Election 2026: Greens put bed tax at centre of tourism policy

The Green Party wants to empower local communities to introduce a bed tax if they want to.

Co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick made the announcement in Queenstown today, a tourism hotspot where local representatives have been calling for such a tool to invest in infrastructure under pressure from visitors.

“From Auckland [which also supports a bed tax] to Queenstown, mayors don’t care about central government politicians’ squabbles about whether a levy is a tax,” she said.

“They want the tools to fund the infrastructure tourism requires and we will ensure they have them.”

National leader Christopher Luxon had said he was open to looking into a bed tax next term, but later scrapped it as it didn’t align with the party’s campaign slogan of no new taxes.

His Government had just signed a City Deal with Auckland which had committed to looking into a bed tax. He later announced a policy to give councils $400 million in revenue from the International Visitor Levy over four years, based on international visitor guest nights.

Local authorities with low ratepayer bases have felt overburdened with the infrastructure demands of high tourist numbers.

Queenstown-Lakes District, the Mackenzie District, Rotorua Lakes, Central Otago District and West Coast councils have all expressed support for a bed tax, which a law change needs to enable.

A non-binding referendum in 2019 showed 81% support for a bed tax in Queenstown.

“We will give councils the ability to set the rate and design the levy best to fit their local circumstances,” Swarbrick said.

The Greens also want a national register for Airbnbs and other short-term accommodation. This would help councils see where the bed tax can be applied.

“No council should have to build a local register and run its own system when it’s central government who still disproportionately benefits from tourist spending,” Swarbrick said.

Derek Cheng is a senior journalist who started at the Herald in 2004. He has worked several stints in the press gallery team and is a former deputy political editor.