Rainbow Parade at 7pm on Saturday 21 February – an event often dominated by the parties of the Left.

So, we’re looking for volunteers to join us.

If you’d like to be part of it and wave the flag for ACT, email our co-ordinator here.

Until next week

ACT runs on people. If you’re able to support our work, by sharing our message, getting involved, or donating – it helps keep that change moving.

Thanks for backing ACT – and for helping to turn New Zealand in the right direction.

DONATE TODAY

[Name], if you like what we're doing, and wish to support us, please consider donating. As a grassroots movement, we rely on the support from Kiwis like you.

This email was sent to [Email]

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Text Version

<https://www.act.org.nz/>Dear [Name], <https://action.act.org.nz/>
This week, ACT set out a clear case for the kind of country New Zealand can be – and the kind of Government it needs.
At his State of the Nation address in Christchurch, David spoke plainly about the challenges facing our country: rising costs, outward migration, and a growing sense that opportunity is getting harder to find.
ACT isn't here to manage the decline. So, David laid out his plan to turn it around: with equal rights, reward for effort, and a smaller, more efficient government.
Here’s how ACT has been telling it like it is – and driving the change 👇
State of the Nation 2026: Telling it like it is
<https://www.youtube.com/live/DWsHbI5PywY morning the ACT team was in Christchurch, where David delivered his State of the Nation address to a sold-out room of supporters.
He spoke about the challenges facing New Zealand – rising costs, outward migration, and a growing sense that opportunity is getting harder to find, but also about the choices we can make to turn things around.
David reflected on what ACT has achieved in government over the past two years: cutting waste, improving services, and making sure taxpayers’ money goes further. From faster consenting for medicines and overseas investment to reforms lifting school attendance and restoring efficiency across departments, ACT has focused on practical outcomes and real results.
A key theme looking ahead was the need for a smaller, more efficient Government. Running so many agencies now consumes an enormous share of the economy, while layers of regulation make life harder for businesses and families.
Which is why David announced that this year, ACT will campaign for a smaller, more efficient Government.
Its features would be simple:
- No more than 20 ministers – all sitting in Cabinet.
- No more than 30 departments – so most ministers are responsible for just one.
- No department answering to more than one minister.
- No vanity portfolios – just departments with budgets to manage.
Reducing the number of departments and ministers will save money. But more importantly, it will change the purpose of being a minister. No more symbolic titles designed to appeal to narrow interest groups. Instead, one minister will be solely accountable for delivering results from their department – and responsible for every dollar of taxpayer money they spend.
Inquiry into COVID-era money printing
<https://action.act.org.nz/sotn26>The Government has launched an independent review into the Reserve Bank’s COVID-19 response.
The review – to be released in September – will focus on the central bank’s actions, including cutting the Official Cash Rate to 0.25 percent and printing tens of billions of dollars.
The review’s purpose is to identify key lessons, in light of the following spike in inflation and house prices.
The Reserve Bank has traditionally had a single mandate: controlling inflation. But in 2018, Grant Robertson added a second mandate of encouraging employment. Then came COVID, and the Bank fired up the money printers, and sharply slashed interest rates.
ACT warned at the time that loose money would mean higher inflation, and higher inflation would mean sharply higher interest rates in the long term.
That is exactly what happened.
Inflation surged to 30-year highs. To contain it, rates were hiked aggressively. Mortgage holders, renters, and businesses paid the price and are still paying today.
Extraordinary powers were exercised with little restraint, little scrutiny, and little accountability. ACT has restored the Reserve Bank’s focus on inflation, but an independent inquiry is needed to ensure the same mistakes aren’t made again.
Return to common sense on health and safety a step closer
<https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/milestone-health-and-safety-bill%E2%80%AFpasses-first-reading>It’s been a big week for ACT’s Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden, with the first reading of the Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill passing in Parliament – a key step toward reforming New Zealand’s health and safety laws.
