Speech to National Party 2026 Campaign Launch
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
It’s great to be with you here in Auckland today at our 2026 campaign launch.
Before I start, can I acknowledge:
Our President Sylvia Wood and Party General Manager Jo de Joux.
Thank you for your drive and dedication supporting the re-election of a National Government in this the 90th year of our Party.
To my friend and our outstanding Deputy Leader Nicola Willis.
Our country is more prosperous, more secure, and more confident because you’ve been willing to make the tough choices – thank you.
And to all our Ministers, MPs, and candidates with us here today.
Thank you for your sacrifices – the long days and late nights, the time away from home, and for your collective determination to Fix the Basics and Build the Future.
And finally, to our members and supporters with us here today in this incredible venue!
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you for knocking on doors, making calls, and waving signs in the rain, because like me, you know, New Zealand needs a National Government.
While I’m here, can I also acknowledge some people who have made a massive contribution in my own life, over many years.
Mum, Dad, Amanda, William, and Olivia.
The last six years haven’t always been easy. Politics is tough and families feel all of it.
Thank you for your patience, for your support, and above all, for your unconditional love.
They say politics is a team sport. And boy, it’s a big team.
Behind the long hours, the late nights, and the time away from home, are little platoons of loved ones who make big sacrifices.
Mums and Dads. Husbands and wives. Children and grandchildren.
We couldn’t do it without them.
And I don’t just mean our team in Wellington, or our candidates around the country.
Whether you’re a Young Nat, an Indo Nat, a Pacific Blue, a Rural Nat, from our Chinese Group, or a Super Blue, our volunteers work hard.
Damn hard.
And I know how tricky it can be.
Getting to work, picking up the kids, heading to footy practice, running a business, just getting on with life, and still finding the time to don the blue jacket and knock on doors in the rain?
It’s incredible. And it’s what I love about our party.
Like me, each of you, our members and supporters, are utterly passionate about the future of our country.
Like me, you believe our best days lie ahead of us.
And like me, you believe our values are the recipe for success in a less certain and more volatile world.
Six years ago, I left a life in business and came to National because, like you, our party’s values run deep.
Strong families and caring communities.
Equal opportunity.
Competitive enterprise.
Reward for achievement.
Personal responsibility.
And from early on, those values were etched into my family life, too.
Dad worked hard. He left school and worked his way up from Sales Rep to General Manager. Dad taught me to think positively and to never let your circumstances define you or where you’re going in life.
Mum? She’s the best people person I know. She went to university the same year I did to do social work. She taught me to walk across the room and find someone different from me and to understand before I’m understood.
But together, they raised me with a determination that no matter what life throws at you, better days lie ahead.
And when I look out across the room today, I know I’m not alone.
Three years ago, we inherited a country in dire straits.
Inflation at a thirty year high.
Interest rates at their highest since the GFC.
A recession and rising unemployment.
And big deficits.
The nation’s debt had tripled, from $60 billion to $180 billion.
More than half of our young people weren’t turning up to school regularly.
Ram raids were a nightly feature on the news.
Our health system fell apart, and instead of fixing the basics for everyone, Chris Hipkins and Willie Jackson prioritised putting co-governance into the health system through a separate Māori Health Authority.
Instead of cracking down on gang offending, Jacinda Ardern and Chris Hipkins were literally handing out millions of dollars to the Mongrel Mob.
Labour lost the plot.
They spent more. They borrowed more. They taxed more.
And through it all, they lost sight of what really matters.
Your business. Your community. Your family. And your safety.
Now, they’re desperately trying to argue they’ve changed.
Do you believe them? I don’t.
The truth is that in difficult times, our country needed a National government willing to make the tough choices to get New Zealand back on track.
We needed a Minister of Finance with the guts to tackle Labour’s wasteful spending, get the books back in the black, and provide real tax relief for working Kiwis.
