TOP will bring fresh, evidence-informed ideas to Parliament.
We have the courage to fix the foundations rather than simply tinkering at the edges. We will collaborate across parties, businesses, institutions and communities to bring future-focused policies to Aotearoa New Zealand.
Environment
Our environment is our number one asset, but we have been taking it for granted. TOP will take bold and necessary action to provide the environment New Zealanders want: abundant green spaces, child-friendly cities, thriving biodiversity, and healthy oceans. Protecting and restoring our land, air and water is critical for preserving natural environments for future generations as well as sustaining our economy.
TOP will:
support transitions to land-uses that work with local environments, not against them.
ensure that polluters pay for their harm sufficient to restore the environment.
clean up our freshwater and ensure future use is at a sustainable level.
encourage, fund, and upscale the use of nature-based solutions that can achieve our water, biodiversity, and climate change goals, and
eliminate the current fast-track consenting process and reform the RMA to speed up consents while properly protecting the environment.
Climate Disruption
Planning for and preventing climate disruption is an opportunity for us to build resilient natural environments and communities. We need long-term, cross-party ideas that bring certainty for communities, businesses and individuals so they can make the investments needed to limit emissions and to prepare us for a disrupted climate.
TOP will:
fix the emissions trading scheme so it covers all our greenhouse gas emissions and functions properly to reduce them.
discourage mono-culture forest plantations, which are vulnerable to forest fire, lock up the use of productive land, impact biodiversity, and clog waterways in storm events.
recognise coastal and land-based native vegetation (carbon sinks) such as wetlands, peatlands, mangrove forests, seaweed forests, and other non-forest land uses in the emissions trading scheme, with a view to restoring them, and
fund and support local communities to develop climate-resilient townships and cities, including infrastructure that supports active and public modes of transport.
Education
Education underpins understanding and societal cohesion as well as our future prosperity. For too long, our education system has been undervalued and tinkered with by politicians with little experience. TOP sees learning as a lifelong process, and will invest in quality education systems that place learners back at the centre of policy decisions.
TOP will:
pay parents (not corporates) in early childhood education with direct cash supports to give more choice, and contract and regulate providers based on quality of service, especially links to community, educator:child ratios and space availability.
pay qualified teachers well and invest in their professional development with accredited programmes and quality mentoring, assess only for learning and development purposes.
improve specialist support and teaching assistance for high-needs children.
teach civics as a compulsory subject from year 6, and
support lifelong and flexible learning, including funding for community night schools.
Tax and Universal Basic Income
Our tax and welfare systems disincentivise work, drive inequality and keep a shameful number of our children in poverty. No New Zealander should have to go without the basic necessities of life.
TOP will:
pay every New Zealander, including every child, a Universal Basic Income that replaces most benefits.
reduce managed benefits to targeted payments and grants.
remove disincentives for the unemployed to enter work.
tax income at a flat rate.
shift part of the tax burden from income to capital by introducing a land value tax, and
make sure everyone - including low-income families and older people - can access basic services such as primary medical care and dentistry.
Housing
New Zealand has some of the least affordable housing in the world, both for buyers and renters. Entire generations are being locked out of secure long-term housing, and the gains on housing have become a major driver of inequality. The money we pour into housing lowers our standard of living and prevents investment in the productive economy.
Getting our runaway housing market under control requires both addressing the tax imbalances that drive excessive demand, while also building at an unprecedented scale.
TOP will:
correct the imbalanced tax treatment of gains on property with a Land Value Tax.
encourage and support Councils to enable more building: up, not out, and
fund long-term construction of social housing.
Governance and Democracy
Declining participation in both local and national elections reflects a growing disillusionment with our democratic processes, especially among younger citizens. This trend undermines the foundation of our society. To rebuild trust, we need to strengthen the mechanisms that amplify everyone's voice and ensure the integrity of those who govern us.
TOP will:
limit political donations, increase their transparency, regulate lobbying activities, and introduce a comprehensive register of beneficial ownership to prevent undue influence on policymaking.
fully prosecute breaches of electoral finance and other rules: both the private entities that give and the political parties and ministers that receive.
streamline access to official information and implement innovative methods for deliberative democracy, such as citizens' assemblies and digital engagement platforms, to encourage active public participation, and
implement the recommendations of the 2012 Electoral Commission Review of MMP, including lowering the party vote threshold, to create a more representative and fair electoral system.
Health
Our public health system has been systematically underfunded by successive governments and demographic change will only introduce more pressure. To ensure we all receive the level of care we expect, we need to sustainably fund core services. But to avoid ballooning costs in the long term we also need to work smarter - investing early to prevent the serious health conditions that ruin lives and cost our health system dearly.
TOP will:
pay health sector workers properly and increase training places.
properly fund core services such as ambulances and GPs.
innovate to shift system emphasis towards long-term prevention cost-effective models of care, and
reinstate smokefree legislation.
Innovation and Infrastructure
Decades of stagnant productivity growth have left New Zealanders materially poorer than we should be. Relying on housing speculation and unsustainable low-skilled migration has hindered our economic potential. To build a prosperous future, we must shift towards an economy driven by innovation and value creation through strategic investment.
TOP will:
develop a transparent, long-term pipeline of major infrastructure projects—such as modernizing transportation, energy, and digital networks—that are selected apolitically and funded responsibly through government borrowing.
liberalise the overseas investment framework to attract foreign capital that supports local innovators and contributes to the productive economy, while ensuring investments align with national interests.
overhaul the immigration system to focus on attracting skilled migrants who contribute to a high-wage, high-productivity economy, fostering sustainable growth and reducing pressure on housing and public services, and
increase tax credits for businesses investing in R&D and establish stable, long-term funding for core scientific research to drive innovation and support a knowledge-based economy.