Simeon Brown

MP for Pakuranga. Minister of Health, State Owned Enterprises, and Auckland. Auth by S Brown, 120 Pakuranga Road, Auckland. OIAs: [email protected].

[Simeon Brown @SimeonBrownMP]

Michael Wood says the quiet part out loud in the Herald today, admitting he’s campaigning on reintroducing the Ute Tax. But Labour says their CGT is their only new tax. Who is correct - Michael Wood or Chris Hipkins?

[Christopher Bishop @cjsbishop]

Righto

[Christopher Luxon @chrisluxonmp]

Whether reports of Stuart Nash’s resignation as a NZ First candidate are true or not, I am making clear he will not serve as a minister in my government.

After several instances of poor behaviour, some politicians will claim he has changed. His lack of contrition after comments about one of my MPs’ maternity leave this evening shows he hasn’t.

[Simeon Brown @SimeonBrownMP]

A not so rare misstep from Stuart Nash.

[Simeon Brown @SimeonBrownMP]

The Greens' only energy policy is more bureaucracy. Another agency, another layer of cost, and not a single extra watt of power.

It all adds to Labour's $18 billion hidden bill, funded by seven new taxes. Families are already stretched, yet Labour, the Greens, and Te Pāti Māori keep reaching into their pockets.

The Greens' plan isn't just economic vandalism, it's dangerous. When the wind isn't blowing, it will leave families eating cold tinned spaghetti in the dark. That is what happens when ideology is put ahead of keeping the lights on.

National is fixing the basics and building the future. We are cutting the red tape blocking new wind, solar, and geothermal, so more gets built and bills come down, and our Home Energy Fund will make it easier for Kiwis to generate their own cheap power.

[Simeon Brown @SimeonBrownMP]

Did you know New Zealand law doesn't actually define consent? The Crimes Act only lists what consent is not. That puts us out of step with the countries we usually compare ourselves with.

A re-elected National Government will change that. We'll modernise the law so consent must be actively given, meaning there must be a "yes", not just the absence of a "no".

That would make it clear that silence is not consent, and that consent in the past is not consent forever. These are things most New Zealanders already understand. The law should reflect them.

The change would give judges and juries a clear definition to work with. And importantly, it wouldn't shift the burden of proof in sexual cases. The prosecution would still need to prove beyond reasonable doubt that consent wasn't given.

Already National has made stalking a jailable offence, and we've given victims of sexual violence the power to decide on name suppression.

National is focused on fixing the basics in law and order, and modernising our consent laws is the next step.

But our work is far from over.

National will continue to build the future where every New Zealander feels safe - in their communities, in their relationships, and in their own homes.

[Simeon Brown @SimeonBrownMP]

The Green Party has just announced a policy to sign every new employee in New Zealand up to a union automatically, whether they asked for it or not.

If Chloe Swarbrick gets her way, a school leaver starting their first job will be paying fees to an organisation they never chose to be part of, and being forced to join whatever strike action the union decides they want to undertake.

Labour and the Greens’ plan to lift wages and grow the economy? You’re looking at it.

Strikes and disruptions across the New Zealand economy.

Shifts that don’t run. Orders that don’t ship. Businesses that can’t plan past next week. And seven new taxes stacked on top, to pay for Labour’s $18 billion hidden bill.

The only way to stop the radical Labour-Greens-Te Pāti Maori agenda is to party vote National.

[Simeon Brown @SimeonBrownMP]

You know the building site where nothing’s moved in months? Every town’s got at least one 🏗️

There's a fence around it, a faded sign promising something exciting, and a patch of weeds where a shop or an office should be. Most of us drive past and assume the money fell through, or the developer lost interest.

Usually it's neither. Usually it's paperwork.

Here's how it goes. An engineer designs the building. Another engineer peer reviews it. The experts sign off the specialist work, exactly as they're trained to do. Then the whole thing enters a consent process better suited to a standard three-bedroom house, where a council checks the very same work all over again. Not because anything's unsafe, but because the engineer's sign-off doesn't officially count for anything.