We needed a Minister of Justice and a Minister of Police with the guts to end Labour’s appalling track record of lawlessness and smash the gangs
We needed a Minister of Education with the guts to get our kids back to school, bring in a mobile phone ban, and get the curriculum back to the basics of reading, writing, and maths.
We needed a Minister of Trade with the guts to go out in the world and secure new trade deals to make all of us wealthier.
And we needed a Minister of Health with the guts to end Labour’s obsession with co-governance, and prioritise what really matters: more medicines, more surgeries, and more doctors.
You know, and I know, that it’s been a slog.
Our team has worked around the clock, determined to leave a legacy of success for future generations.
Replacing the RMA with a new system based on property rights.
Slashing red tape on farmers, growers, builders, plumbers, and exporters.
Ending Labour’s oil and gas ban and unleashing a tidal wave of new renewable energy.
Championing families with generational education reform, from pre-school to high school, providing every child the best possible shot at the Kiwi dream – even if the unions don’t like it.
Restoring law and order, by cracking down on gangs, putting more Police on the beat, and locking offenders up for longer to keep our community safe.
Negotiating and completing a Free Trade Agreement with India, the largest country in the world and a rapidly growing destination for Kiwi exports.
Building and delivering the infrastructure New Zealand needs to thrive, with more roads, more schools, and more hospitals.
And meanwhile, driving this country back to a financial surplus, so we can pay down Labour’s debt, and secure our future in a more volatile world.
Now after years of hard work, New Zealand is turning the corner.
Our plan, to Fix the Basics and Build the Future, is working.
Exports are booming, tourism is strong, and construction is finally turning around.
Our economy as a whole is growing, faster in the last year than the UK, the US, Australia, Canada, the EU, and Japan.
220,000 new jobs are forecast to be created in the next four years, with wages rising faster than inflation.
Crime has fallen dramatically, with 37,000 fewer victims of violent crime.
Waiting lists for surgeries and emergency care in our hospitals are falling, after they skyrocketed under Labour.
And after years of excuses, our classrooms are filling up. We now have 176,000 children back attending school regularly because we made it a priority.
And it’s extraordinary how little the Labour Party has to offer this election.
Voting opens in four weeks and on the big issues facing New Zealand, Labour has embarrassingly little to say.
On education, their only plan is a new working group.
On law and order? Nothing.
Nothing to say about the lifeblood of our economy – our farmers and growers – and no plan to lift our exports and open new markets.
Nothing to say about fast tracking new energy projects so we can keep growing our economy.
Chris Hipkins says he’s still warming up.
Well, I’ve got one simple message.
You “better start now”.
Because this country needs more than a slogan, it needs a plan.
And Labour doesn’t have one.
I could give you chapter and verse on Labour’s scandalous lack of policy, just a matter of weeks out from election day.
But I’ll cut to the chase.
You can’t afford a Labour Government.
You can’t afford nine new taxes.
You can’t afford an $18 billion hole, with no plan to pay for it.
You can’t afford a four-way coalition with 6 leaders, spearheaded by Chloe Swarbrick and Rawiri Waititi.
You can’t afford to get bribed with your own money.
You can’t afford Chris Hipkins.
Meanwhile, National is campaigning on an ambitious platform to Fix the Basics and Build the Future.
A plan that backs Kiwis at every stage of life.
From the day you’re born, to the day you get your first job, to the day you buy your first home, to the day you retire.
Let me talk you through part of our plan.
At the heart of our party is a belief that New Zealand should be a property-owning democracy.
Where every Kiwi has a real stake in the future of our economy.
And every Kiwi can look forward to a secure retirement.
That’s why we’ll supercharge KiwiSaver.
We’ll make it compulsory and we’ll lift contributions, so every Kiwi retires with a bigger nest egg.
And we’ll start from day one, ensuring every Kiwi kid starts on the road to a secure financial future, with a $1,500 Baby Boost for every child born in New Zealand.
Of course, the first months with a new baby can be challenging. Juggling time away from work and the cost of a larger family can be tough.
Well, in this party, we believe in strong families.
