AI, investment, sovereignty and regulation collide…
Technology policies rarely decide New Zealand elections. Yet alongside the debates over tax, health and housing, AI, digital infrastructure and data governance are becoming increasingly important to the economy – and political parties are beginning to articulate their differing views about how technology should shape New Zealand’s future.
“Used well, AI has huge benefits… but we cannot leave it to big international tech companies to decide how it shapes our future,”
The debate extends far beyond the headline grabbing AI and data centres to encompass the broader environment in which organisations adopt technology, invest in new systems, manage data and navigate regulation. And while there is broad agreement – always something of a miracle in election politics – that technology will be critical to improving productivity and economic growth, there is less agreement on how government should encourage that transformation and whether active regulation is required.
At the centre of the divide is the role government should play in enabling technological change.
National and ACT generally favour a lighter-touch approach focused on encouraging adoption and investment. Labour and the Greens place greater emphasis on regulation, oversight and public accountability. NZ First’s digital policies are framed primarily around sovereignty, privacy and national control of strategic digital assets, while the Opportunity Party, currently the potential kingmaker, has put forward one of the most technology-focused economic platforms in the campaign so far.
R&D incentives and tech adoption
One of the clearest differences for businesses lies in investment policy.
National’s Investment Boost allows businesses to immediately deduct 20 percent of the cost of most new assets, including technology, with normal depreciation applying to the remainder. The party has committed to retaining the scheme. ACT supported the policy as part of the coalition and has not proposed any changes. Labour says it would repeal Investment Boost, using a claimed $7.7 billion saving from the program to fund its election promises. But it’s promising to raise the low-value asset write-off threshold from $1,000 to $10,000 allowing eligible small businesses to immediately deduct the full cost of new tools and equipment from their tax bill.
NZ First is proposing accelerated depreciation measures including a 100 percent depreciation rate for business equipment purchases worth up to $20,000.
The differences become even more apparent when looking at how parties would encourage organisations to adopt new technologies.
National supports the existing Research and Development Tax Incentive and has foreshadowed further announcements in the area, while NZ First wants expanded R&D tax credits and a $50m program to match private-sector investment in research, data analytics and advanced manufacturing. It has also floated a lowered – 20 percent – tax rate for SMEs with turnover under $30 million.
Labour’s focus, meanwhile, is less on tax incentives and more on direct investment through public funding mechanisms designed to support innovative firms and direct investment and support mechanisms including a proposed New Zealand Future Fund, an AI small-business fund, startup support programs and an expansion of the AI advisory service launched under the current government.
Labour says returns from the New Zealand Future Fund, inspired by sovereign wealth models like Singapore’s, will be both financial and social – stronger communities, lower costs, more resilient industries and opportunities that keep talent and ideas in New Zealand.’ “That might include backing community renewable energy or high-tech startups.”
The Opportunity Party has adopted the most aggressive tech-investment position. It’s proposing expanding the R&D tax incentive so businesses can claim up to 25 percent tax credit on investments in AI, digital platforms, automation, plant and autonomous equipment. It also wants higher government R&D spending, stronger support for startup incubators and accelerators, and a cross-party accord designed to provide long-term certainty around innovation policy.
The AI and data centre debates
AI has become one of the most visible tech issues of the campaign, although the parties aren’t divided over whether it should be used. Instead, the debate is around how it should be governed.
Both Labour and the Green Party are on the interventionist side, arguing that while AI presents significant opportunities, it also presents risks that can’t be left entirely to market forces or overseas tech companies.
Labour has unveiled a dedicated AI action plan saying it will take an ‘active role in shaping how AI develops in New Zealand, rather than leaving it to a handful of big technology companies to decide’. It has proposed an ‘Office of AI’ within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, promising it will be established from existing resources, rather than being a new layer of bureaucracy. It would be responsible for coordinating AI policy across government, developing ‘proportionate’ standards for responsible AI use, and developing a long-term plan for the New Zealand workforce.
“Used well, AI has huge benefits… but we cannot leave it to big international tech companies to decide how it shapes our future,” Labour leader Chris Hipkins says.
The party has also proposed an online safety regulator, a copyright framework to ensure creators are paid when AI systems use their work, and support for businesses and schools adopting AI and digital technologies. That support includes a $2 million a year AI small business fund, extension of the AI Advisory pilot implemented by the National led government this year to $3 million a year and an AI in Education team to support schools, teachers and students. The Founder and Startup Support Programme would also receive a $4 million a year increase, the party has promised.
