Cost of living remains high, as Labour unveils rent-to-buy pathway

Labour deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni is warning that Pacific families are struggling to secure housing, as her party matches National's pledge to widen access to home deposits.

Sepuloni has told PMN News that the Government's cancellation of thousands of public housing projects has hit Pacific people hard.

Green Party Spokesperson for Pacific Peoples Teanau Tuiono says his party is staying focused on household costs.

Asked by William Tureti on Pacific Mornings whether he was worried about the left bloc's polling, Tuiono says the party is concentrating on the real issues.

"People do want to hear solutions about how we're going to put the food on the table and how people get the lights on.”

Reflecting on last week's PMN Pacific Vote 2026 debate, Tuiono says the right is relying on distractions which have got nothing to do with trying to help people to afford their groceries or pay their power bills.

Listen to Teanau Tuiono's full interview below.

Census figures show that in 1986, 51 per cent of Pacific households owned their home. By 2023, that had fallen to 20 per cent.

Housing is a major concern for 65 per cent of respondents in the PMN News-Horizon Research Pacific Issues Election Survey.

Labour has just announced a rent-to-buy scheme for working Kāinga Ora and participating community housing tenants, with a $100 weekly deposit credit held in a trust account.

Watch Carmel Sepuloni's full interview below.

It would also lift the First Home Loan income cap to $300,000, matching National's pledge. The current cap is $95,000 for an individual buyer without dependents and $150,000 for two or more buyers.

National says its plan would double the size of the scheme and help lift home ownership towards its previous peak of around 74 per cent.

Labour Leader Chris Hipkins says the problem isn't always being able to afford a mortgage, it’s having money for a deposit while paying rent.

Speaking on Pacific Mornings earlier this year, Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson backed her party's Progressive Home Ownership Model, a rent-to-own scheme.

"What we need to see is housing as a human right, as a place for whānau to put down roots."

ACT leader David Seymour has told Pacific Mornings that faster consenting and infrastructure funding are the answer.

"That is how you get prices down so people can afford more.”

The Opportunity Party is campaigning on a 1.75 per cent annual land value tax, which its modelling suggests could lower house prices by 10 to 15 per cent over time.

Pacific housing providers say a deposit is only one barrier to home ownership for Pacific people. Photo/RNZ/Nate McKinnon

Pacific housing providers say a deposit is only one barrier.

Roine Lealaiauloto, Chief Executive of Penina Trust, has told Pacific Mornings that traditional banking has not worked for many Pacific families.

And housing advocate Vui Peter Stowers is calling for community ownership through churches and regional organisations.

He says only two of the country's 100 registered community housing providers are Pacific-led.

"My strong [advocacy for] this year is for Pacific community home ownership."

Many Pacific families buy differently, pooling incomes across generations.

Belinda Moffat, Chief Executive of the Real Estate Authority, says Sāmoan and Tongan-language home-buying guides have been developed to reflect that.

"Sometimes the properties they're looking for are for multi-generational family groups.”

The general election is on Saturday 7 November. Advance voting opened on 26 October.