Labour’s final report card
We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how Labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card.
| The promise | The result |
| Build 100,000 affordable homesover 10 years | 2,025 built (2.0%) |
| Fund the planting of one billion treesover 10 years | 41.4 million trees funded (4.1%) |
| Govt vehicles emission free by 2026 | 2,693 electric vehicles (15.76%) out of 17,089 |
| End homelessness | Priority A waiting list has increased 481% from 4,054 to 23,568 |
| Net zero emissionsby 2050 | Net emissions increased by 3.2%from 54.0 KT to 55.7 KT |
| Reduce child poverty | The number of children in material deprivation was 139,600 in June 17 and 143,700 in June 23 – an increase of 4.1% |
| Start construction of Dunedin Hospital in 1st term | 0 bricks laid (0.0%) intheir first term |
| Complete light rail from Auckland CBD to Mt Roskill by 2021 | 0 kms done (0.0%) in their 1st and second terms |
| Relocate Government functions to the Regions | Proportion of public service outside Wellington is 2.7% lower than in 2017 (down from 58.3% to 55.6%) |
| 100% renewable electricity by 2035 | Share did increase from 83.7% to 88.1% in Dec 23 or 4.4 percentage points. Under previous government share increased by 18 percentage points. |
| Free tertiary fees (estimated to lead to 15% enrolment boost) | 1st year enrolments dropped 2.7% from 63,695 in 2017 to 61,960 in 2022 |
So in summary:
- Labour achieved 2% of their Kiwibuild target
- Labour achieved 4% of their billion trees target
- Labour achieved 16% of their emissions free government vehicles target
- Labour pledged got end homelessness and the priority A housing waiting list increased 481%
- Labour pledged to cut NZ’s net greenhouse gas emission to zero, but increased them 3.2%
- Labour pledged to reduce child poverty but saw a 4% increase in the number of children in material deprivation
- Labour promised to start construction of Dunedin Hospital in its first term. No bricks were laid.
- Labour promised 13 km of completed light rail in Auckland by 2021. At the end of their second term, a business case wasn’t even completed
- They promised to relocate Government functions to the region and increased the Wellington share of the public service by 3%
- They promised 100% renewable electricity by 2035 and did manage a modest 4% increase in the renewable share compared to an 18% increase under the previous Government
- They said free tertiary fees would lead to a 15% increase in enrolments. 1st year enrolments dropped 3%
In six years they managed to achieve less than the 1st Atkinson Ministry.