Extra checks. Extra paperwork. Extra cost. Extra months. But usually, not one gram of extra safety.

So let's fix that.

The next National Government will deliver two changes to cut red tape and unleash construction.

First, producer statements will get formal status in the Building Act. When a qualified engineer signs off work and meets the requirements, that sign-off counts. No duplicate inspection needed.

Second, a specialist Building Consent Authority for large commercial buildings. One clear, nationally consistent pathway with the right expertise, so a major project no longer waits on whether the local council happens to have a specialist free that month.

Construction employs around 10 per cent of our workforce and makes up at least 6 per cent of our economy. Commercial buildings alone are about $9 billion of consented work every year. When that's stuck in a queue, so is the economy 🔨

🏗️ Qualified engineers sign off, and it actually counts

📋 One clear national pathway for big commercial projects

🏠 Councils freed up to focus on homes and renovations

💼 Less time consenting, more time building and hiring

National has already allowed more overseas building products, sped up inspections, improved liability rules and made earthquake-prone building rules more practical. This is the next step.

What's the empty lot in your town that should've been finished years ago? Tell me in the comments 👇

Faster builds, lower costs, more jobs. It's all part of National's plan to fix the basics and build the future.

Party vote National 🩵

[Simeon Brown @SimeonBrownMP]

Chris Hipkins just told Heather Du Plessis-Allan that Labour hasn’t formed a view on rate caps.

His local government spokesperson already has - they’re opposed to capping rates.

Someone needs to add the leader to the group chat!

[Simeon Brown @SimeonBrownMP]

Picture the scene at Labour HQ. Chris Hipkins holds up National's solar policy, everyone nods along, and agrees it's a good idea. Then Megan Woods leans across the table with the only question Labour ever seems to ask: love it, Chris, but what if we promised the same outcome and just made it cost more?

Well, you don't need to imagine it, because they've just done exactly that.

National has already announced the answer for households wanting to generate their own cheap power – the ☀️🩵 Home Energy Fund ⚡️🔋 – which puts solar and batteries on your roof with nothing to pay up front, repaid gradually as your bill comes down, all for a taxpayer cost of $7 million.

Labour has taken that very idea, reheated it, rebranded it, and landed at the exact same destination for your household, just by a far more expensive road. The one thing they've bolted on is a pile of new subsidies. Your own money, handed back with a ribbon on it. That's how a $7 million idea somehow balloons into a $160 million one.

And how does Labour pay for it all? By raiding the Gas Security Fund, the emergency reserve built to protect jobs and keep the lights on when winter bites and prices spike. Labour would happily drain the country's rainy day fund just to reach an outcome National already offers for a fraction of the cost.

Only Labour could announce National's solar policy but somehow make it cost more while putting the country's energy security at risk.

Even the plug-in solar Labour is taking credit for isn't theirs.

National has had work underway on this for months, long before Labour breathed a word. Many of you saw me post about it right here on Facebook only yesterday.

So let's be clear about what Labour has really delivered. The same two ideas National had already put on the table, dressed up with a $160 million spend-up and paid for by draining the country's energy safety net. All of it piled onto a bill Labour still cannot explain, which in the end means just one thing for you. Higher taxes or more borrowing to foot it.

Labour never changes. More spending, more handouts, more borrowing, and Kiwis left holding the invoice.

National is fixing the basics and building the future. We're helping homeowners and renters generate their own cheap power, clearing the red tape that held it back, and keeping the emergency fund exactly where it belongs, ready for the day the country truly needs it.

The choice has never been clearer.

[Simeon Brown @SimeonBrownMP]

More billboards going up. This one spotted in Woodend!

[Simeon Brown @SimeonBrownMP]

The meatballs made it all the way from Sweden to Auckland. The plug-in solar might soon ☀️

When department stores like IKEA open here, Kiwis get the flatpacks, the little pencils, the famous meatballs, the whole lot. But the one thing that could actually shrink your power bill gets left behind on a shelf in Europe. Because in New Zealand, right now, plugging a solar panel into your own wall is illegal.

