It’s the summer holidays and what better time to reflect on the year that has been.
Labour has taken a lot of time to get back to the basics of who we are, getting out around the country and listening to people about what they want to see from us and how we can be a better government when we return in 2026.
That’s important work and we will take the time to listen before we claim to have all the answers.

But there are some things that we won’t ever lose hold of, and those are our values. We won’t budge on being the party for the many, not just those who can afford the best presents at Christmas. That’s why we have already pledged to build the hospital Dunedin needs, scrap National’s tax cut for tobacco companies, and stay out of AUKUS – because we are proud of our independent foreign policy and remaining nuclear-free.

Many New Zealanders will be heading into the holidays hoping to escape from a year of deep service cuts, strange priorities, and broken promises.
But some won’t have that chance to escape, because those cuts have meant they’re out of a job. Some are now finding they are living day to day, they can’t access budgeting services, food grants are harder to get and frontline services have had to turn people away as their funding disappears without good reason.

There are thousands more Kiwis out of work this summer than last, because of the government’s choices. At least 6,000 public servants, 12,000 in the construction sector and tens of thousands of New Zealanders who have chosen to leave the country altogether.
Because while this Government looks after the tobacco and gun lobby and gives tax breaks to those who don’t need it, they’re forgetting working people and failing to protect jobs.
Throughout this year it’s slowly become clearer who National are working for, and it’s not the nurses, teachers, police and firefighters who Nicola Willis claims are paid enough and shouldn’t be allowed to ask for more money – her Government’s changing the law so if they strike, they can have their pay docked.
It’s certainly not the cancer patients who had to revolt after the Budget, calling Nicola Willis and her Government out for forgetting the promises they had made. And it certainly isn’t disabled Kiwis who had their funding slashed without notice. Another Minister lost her job for that, yet the new one has continued the cuts and as yet, done nothing to fix it.

National got elected on promises to fix the cost of living with their much-publicised $250 tax cut, which it turns out is only going to a handful of people. But Labour didn’t have the solutions people wanted at the last election either.
So in the spirit of the holidays, we’ll come together, reflect and of course: organise.

Next year, after hearing from New Zealanders, Labour will start to roll out its alternative plan. When it comes time for New Zealanders to cast their votes in 2026, the Labour Party will reflect what people have told us. We will run on our values, we will look out for one another, and we will be prepared to tackle the big challenges as we have historically done.
So to those who are taking a break, happy holidays. To those who are working through the break, thank you. And to those doing it tough this time of year, we hear you – and we’re working on it.

Hon Jenny Salesa
Labour spokesperson for Ethnic Communities