Breaking news: National wins the election! How will it change New Zealand?

The election that gripped the nation has finally been decided, with National holding a clear lead and declaring victory.

In the early hours of 15 October 2023, Wellington time, the preliminary count for this election showed that National had won 50 seats and was highly likely to form a government with ACT.

Seats won by each party so far, excluding special votes that have yet to be fully counted:

National won 50 seats

Labour won 34 seats

The Green Party won 14 seats

ACT won 11 seats

New Zealand First won 8 seats

Te Pāti Māori won 4 seats

For us in the Chinese community, the highlights of this election were Chinese MP Nancy Lu moving further up the party list and fellow Chinese candidate Carlos Cheung securing a surprise victory in Mt Roskill to enter Parliament. Congratulations to Nancy Lu and Carlos Cheung!

Labour leader and former New Zealand prime minister Chris Hipkins conceded defeat in a speech on election day (14 October), with 85.1% of the vote counted. In his speech, he expressed heartfelt thanks to his Labour colleagues and the family members who had always supported his work. He also expressed gratitude for having had the opportunity to lead New Zealand. Finally, Chris Hipkins congratulated his main rival, Chris Luxon.

Meanwhile, National Party leader Christopher Mark Luxon will also become New Zealand's 42nd prime minister, leading the sixth National government in New Zealand's history.

Before the election, National put forward numerous housing policy promises, attracting considerable attention from people in the property industry. Now that National has won, what changes will New Zealand's property and construction sectors see? And what sort of person is National leader Christopher Luxon?

Today, YIJU answers these questions in turn.

From businessman to politician: a business prodigy from a working-class background

Many people first came to know Christopher Luxon when he became Air New Zealand's CEO. In fact, his business talent may have been in his blood all along. Luxon was born on 19 July 1970 into a working-class family in Christchurch. His father was a sales executive at Johnson & Johnson, and his mother was a psychotherapist and counsellor. As a child, he spent a year living and studying in Howick, Auckland, before returning to Christchurch.

At secondary school, Chris was like most New Zealand students, balancing his studies with fairly basic part-time jobs. He continued working alongside his studies until he graduated from university. This was also when his talents began to emerge: he won a senior debating award and completed a Master of Business Administration.

After graduating, Luxon's expertise in business administration helped him secure a position at the corporate giant Unilever, beginning a career that took him on assignments around the world. He first worked in Wellington in the South Island, before being posted to Sydney, London and other locations as a senior manager. In his 15th year with the company, he became CEO of its Canadian operation.

In 2011, Luxon happened to notice a job advertisement from Air New Zealand. Describing himself as a 'disruptor', he immediately chose to leave his long-standing employer, Unilever, and put himself forward to lead Air New Zealand's international business. The airline's board was ultimately impressed by his experience and drive, and Luxon began leading Air New Zealand through

an internal restructuring and an expansion of its international business.

“Politics is something I have always wanted to do.”

After helping Air New Zealand return to profitability, Chris chose to leave in his 8th year at the airline and prepare for a political career. According to RNZ reporting at the time, his colleagues at Air New Zealand felt he had no particularly obvious political leanings. Chris had even worked with Labour, having been appointed chair of the Business Advisory Council by former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Arden.

“When he decided to enter politics, he was more likely to become a National MP, but I wouldn't say that was absolutely clear. I would say he is a centrist politician,” said Cam Wallace, who had worked closely with Luxon.

But Chris himself said at the time: “My connection with National, or my intention to align with National, has always been fairly clear. That has always been my party.”

After joining National, Luxon took just 409 days to go from MP to party leader. His ideas for shaping National and his political vision for New Zealand gradually came into public view.

The evangelical Christian label he cannot shake

According to a Stuff report in 2021, Luxon said in his maiden speech to Parliament that his Christian faith had shaped his values and given him a purpose in life. He had also faced considerable criticism for his religiously informed opposition to abortion, but stressed that his faith was a personal matter unrelated to politics. Luxon also said people seemed to have accepted that religion must be 'extreme', and he resented being labelled a Christian.

“Having more children helps New Zealand develop”

Rolling out the red carpet for talent

During the election campaign, Luxon said as party leader that National would offer visas to graduates of the world's top 100 universities. This was part of National's plan to revitalise New Zealand's economy, which needed people with drive and ambition. National's immigration spokesperson called the policy a 'red carpet visa'. In a subsequent interview, Luxon said: “National understands that innovation and growth do not come from government itself, but from the hard work, innovation and risk-taking of private-sector entrepreneurs.” Commentators felt that these remarks and policies aptly conveyed National's liberalism and elitism.

The parties' housing policy promises

With National and ACT joining forces to form a government following this election, some of their earlier housing promises may gradually become reality. These include the closely watched withdrawal from medium-density legislation, restoring interest deductibility to increase landlords' income, shortening the bright-line period from 10 years to 2 years, and allowing overseas buyers back into New Zealand.

So what changes might New Zealand see in housing and taxation? YIJU has compiled the following overview.

National's tax policies at a glance:

Increase Working for Families (WFF) tax credits for families with dependent children by NZ$25, and broaden eligibility for the Independent Earner Tax Credit (IETC) for low- and middle-income earners and the FamilyBoost childcare tax rebate;
Introduce new taxes on overseas property buyers and offshore online gambling; increase visa application fees and draw on Emissions Trading Scheme funds;
Scrap Labour's public transport subsidies and its plan to provide 20 hours of free early childhood education (ECE) for two-year-olds;
Abolish Auckland's regional fuel tax;
Return the bright-line test from 10 years to 2 years;
The Clean Car Discount, also known as the 'ute tax'; GST on online services such as ride-hailing and Airbnb, also known as the 'app tax';
Reassess the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's employment survey, the income insurance scheme currently paused by Labour, and Fair Pay Agreements. Phase in interest deductibility for rental properties. The earlier plan to abolish the top tax bracket on income above NZ$180,000 has been abandoned; restore 90-day trial periods.

National's housing policies at a glance:

Allow local councils to retain discretion over whether to implement the Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS), which permit up to 3 homes of fewer than 3 storeys on a residential site without approval;
Make housing growth a priority for transport funding;
Establish a new NZ$1,000,000,000 fund to incentivise local councils to approve residential sections
End the emergency housing policy in Rotorua within two years by increasing the supply of social housing, in line with Labour's policy;
Prioritise long-term residents;
Tighten eligibility criteria for benefit applicants seeking motel accommodation and increase scrutiny of Kāinga Ora, the agency responsible for allocating social housing;
Allow people under 30 to use their KiwiSaver accounts to pay rental bonds; amend the Overseas Investment Act and Income Tax Act to encourage build-to-rent developments;
Restore landlords' right to end tenancies without giving a reason.

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Sources: RNZ and the political parties' official websites