Over in Germany, nobody thinks twice about it. A range of stores will happily sell you a plug-in solar kit. You stand it on your balcony, plug it in, and your power bill starts shrinking that same afternoon. More than a million German homes already do exactly this.

So let’s fix that.

The idea is beautifully simple. Plug-in solar - or balcony solar - is a panel or two, a small inverter, and an ordinary three-pin plug. No roof work and no drilling. You plug it in, point it at the sky, and it turns free sunshine into cheaper power while you get on with your day 🔋

And cheaper power is the whole point of this.

If you own your home, it’s the easiest, lowest-cost way yet to start knocking real money off your bill.

If you rent, and nearly a third of Kiwi households do, this one’s for you too. You’ve been locked out of solar for years, not because your roof is wrong, but because it isn’t yours. Plug-in solar doesn’t care whose roof it is, and the day you move out, you unplug it and take your savings with you 📦

Every sunny hour it runs is power you’re not buying from the grid. That’s money staying in your pocket, week after week, year after year.

☀️ Purchase a plug-in solar kit
💡 Turn free sunshine into a smaller power bill
🏠 Own or rent, it works either way
📦 Moving house? Unplug it and bring it along

We’ve got the sun, and other countries have already proven it’s safe and it works. The only thing standing between Kiwis and cheaper power is an old rule that needs to be looked at and changed.

That’s why under National, work is underway to enable plug-in solar where it’s safe to do so. Get the safety standards right, then let Kiwis plug in and start saving.

Would you plug one in? Let me know in the comments 👇

Cheaper power, more choice, and control back in your hands. It’s all part of National’s plan to fix the basics and build the future 🩵

[Christopher Bishop @cjsbishop]

Recurring pattern here. Labour spokesperson announces a policy and Hipkins has no idea about it.

[Simeon Brown @SimeonBrownMP]

You honestly could not make this up.

Tākina – Wellington's $180 million 'white elephant' convention centre – has finally found a tenant worthy of it. Chris Hipkins and the Labour Party.

The poster child for wasteful council spending that disrespected ratepayers, now hosting the party that disrespects taxpayers and still can't explain its funding gap.

And right on cue, Labour's $18 billion funding gap just keeps getting bigger, with yet another unfunded announcement. Worse still, it's a reheat. The very same speech Chris Hipkins served up at Labour's conference three years ago.

National supports Apprenticeship Boost. In fact, we restored it after Labour failed to fund it, one of 21 unfunded programmes left behind by Chris Hipkins.

But let's be clear. This is more spending that will have to be paid for through higher taxes or more borrowing and debt.

Labour had the chance at their election year conference to be upfront with Kiwis about how they would fill their $18 billion funding gap. They didn't even attempt to answer that question.

Instead, they've simply piled another $226 million of spending on top and failed to explain how they would pay for it.

Labour's approach is more spending, more handouts, and more short-term fixes, without addressing the underlying causes of the cost-of-living pressures facing Kiwi families.

National's approach is to control spending, cut waste, and grow the economy so New Zealanders can earn more and get ahead.

The good news is that National's approach is working. The growing economy is set to create 220,000 more jobs and see wages growing faster than prices, which is the only way to address the cost of living long term.

National has a long-term plan to fix the basics and build New Zealand's future. Labour can't even explain how they'll pay for theirs.

[Simeon Brown @SimeonBrownMP]

NZ First has put Chris Hipkins and Labour into Government once before, and they could do it again. The only vote that guarantees a National Government is your party vote for National.

https://t.co/OkdPkjt5UB

[Christopher Luxon @chrisluxonmp]

Many Kiwis want to make the switch to solar but upfront costs have been the barrier.

[Simeon Brown @SimeonBrownMP]

1 in 3 homes in Australia run on solar. Here in New Zealand? Just 3% ☀️

For too long, one thing has blocked Kiwi families from cheaper power. The upfront cost. So the next National Government will help get rid of it.