The Greens have adopted an even stronger regulatory position. Their recently announced AI policy would prohibit fully automated government decisions that materially affect people’s lives, establish public registers of AI systems used by government agencies, allow citizens to challenge AI-assisted decisions and introduce transparency requirements for AI-generated content. The party has also placed significant emphasis on data sovereignty, privacy protections and limits on surveillance technologies.
“We will take a harm-based approach to digital technology, including social media, AI, and quantum computing, policy that upholds Te Tiriti o Waitangi and protects people’s privacy and online safety,” the party says.
Echoing moves seen in Australia, the party says it will ‘encourage digital systems to allow anonymous use’, remove trackers from publicly funded digital services and limit ID verification for digital services outside government without strong security protections for ID documents.
National, meanwhile has taken a more adoption-focused approach. The government released New Zealand’s AI Strategy and Responsible AI Guidance and has committed $70 million over seven years to an AI research platform. ACT has argued that New Zealand should be a regulatory ‘fast follower’ favouring international alignment over extensive AI-specific regulation.
On the data centre front, National supports continued data centre investment but, in a move similar to that seen in Australia, says it would require new large-scale facilities to bring their own firmed power, applying an ‘additionality test’ so that data centre load is always matched by new generation sufficient to cover it.
Labour also wants rules requiring large data centres to secure their own renewable energy and cover their own infrastructure costs, saying Kiwi households shouldn’t be subsidising the power bills of overseas tech companies.
The Greens have gone further, proposing a one-year moratorium on consenting new AI-focused data centres larger than 50MW while rules covering energy use, water consumption, emissions and community impacts are developed.
NZ First supports sovereign data centres, but says they should not displace domestic energy users or create adverse environmental outcomes.
Sovereignty, social media and digital advertising levies
Questions of digital sovereignty cut across several party platforms.
NZ First has adopted a strong data-sovereignty position, proposing that personal information held by public agencies be stored on servers located in New Zealand. It also supports sovereign data centres and wants a right to privacy added to the Bill of Rights Act. The Greens support Māori data sovereignty frameworks and stronger privacy enforcement, while Labour’s AI policy similarly emphasises New Zealand control over data and decision-making.
Online safety and social media regulation represent another area of clear disagreement.
National’s proposed Online Safety Bill would ban under-16s from major social media platforms and impose substantial penalties on companies that fail to implement age-verification measures. Labour supports the proposal and also wants deepfake regulations, restrictions on ‘nudify’ applications and an independent online safety regulator.
ACT, NZ First and the Greens oppose the social media ban, though for different reasons. ACT argues targeted interventions are more effective, NZ First says responsibility should primarily sit with parents and has called plans for a ban ‘a naive solution to a genuine issue’, saying there is no method that would fulfil that intent without banning BPNs or the use of digital ID to enforce the law. Meanwhile, the Greens favour a Digital Duty of Care regime, algorithmic transparency and stronger platform accountability.
The Greens have also been talking tough when it comes to tax avoidance and offshoring of profits by multinational tech giants ‘such as Meta, Amazon and Microsoft’ promising to crack down on those behaviours. It says it will ‘make big tech companies pay their fair share by enforcing the five percent withholding tax rate on the profits they send offshore’.
NZ First meanwhile is looking to scrap the accredited working visa model and replace it with a shortage-led Skilled Work Visa with entry tied to a named occupation, region and demonstrated need, rather than an employer obtaining accreditation.
Even media policy has developed a technology dimension.
Despite growing concern about the market power of global digital platforms, no major party is proposing a digital advertising levy to support journalism. National continues to weigh options around the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill, Labour has proposed a levy on international streaming services to support local content production, and the Greens have focused on tax avoidance and market dominance among multinational technology companies.
The varied policies come as the Tech Users Association of New Zealand (Tuanz) and Tech New Zealand call for a bipartisan, long-term national technology strategy to prevent policies from shifting with every three-year election cycle. “We can’t afford to reset our national direction every three years while our global competitors move ahead,” says TUANZ chief executive Craig Young. “What’s urgently needed is certainty, coordination and commitment across political lines to deliver a joined-up national strategy.”
For businesses investing in AI, cloud, automation and digital, the election is unlikely to determine whether technology adoption continues. It will, however, influence how that adoption is encouraged, how it is regulated, who pays for the supporting infrastructure and who ultimately controls the data and digital assets that increasingly underpin New Zealand’s economy.
