Parties clash on policy costing watchdog as election deadline looms

National and Labour support an independent unit to cost election policies, but disagree on how it should work. The Greens want a Parliamentary Budget Officer to publish costings from major parties as standard. The sticking points — whether costings should be mandatory and how the body is structured — remain unresolved. The 2026 election timeline leaves little time to legislate, appoint staff, and get systems running.