The changes in this Bill will make it easier to run a business in New Zealand by increasing certainty and removing fear, helping to ease compliance costs and improve safety outcomes.
Two key ways it does this are by expanding the use of Approved Codes of Practice (ACOPs) and sharpening WorkSafe’s role.
ACOPs give businesses guidance on how to manage health and safety risks. Insead of broad, blunt rules, guidelines are tailored for specific industries and can be more easily updated than regulations.
The Bill will also shift WorkSafe away from expecting every workplace to eliminate every possible risk, and toward focusing on the critical risks businesses must manage to meet their obligations under the Act.
“This frees up businesses to put the resources and efforts they had been using on unnecessary paperwork towards things that not only improve their own organisation, but also contribute to economic growth and quality of life for Kiwis, like creating jobs, promoting workers, and keeping costs low.” – Brooke van Velden
Documentary on Green co-Leader turns into an expensive joke
<https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/media-insider/media-insider-taxpayer-funded-chloe-swarbrick-documentary-delayed-again-la-production-firm-distances-itself-from-alex-breingan-says-film-claims-unauthorised/premium/QV642GVJK5EKDLPX6B567Q2RTI/>ACT is often critical about the way NZ on Air chooses to spend taxpayer money. But the saga surrounding a documentary about Chlöe Swarbrick is on another level...
NZ On Air’s $200,000 funding for Being Chlöe was announced in late 2021, with the expectation the film would be released after the 2023 election. Another $20,000 was pitched in by the Film Commission.
Four years later, the film is unfinished. And now Sky has confirmed that it won't be released until after the 2026 election!
Here's what our own Todd Stephenson told the media:
“This film never should have been funded in the first place, but my heart does go out to Chlöe’s fans who now have to wait another nine months or more.
“Sky has made the right call. Releasing a taxpayer-funded film about a politician in an election year would have been very dodgy.
“But it’s ridiculous we’ve got to this point. In 2021, taxpayers funded a film meant showcase our then-youngest MP, climaxing with the 2023 election. It should have been finished two years ago. Now the whole idea is stale.
“Even with taxpayer support, we’re now looking at a production time of five years, from funding to screening. Oppenheimer only took two.
“It raises questions about the level of accountability at NZ on Air. This is the system that Labour wants to prop up with a levy on streaming subscriptions, forcing Kiwis to pay more for Netflix, to fund more films like ‘Being Chlöe’ that can’t attract private funders.”
Karen demands answers from Oranga Tamariki
<https://www.iheart.com/podcast/24837692/episode/322501438/ a clause in your employment contract that entitles you to “discretionary paid cultural leave”. You get to decide what occasion warrants "cultural" leave, it's unlimited, and it's not subject to managerial scrutiny.
Sadly, you don’t have to imagine, this is the case for Māori staff at Oranga Tamariki, who can apply for discretionary paid leave for cultural reasons, such as attending kapa haka festivals or land claim hearings, which isn’t offered to anyone else.
The clause was negotiated into collective contacts at Oranga Tamariki by the public sector union under the previous government. Now, Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has given her agency a 'please explain'. You can listen to her interview with Mike Hosking on the subject here <https://www.iheart.com/podcast/24837692/episode/322501438/
To be clear, ACT opposes race-based leave. And while we cannot tear up contracts signed under previous governments, our ministers can ensure new collective contracts are colourblind, fair, and focused on service delivery.
Get involved
ACT is for everyone. Our MPs are walking in the Auckland Rainbow Parade at 7pm on Saturday 21 February – an event often dominated by the parties of the Left.
So, we’re looking for volunteers to join us.
If you’d like to be part of it and wave the flag for ACT, email our co-ordinator here. <mailto:[Email]>
Until next week
ACT runs on people. If you’re able to support our work, by sharing our message, getting involved, or donating – it helps keep that change moving. <https://action.act.org.nz/donate_warchest>
Thanks for backing ACT – and for helping to turn New Zealand in the right direction.
<https://action.act.org.nz/donate>DONATE TODAY <https://action.act.org.nz/donate>[Name], if you like what we're doing, and wish to support us, please consider donating. As a grassroots movement, we rely on the support from Kiwis like you.
This email was sent to [Email] <https://action.act.org.nz/unsubscribe>
You can update your email preferences here <https://action.act.org.nz/unsubscribe>
Authorised by C Purves, Suite 2.5, 27 Gillies Avenue, Newmarket, Auckland 1023