The Alliance is proposing a decisive break with neoliberal economics, putting full employment, productive investment and rising living standards at the heart of monetary policy.
“Aotearoa New Zealand has the people, skills and ideas to build a far more prosperous country. Our financial system should help us realise that potential,” says Alliance list candidate Peter Wilson.
“We want a future where everyone who wants paid work can find a decent job, where we build the homes we need, and where new industries give people the confidence to build a life here.”
The Alliance’s Putting Our Money to Work policy would give the Reserve Bank three objectives of equal standing: price stability, full employment and economic development. It would equip the Bank to direct more finance into the country’s productive future.
“Moving beyond neoliberalism means taking responsibility for the economy we want to build. We can make full employment a national ambition and put the financial tools behind it,” Wilson says.
A Productive Economy Funding Programme would provide lower-cost finance for renewable energy, higher-value exports, health and care, new housing and Māori enterprise. Participating banks would have to pass the savings on to borrowers, with public lenders receiving first access.
That would support investment in electricity generation and storage, new factories and technology, health facilities, and state, community and iwi housing.
“We want our savings helping an engineering firm expand, a community build homes, or a Māori enterprise bring a new product to market. That is how we create skilled work, strengthen our regions and build wealth that lasts.”
The Alliance would gradually tighten lending rules for property investment while supporting new housing and productive lending. Changes would be phased in, with protections for existing owner-occupier loans.
Before raising interest rates or tightening credit, the Reserve Bank would have to explain the likely effects on jobs and productive investment. It would answer publicly for progress on all three objectives.
Australia and the United States already give their central banks employment responsibilities alongside price stability. The Alliance would make economic development an additional, equal objective.
The policy would work towards unemployment below 2%, with below 3% as an intermediate milestone. It proposes an inflation target of 3% within a 2 to 4% band, using a core measure excluding imported fuel, insurance premiums and council rates.
The Reserve Bank would retain operational independence, with programme costs and financial risks reported publicly.
“We can choose an economy that develops our talents, builds our industries and gives everyone a chance to contribute. Putting our money to work is a practical step towards that future.”
The Alliance proposes an independent, non-aligned foreign policy, a peace-focused defence force, nuclear disarmament and stronger Pacific partnerships.
The Alliance
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