# New Zealand Labour Party election policy proposals

> Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/new-zealand-labour-party-election-policy-proposals
> Updated: 2026-09-17T19:57:13.000Z. Sources: 4. Developments: 2.

The New Zealand Labour Party has introduced several policy proposals as part of its election platform.

Initially, the party announced a plan to crack down on ‘excessive prices’ for essential goods and services. This policy would grant the Commerce Commission powers to investigate price gouging in sectors such as food, power, and telecommunications, with the potential to force companies to ‘hand back every dollar of excess profit.’ The measures are intended to target large corporations rather than small businesses.

Following this, the party pledged to introduce corporate homicide legislation to hold negligent employers criminally accountable for workplace deaths. The proposal involves amending the Crimes Act to penalize reckless or grossly negligent conduct, with potential penalties including life imprisonment for individuals and fines of up to $10 million for organisations.

## Claims

- The Labour Party has committed to introducing a corporate homicide law if elected in November. (corroborated by 2 sources)
- The proposed law would amend the Crimes Act to create a new offence of corporate homicide. (single source)
- The offence would cover conduct that is reckless or grossly negligent regarding risks to a worker’s life. (single source)
- Convicted individuals could face up to life imprisonment. (single source)
- Organisations could be fined up to $10 million under the proposed law. (single source)
- Convicted directors could be disqualified from running a company. (single source)
- One worker is killed at work every week in New Zealand, and 17 others die from work-related illnesses. (single source)

## Timeline

### 2026-09-17: Labour Party pledges corporate homicide laws in New Zealand

New Zealand's Labour Party has committed to introducing corporate homicide laws to hold negligent employers criminally liable for workplace deaths if elected in November.

2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/labour-party-pledges-corporate-homicide-laws-in-new-zealand

### 2026-09-15: Labour Party proposes crackdown on excessive pricing for essential goods

New Zealand's Labour Party pledges to criminalize excessive pricing for essentials like food and power, empowering the Commerce Commission to penalize large companies and reclaim excess profits.

2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/labour-party-proposes-crackdown-on-excessive-pricing-for-essential-goods

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Cite as: New Zealand Labour Party election policy proposals. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/new-zealand-labour-party-election-policy-proposals