National’s Home Energy Fund means low-interest, long-term loans for solar, batteries, insulation and more, repaid little by little alongside your rates. No massive bill up front. Just cheaper power, more control over your own home, and the lights staying on when the next storm rolls through 🔋🏡

And we will cut the red tape too, because nobody should need a consent to put solar panels on their own roof.

Cheaper power. A stronger, more resilient New Zealand. That’s how we fix the basics and build the future. Party vote National 🩵

[Simeon Brown @SimeonBrownMP]

You might have seen the latest health target results this week. Here's what they actually mean for you and your family 📊

🩵 More people are getting their elective surgery sooner
🩵 More people are seeing a specialist sooner too
🩵 More kids are getting fully immunised by 24 months
🩵 More cancer patients are starting treatment faster
🩵 More people are moving through ED quicker

Health targets are simple: they're how we measure whether the health system is getting better at the things that matter most – how fast you're seen, how fast you're treated, and whether your kids are protected from preventable disease.

Without targets, there's no accountability. With them, everyone from the Minister down to frontline staff knows exactly what success looks like, and the public can see whether we're delivering.

Behind every improvement is someone like you. Someone who didn't have to wait as long in pain. A parent who got their child's jabs done on time. A cancer patient who started treatment sooner, when it matters most.

It's not just about percentages either – the system is treating more people overall.

💙 Nearly 178,000 specialist assessments completed
💙 Over 51,000 people treated from the elective waitlist
💙 Almost 4,800 people got their first cancer treatment
💙 Nearly 12,000 children were fully immunised at 24 months

That's the whole point of health targets: they keep the system focused on delivery, and accountable to you, the patient.

None of this happens without our doctors, nurses, pharmacists, allied health workers, and other healthcare workers who turn up every day to make it happen. Thank you for everything you do 👩‍⚕️👨‍⚕️

There's still more work to do. But these results show National’s plan to fix the basics is working – so our healthcare system delivers better, faster care for every Kiwi.

[Simeon Brown @SimeonBrownMP]

JUST ANNOUNCED: National will support Kiwi households to move to solar as part of our plan to fix the basics and build the future ☀️🔋🏡

A re-elected National Government will introduce a Home Energy Fund: low-interest, long-term loans for solar, batteries, insulation, and other energy resilience upgrades, repaid alongside side your rates.

We know many Kiwis want to make the switch to solar, but the barrier has always been the upfront costs – and this removes it.

Right now, only 3 per cent of New Zealand households have solar, compared with around 9 per cent in the US and one in three in Australia.

National wants to close that gap to make it easier to generate affordable power, and doing so matters more than ever in a more volatile world, with more severe weather events putting pressure on supply. Giving households greater control over their own power means more families can access affordable energy when prices spike, and keep the lights on during outages.

This builds on National's wider work through Electrify NZ, which is already driving a record pipeline of renewable generation. But there's more to do at the household level, which is why the Home Energy Fund, supported by central government and participating councils, will help finance rooftop solar, batteries, heat pumps, insulation, and other approved upgrades.

This fund has been inspired by the Ratepayer Assistance Scheme long called for by Local Government New Zealand and Rewiring Aotearoa.

National will also make further changes to cut more red tape and planning rules that make it needlessly hard for Kiwis to generate their own power. The current rules are fragmented and inconsistent between councils – Rewiring Aotearoa has highlighted that in one case, a council demanded a water discharge consent for ground-mounted solar simply because rain might run off the panels and could carry bird droppings.

Under the new Resource Management system, small-scale renewables will largely be permitted as of right: rooftop solar without consent, ground-mounted farm solar as a permitted activity, battery storage as of right, and small-scale micro-hydro for on-site use.

National has a plan to fix the basics and build the future. Together, the Home Energy Fund and these consent changes will make it easier and more affordable for Kiwis to generate their own power, while building a more resilient New Zealand 🩵☀️