The stuff that doesn't fit neatly into categories. Which is most of it.
Beyond the specific policy disasters, there's the general vibes of this government: a three-headed coalition where each party is trying to out-crazy the others, a Prime Minister who speaks exclusively in corporate buzzwords, and a rolling series of controversies that would be funny if they weren't running the country.
National, ACT, and NZ First. Three parties who agree on almost nothing except that they wanted to be in power. The coalition agreements read like a hostage negotiation: ACT got charter schools and a Treaty Principles Bill. NZ First got... whatever Winston Peters wanted that particular week. National got to be in charge, sort of, as long as they kept both minor parties happy, which they mostly couldn't.
The result has been a government that lurches between competing priorities, with ministers occasionally contradicting each other in the same news cycle. It's like watching three people try to drive one car, each with their own steering wheel.
ACT's David Seymour pushed the Treaty Principles Bill, which aimed to redefine the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi in legislation. It was the most divisive policy of the parliamentary term, prompting the largest protest march to Parliament since the Springbok Tour. Even National was uncomfortable with it, but coalition obligations meant it went to select committee.
The hikoi to Parliament drew tens of thousands of people from across the country. The government's response was to emphasise that the bill would "probably" not pass its final reading. Reassuring stuff.
Source: Parliamentary records, NZ Herald, RNZ, Stuff reporting on the Treaty Principles Bill and hikoi
The government embarked on a sweeping reduction of the public service, cutting thousands of roles across virtually every ministry and department. The stated goal was "efficiency." The actual result was institutional knowledge walking out the door, remaining staff drowning in workload, and services deteriorating. Wellington's economy, heavily dependent on the public sector, took a significant hit — but National doesn't win seats in Wellington, so that was presumably factored into the equation.
Source: Public Service Commission workforce data, PSA reporting
The Deputy PM and Foreign Minister continued his decades-long tradition of being unpredictable, combative, and perpetually aggrieved. Highlights included feuds with journalists, cryptic statements about various conspiracies, and a foreign policy approach that could charitably be described as "freelancing." His party's influence on government policy was inversely proportional to its vote share and directly proportional to Peters' willingness to make things difficult.
The government's relationship with media was... adversarial. OIA responses slowed to a crawl. Ministers became less available for interviews. The defunding of public media (RIP TVNZ/RNZ merger plans) raised questions about whether an informed electorate was actually a priority. Spoiler: it wasn't.
Source: NZ media reporting, Ombudsman OIA complaint data
Christopher Luxon brought a corporate leadership style to the Beehive, which meant lots of talk about "deliverables," "KPIs," and "getting runs on the board." Unfortunately, governing a country is not the same as running an airline. The CEO approach translated to a focus on optics over substance, an allergy to admitting mistakes, and a communication style that sounded like it was generated by a middle-management AI trained exclusively on LinkedIn posts.
His personal wealth — including multiple investment properties — made him a particularly unconvincing messenger on housing affordability and cost of living. "I understand the struggles of everyday New Zealanders," said the man with seven houses.
Perhaps the most damning indictment is the general mood. Consumer confidence tanked. Business confidence initially rose (tax cuts!) then fell as reality set in. Emigration to Australia accelerated. The sense that New Zealand was becoming a meaner, less equitable place was hard to quantify but impossible to ignore. National promised competence and stability. They delivered neither, but they did it in a very blue tie.