Labour will not work with ACT after the election and considers a coalition with New Zealand First highly unlikely, campaign chairperson Kieran McAnulty has said.
McAnulty told reporters "it won't be ACT, and it's highly unlikely to be New Zealand First the way they're carrying on, but so far, the field remains open".
The position matches the approach Labour leader Chris Hipkins laid out in February, when he told Breakfast that New Zealand First's behaviour was making any deal very difficult without ruling the party in or out entirely. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has repeatedly rejected working with Labour, telling a television interviewer "we're not going with Labour - I haven't been around this long to come on this programme to talk about that sort of wanker question". National and ACT have questioned whether Peters might reverse that stance, pointing to his 2005 and 2017 coalitions with Labour.
McAnulty said Labour probably won't need Te Pāti Māori's support because the party expects to reclaim the Māori electorates. Labour is contesting all seven Māori seats, targeting the six Te Pāti Māori won at the last election. "Probably won't be Te Pāti Māori either, because I suspect we're going to win their seats back," McAnulty said. He rejected the suggestion Labour was attacking a likely coalition partner, saying Labour had never identified Te Pāti Māori as one.
McAnulty did not rule out working with Opportunity and Qiulae Wong, though he said the party first needed to clear the 5% threshold. Opportunity and Qiulae Wong polled at 4.6% in the most recent 1News Verian poll. "I think we're a genuine shot of being able to form a government with the support of one other party," McAnulty said.
Speaking at Labour's annual conference in Wellington, McAnulty criticised the Government for changing electoral law to benefit itself, referring to new rules preventing voters from enrolling in the final days before polling day or on the day itself. "It's there for all to see why this Government have tried to gerrymander things a little bit," he said.
McAnulty committed to reversing the Government's increase in social housing rent contributions from 25% to 30% of tenant income if Labour forms government. "If we're in Government, we will not be fulfilling those ... next year. Absolutely not," he said. The rent increase was announced in Budget 2026 as part of a wider social housing overhaul the Government said would target support better and encourage independence. National's Nicola Willis has estimated the cost of reversing the changes at $542 million over the forecast period, part of what she says is an $18.2 billion gap in Labour's spending plans.