National Tāmaki candidate praises some Labour small business policies
Wednesday 28 October 2026 · 3 outlets · 4 reports · updated In this story Labour Party, National Party, ACT Party, Brooke van Velden
National candidate Mahesh Muralidhar has commended certain Labour Party small business policies during a candidates' meeting. Speaking in the Tāmaki electorate, Muralidhar suggested the right wing of politics sometimes fails to show the same level of heart as the left. Labour has welcomed the remarks.
Key facts
4 facts
- Mahesh Muralidhar is the National candidate for Tāmaki
- Labour's small business policy includes raising the asset write-off threshold to $10,000
- The Tāmaki seat was won by Act's Brooke van Velden in 2023
- Labour's small business plan is funded by reworking the Investment Boost scheme
The full story
1 min read · 3 outlets
Mahesh Muralidhar, the National candidate for Tāmaki, has praised certain Labour Party small business policies while suggesting the right wing of politics sometimes fails to show 'heart'. Speaking at a candidates' meeting, Muralidhar noted that Labour's policies are interesting because they release capital to businesses more quickly. He also stated that the left sometimes expresses economic thinking in more compassionate ways.
Muralidhar clarified that his support applies only to 'some' policies, arguing that Labour's full plan is a '$6 billion tax grab' that would remove the Government's Investment Boost scheme. He expressed concern that scrapping the scheme would hit businesses hard, noting its role in helping companies expand and hire. He further remarked that the left tends to 'act as though they have a monopoly on empathy'.
Labour finance spokeswoman Barbara Edmonds welcomed the comments, calling it a 'fantastic thing' that a National candidate supported the policy. The Labour small business plan includes lifting the asset write-off threshold from $1,000 to $10,000 for certain businesses and requiring large companies to pay small suppliers within 15 days for specific invoices. This plan is funded by refocusing the Investment Boost scheme.
The Tāmaki electorate race features Muralidhar competing against Labour's Max Harris and Act's James Christmas. Harris used the meeting to describe the current government as 'heartless' due to various policy decisions.
Where reports differ
- Reports vary on how long National held the Tāmaki seat, citing either almost six decades or 63 years
- One report estimates the cost of Labour's small business policy at $1.56 billion over four years, while Muralidhar described it as a $6 billion tax grab
Compiled from reports by Newsroom, NZ Herald and Stuff.
