Catalyst urges New Zealand to back local tech suppliers

Catalyst has launched its Election Manifesto 2026, calling for a shift in New Zealand government technology policy and urging ministers to reduce reliance on overseas technology suppliers.

The Wellington-founded open-source technology company says the agenda is designed to reshape procurement rules, data policy, and standards across the public sector. It argues that government technology spending should support domestic suppliers and keep sensitive public data under New Zealand control.

Catalyst sets out 10 actions for an incoming government under three pillars: open source and open standards first, a sovereign data policy, and value-first procurement settings. Measures include mandated open standards across public sector technology, a working group to make open technology the default in government procurement, and a programme of engagement with the European Union on interoperability.

Another part of the agenda focuses on data ownership and hosting. Catalyst wants critical government data and sensitive citizen data hosted and managed in New Zealand, backed by a public sector data ownership policy led and enforced by the Public Service Commission and aligned with the Government Digital Strategy.

The manifesto also calls for changes to how public agencies buy technology. These include raising the direct award threshold for New Zealand-owned technology businesses, widening the Economic Benefit Test, breaking large projects into smaller modules, and setting targets for domestic technology spending, with published results showing how much remains in the local economy.

New Zealand is expected to spend $13 billion on public sector technology over the next five years, which Catalyst describes as a major lever for business continuity, domestic industry development, and greater control over digital infrastructure.

Don Christie, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Catalyst, linked the proposal to long-running concerns about the structure of government buying. "New Zealand has a world-class domestic technology sector that is proven, talented, and culturally grounded. It is fully capable of securing critical domestic systems under New Zealand law, yet our current default procurement model systematically blocks local innovation to feed foreign corporate balance sheets."

At the centre of Catalyst's critique is what it sees as a default preference for large overseas providers in public sector contracts. It argues that this has weakened local competition and shifted control of important digital systems and supply chains into foreign jurisdictions.

"Every unquestioned default to offshore Big Tech is a deliberate choice. We are giving all political parties a concrete framework to choose a different path, one that uses open and sovereign technology, backed by local partners, to put New Zealand back in control of its own digital infrastructure," Christie said.

Global models

To support its argument, Catalyst points to policy settings in other jurisdictions. It says the United Kingdom mandates open source as the default in government procurement, the European Union has a formal open-source strategy, and France's national cybersecurity agency has concluded that open code is more trustworthy.

The company presents those examples as evidence that digital sovereignty and open standards are becoming more prominent in government technology policy. In that context, it argues New Zealand risks falling behind if it continues to favour closed systems and overseas-hosted platforms for core public services.

Christie said the issue extends beyond technology architecture into economic policy. "Aotearoa has accumulated a massive Big Tech dependency deficit for decades, creating a compounding fiscal, economic, innovation and sovereignty problem."

He said the consequences are immediate when agencies fail to review those choices. "Every time a government agency automatically relies on these offshore platforms out of inertia, public money leaves our economy, market competition is stifled, and control of critical digital supply chains is handed to foreign jurisdictions."

Procurement focus

A central element of the manifesto is the use of procurement settings to direct more spending to domestic firms. Catalyst says that would increase choice for government buyers while keeping more taxpayer-funded technology investment in New Zealand.

The company argues that investment in New Zealand-owned and operated suppliers produces a multiplier effect across the economy. On that basis, it says public sector technology budgets should be assessed not only on purchase price but also on broader economic return and resilience.

"Every dollar spent with a New Zealand-owned and operated company creates a local multiplier effect of 1:4. With $13 billion of public sector technology investment forecast over the next five years, the opportunity for the New Zealand economy is enormous if the government makes the right choices now. As a nation, we can't be willing to let inertia block resilience and returns," Christie said.

The manifesto also calls on government to invest in existing New Zealand-built open-source platforms across agencies rather than commissioning large standalone systems. Catalyst says a build-once, share-widely approach would demonstrate the fiscal and operational value of reuse across the public sector.

Christie said the next phase of policy choices would shape the country's digital position for years. "We are at a political inflexion point, in that the decisions made in the coming decade will determine whether New Zealand's digital infrastructure is a generation-defining asset or a liability."