So National will extend paid parental leave to 30 weeks.
We’ll keep your KiwiSaver ticking over while you’re at home with your baby.
And we’ll give Mums and Dads the freedom to take their leave together.
Because how you raise your baby is a choice for your family, not for politicians and bureaucrats.
We also want our young people to build their future right here, in New Zealand.
For a young graduate, their student loan is one of the biggest bills they face.
So, we’ll reduce student loan repayments, and put more money back in the pockets of young graduates.
Every fortnight, that’s money they can use to start a small business, or put towards a deposit on a first house, instead of a ticket to Sydney or London.
And yes, we’ll come down harder on those who rort the system by leaving the country, and trying to avoid their loan altogether.
Of course, we also want those young Kiwis to own a home of their own.
Our planning reforms are already unlocking more housing with record first home buyers.
But too many young couples are still struggling to save for a deposit, even while they do everything right – working hard, paying the rent, and paying for childcare.
So National will open up 5 per cent deposit home loans to thousands more first home buyers.
Of course, to back families, we need a strong economy.
And for a small country at the bottom of the Pacific, that means selling more to the world.
New Zealand is a trading nation.
But trade isn’t just about what leaves our ports. It’s about what comes back into our communities.
More jobs, higher wages, and bigger opportunities.
We’ve already landed deals with India, the UAE, and the GCC.
Now we’re going after New Zealand’s next billion customers – in South America, in Europe, in Africa, and in Asia – so we can keep growing the economy, creating jobs, and lifting wages.
And why does that matter?
Because a strong economy means more money in your community.
A strong economy means a shot at a better life for you and your family.
A strong economy means we can afford cutting edge medicines, world-class schools and hospitals, and the infrastructure we need to keep our country moving.
A strong economy means a future for your children and grandchildren here at home.
If you want that in your heart, you need to vote with your head.
Which brings me to my personal commitment to you.
In 2023, we made promises. And we kept them.
We delivered tax relief for the first time in 14 years.
We got our kids back to the basics, with an hour of reading, writing and maths every day, and phones out of classrooms.
We brought in the biggest planning reforms in a generation, backed our farmers, signed the India FTA, and lifted exports by $20 billion.
National is the party of delivery.
But the job isn’t done yet.
So today, I’m proud to present National’s 2026 pledge card.
Ten commitments. My personal promise to every New Zealander.
Economic growth that delivers new jobs and higher wages.
No new taxes, so you keep more of what you earn.
Compulsory KiwiSaver, with higher contributions and a $1,500 Baby Boost.
Paid parental leave extended from 26 to 30 weeks.
Better school results, by replacing NCEA, regular assessment, and teaching the basics brilliantly.
Tougher consequences for criminals, and more Police patrols.
Faster healthcare and more medicines, on top of the 33 new cancer medicines we’ve already delivered.
Better infrastructure, with Roads of National Significance, new classrooms, and new and upgraded hospitals.
A better deal at the supermarket, by driving more competition.
And the books in surplus, so we don’t saddle our kids with more debt or more taxes.
Chris Hipkins has a slogan.
National has a plan.
I’m running at this election to make that a reality.
And so finally.
Look around the world today.
Wars in Europe and the Middle East. Petrol prices on fire. Rapid technological change and social upheaval.
We can’t control the world. But we can control how we respond.
At this election, New Zealanders have a choice.
A choice between no new taxes with National, and nine new taxes with Labour and their mates.
A choice between careful economic management, and a return to reckless spending.
A choice between a four-way coalition, campaigning to spend more, tax more, and borrow more, and a National-led Government, with a plan to Fix the Basics and Build the Future.
A plan to get the books back to surplus and start paying down Labour’s debt.
A plan to grow the economy and create more opportunity.
A plan for better school results.
A plan to restore law and order.
A plan to deliver faster healthcare and more medicines.
A plan for no new taxes.
If you want a National-led Government at this election, with a plan to Fix the Basics and Build the Future.
Party Vote National.
Thank you.
