Labour unveils economic plan, pledges up to $50m a year for venture capital fund

Labour has released its economic plan, reiterating several previous commitments and announcing that it will redirect up to $50 million a year into Elevate, the state-backed venture capital fund. According to the party's finance and economy spokesperson Barbara Edmonds, the move would allow more innovative businesses to "expand, hire and pay good wages here at home." The funding would come from the Government's overall contribution to the New Zealand Super Fund, which oversees Elevate. Elevate is a government-funded fund-of-funds programme working with around $400 million to allocate into venture capital firms. Last year's Budget allocated an extra $100 million into the fund, with $61 million coming from the Government's Super Fund contribution and $39 million direct from the Government.

Edmonds framed the plan as a response to weak economic conditions, stating that "three years on from National's promise to get things moving, 171,000 Kiwis are out of work, business liquidations are at a 15-year high, and 2000 people are leaving the country every week." Edmonds also said Too many promising companies are forced to move or sell overseas before New Zealanders see the full benefit. These figures are the party's own characterisation and were not independently verified in the source material.

The broader package includes making large businesses pay small suppliers within 15 days, allowing small businesses to claim new tools and equipment immediately up to $10,000, and raising the GST threshold to $80,000. Labour also proposes giving smaller businesses a fairer chance at government contracts, supporting small businesses and start-ups in adopting AI, and expanding the apprenticeship boost to back 30,000 apprentices with a $1,000 tools grant. It would also guarantee every eligible graduate nurse a job and fund school, hospital and housing construction.

On the fiscal side, Labour proposes a "simple, targeted" capital gains tax on investment and commercial property, with all revenue directed to healthcare. It would establish the New Zealand Future Fund to invest in Kiwi businesses and infrastructure, return the books to surplus in 2028/29, restore the Reserve Bank's dual mandate, and create an independent Parliamentary Budget Office. Edmonds said Labour would manage the books carefully and invest "where it makes a difference."