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The Alliance Party will be working on its campaign for the 2026 General Election this Saturday 14 February at its National Conference in Christchurch.

Members from across Aotearoa will gather at the Trade Union Centre to ratify the party’s constitution, elect national officers, and confirm the policy platform for the upcoming election.

Alliance Party President Victor Billot says the conference marks a pivotal moment for the political left in New Zealand.

“The Alliance is back to offer a genuine social democratic alternative to the failed policies of the status quo,” says Mr Billot.

“We are seeing record profits for overseas-owned banks and supermarket duopolies while families struggle to pay the bills. The current government has waged war on the majority as we experience surging unemployment and waiting lists, while the entire ‘sorted’ political establishment has refused to challenge the economic structures creating this inequality.”

The Conference will confirm the Alliance’s strategy to stand candidates in key electorates across the country for the General Election on 7 November 2026.

Key agenda items for the Saturday conference include:

• President’s Address: “The Return of the Alliance”
• Policy Platform: Adoption of the “Statement of Intended Policy,” focusing on tax justice, public ownership of assets, free healthcare and education, and secure housing.
• Constitutional Ratification: Updating the party rules to comply with the Incorporated Societies Act 2022.
• Election Strategy: Confirming candidate selection processes and targeted seats.

The Conference will be held in the Helen Kelly Room, Trade Union Centre, 68 Langdons Road, Christchurch, commencing at 10:00 AM on Saturday, 14 February 2026.

Yet again a Kiwi summer has been marred by devastation and tragedy, a natural disaster made worse by decades of failed policies and morally bankrupt decisions by our political class.

National Prime Minister Chris Luxon said, “New Zealand has always had extreme weather. We have always had slips” and that nothing “can stop rain from falling and hills from moving.”

He says the tragedy at Mount Maunganui should not be “politicised” but instead the country should focus on “accountability, not ideology.”

In fact, far from this storm being like the weather we have always had, it was exceptional – off the back of several years now of severe storms.

Tauranga recorded their wettest day on record in the storm last week. In one statement to the press, Professor James Renwick related, “It seems that these days, every storm brings with it orange or red flood warnings and devastation and misery somewhere in the country. Sadly, this is exactly what we expect with a warmer climate that has more moisture in the air.”

In another statement, he was blunter: these frequent storms will “destroy the economy.”

The National-led coalition has slashed funding for initiatives to mitigate and adapt to climate change to pay for tax cuts for their rich mates.

Chris Luxon knows full well the record of his government, hence he is doing what he knows best: trying to put the accountability on someone else.

Meanwhile, in other parts of the East Coast, working people were yet again assaulted by the scourge of slash, forestry waste washed by torrential rain through the valleys amplifying the damage the flooding would otherwise have caused.

Many members of these communities work in forestry, the industry with the highest fatalities in New Zealand. Lax regulation, brought about by decades of free market economics and insider lobbying, has created this appalling legacy of barely-there health and safety and disaster-waiting-to-happen slash.

The problem here goes beyond this current government. Under the previous Labour-led administration, Forestry Minister Stuart Nash was widely criticized for being too cosy with the forestry industry, accepting donations from forestry companies and dragging his feet on an inquiry into the environmental damage caused by slash.

The problem is systemic – Labour and National are both complicit in kicking the can down the road on climate action and protecting the corporations who abuse their workers and damage those same workers’ communities through environmental negligence.

Far from being “non-ideological”, the actions of Labour and National politicians over decades to put the interests of the rich and corporations ahead of both working people and the environment has been driven by their right-wing ideology and politics.

Weather events are a result of natural processes, but in any natural disaster there is the social and political element.

There was nothing inevitable about the loss of life in this instance. The level of damage and devastation can either be guaranteed, or mitigated, through adequate infrastructure investment and planning. Those are human, political decisions made, not blind forces of nature.

The Alliance believes there is a better way. The government should intervene in worker-killing, environment-destroying industries to ensure they operate like the law-abiding citizens everyone else is expected to be.

The Alliance also believes New Zealand must transition the economy away from fossil fuels to create a sustainable, decarbonized society for future generations.

The Alliance Party has welcomed the announcement of the 2026 General Election date of 7 November, saying that it is ready to offer New Zealanders a genuine social democratic alternative to the failed policies of the status quo.

Alliance Party President Victor Billot says the return of the Alliance comes at a critical time as working people are being crushed by a cost-of-living crisis.

This Government has waged war on the majority while rolling out the red carpet for the already wealthy and powerful, he says.

“We have seen a sustained attack on public services, an ongoing housing crisis, and stagnating wages and jobs. It is a government of the rich, for the rich, that shows contempt for the needs of the working people who are the backbone of New Zealand.”

Mr Billot says the Alliance provides a voice for those who have been abandoned by the long-term shift to the right in New Zealand politics.

“We are seeing record profits for overseas-owned banks and supermarket duopolies while families struggle to put food on the table. The political establishment – both the anti-worker Government and a timid and compromised Opposition – refuses to challenge the economic structures that create this inequality.”

“The Alliance is not afraid to say that the system is broken, and we are not afraid to offer real solutions.”

The Alliance is campaigning on bold, practical solutions to the cost-of-living crisis, including:

• Tax Justice: Tax reform to take the tax burden off the working majority and a wealth tax to ensure the super-rich pay their fair share to keep the country running.
• Public Ownership: Halting asset sales and taking back control of our energy, transport and infrastructure to serve people, not private profit.
• Housing for All: A massive investment in state housing.
• Free Public Services: Free healthcare and education, funded by a fair tax system.

“We don’t need tinkering, we need transformation,” says Mr Billot.

“The Alliance is bringing an unapologetic message back to the electorate. New Zealand can be a country where everyone has enough, where our environment is protected, and where the economy operates in the service of the community.”

The Alliance will officially launch its campaign and manifesto at its National Conference in Christchurch on 14 February 2026.

The Party confirmed it will be standing electorate candidates in key seats across the country, ensuring that voters have the chance to cast a vote for real change.

“We invite every New Zealander who is tired of their future being sold out to join us.”