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Evidence · NZ Election 2026

Every question, every answer, every source

Everything the study collected, as it was collected on 5 October 2026. Read any answer in full, or download the tables behind every figure in the study.

questions
174
voters the questions were written as
32
answers collected, of 820 planned
815
answers compared like for like
800
pairs of national and town answers
124
answers with sources recorded
774
answers that showed a link
304

01

Every question, with its answers

Each question was written as a voter would ask it and went to all four assistants. Some were also asked from a town. Open a question to read every answer to it in full.

Showing 20 of 174 questions

Show all 174

02

The tables behind the study

Every figure on the study page comes from these tables. They are CSV files, which open in any spreadsheet.

  • Questions

    nz-election-2026-questions.csv

    One row per question.

    Question id, report reference, question, voter, issue, towns it was also asked from, answers per assistant

    174rows

    Download questions (CSV)

  • Answers

    nz-election-2026-answers.csv

    One row per answer, with its full text.

    Answer id, question id, assistant, town, words, parties named, showed a link, websites recorded as sources, compared like for like, full text

    815rows

    Download answers (CSV)

  • Sources by answer

    nz-election-2026-sources.csv

    One row for each website recorded as a source of an answer.

    Answer id, question id, assistant, town, website, publisher type

    4,216rows

    Download sources by answer (CSV)

  • Checks against official sources

    nz-election-2026-checks.csv

    One row per statement checked.

    Check, answer id, assistant, what the answer said, verdict, what the source says, source, date

    17rows

    Download checks against official sources (CSV)

  • Who to vote for: coding

    nz-election-2026-guidance.csv

    One row per answer to the eight questions that asked who to vote for.

    Answer id, question id, assistant, what the answer did, the words that show it

    32rows

    Download who to vote for: coding (CSV)

  • Location and national answers

    nz-election-2026-towns.csv

    One row per question asked both nationally and from a location, for each assistant.

    Question, town, assistant, both answer ids, parties named nationally and from the town, same parties

    124rows

    Download location and national answers (CSV)

Use these tables to trace findings back to the original questions and answers. The full text of each answer is also on this page, under its question.

03

Read in full and checked

Some answers were read in detail or checked against official sources. Those appear on the study page, beside the findings they support.

ChatGPT · No location

We run a farm and live well outside a main centre. We are weighing operating costs, environmental obligations and access to local services. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. How do parties differ on agricultural emissions and support for farms adapting to climate change?

For a farm, the biggest distinction in the 2026 election is whether agricultural emissions should carry a direct price, versus relying mainly on technology, incentives and regulation. The parties also differ on who should pay for adapting to floods, droughts, slips and other climate risks.

New Zealand’s election is on 7 November 2026. New Zealand Parliament dissolved ahead of tight November vote

At a glance

Party Agricultural emissions Help with climate adaptation
National No on-farm emissions-pricing system by 2030; agriculture remains outside ETS. Emphasis on technology, R&D and market incentives. New Zealand's second emissions reduction plan 2026–30: Amended January 2026 | Ministry for the Environment National's new National Adaptation Framework focuses on risk information, planning, investment and cost-sharing. It says practical resilience work—such as river-gravel extraction and on-farm quarrying—should be easier. National Adaptation framework | Ministry for the Environment
Labour Wants substantially stronger climate action and has just committed to reforming the ETS, including preventing whole-farm conversions to forestry. Its 2026 policy does not yet specify a new farm-level emissions price in the material I found. Release: Labour to accelerate climate action Has said adaptation costs should be shared between beneficiaries, those exacerbating risks, central/local government, insurers and banks. Labour said a detailed adaptation policy was still forthcoming in August. Political parties make their climate adaptation pitch
Green Strongest push for emissions reductions: tighter climate policy and a much more interventionist approach to agriculture, alongside support for sustainable/regenerative farming. Manifesto 2026 - Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand Wants adaptation integrated with emissions reduction, more green infrastructure, stronger central/local-government relationships and Te Tiriti-based planning. Its manifesto explicitly addresses severe storms, floods and drought. Manifesto 2026 - Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
ACT Opposes agricultural emissions pricing and wants agriculture permanently outside ETS. Proposes a "split-gas" approach, treating short-lived methane differently from long-lived CO₂, and would repeal the Zero Carbon Act/net-zero target. ACT New Zealand Favours physical resilience—raised roads/houses, upgraded stormwater and stopbanks—while resisting planning restrictions based on high-end climate scenarios. Political parties make their climate adaptation pitch
NZ First Opposed emissions pricing unless major trading partners adopt comparable pricing; favours measurement and incentives for mitigation technology. It is campaigning to leave the Paris Agreement. 2023 Election Policies - NZ First Places economic development ahead of climate policy and has said it would leave Paris; consequently it has less emphasis on a dedicated national adaptation framework. Political parties make their climate adaptation pitch
Opportunity Supports putting methane and nitrous oxide reductions into market-based systems, while using incentives and technology to help farms reduce emissions. Climate Action - The Opportunity Party Proposes a $5 billion climate-resilience fund, community resilience investment and changes to insurance and landscape planning. It also favours a durable, cross-party adaptation law. Climate Action - The Opportunity Party
Te Pāti Māori Supports reducing emissions from Māori farming and stronger environmental/climate measures, with Māori-led approaches. Has proposed climate-adaptation planning with whānau, hapū and iwi. Policies for Party vote - NZ Election 2023 - Policy.nz

What this could mean on a farm

1. Operating costs and regulatory certainty

The National/ACT approach currently offers the clearest commitment against a direct agricultural emissions charge. National has also committed substantial public funding—$437 million over four years in Budget 2026—to develop and deploy tools for reducing on-farm emissions. Government backs food & fibre sector’s success | National Party

ACT goes further: it explicitly opposes an agricultural emissions tax or pricing scheme and wants agriculture permanently outside the ETS. ACT New Zealand

Labour and the Greens put more weight on the polluter paying and on stronger economy-wide emissions incentives. For a farm, that potentially means greater future compliance or emissions-related costs, although Labour has not, as of the material I found, announced a specific 2026 farm-level charging mechanism. Its September policy instead says it will urgently review the ETS. Release: Labour to accelerate climate action

2. Technology and productivity

There is more common ground here than the political debate sometimes suggests. National's current policy is explicitly technology-led: the Government says it will accelerate mitigation technologies rather than impose an on-farm price. New Zealand's second emissions reduction plan 2026–30: Amended January 2026 | Ministry for the Environment

Opportunity similarly proposes technology, tax incentives, low-interest finance and market mechanisms to help farms cut methane and nitrous oxide. Climate Action - The Opportunity Party Labour has historically funded agricultural emissions research and says it will continue supporting agricultural climate research. Labour’s next steps to reduce climate emissions - NZ Labour Party

3. Adapting the farm itself

This is where the differences become less about methane and more about who pays for physical resilience.

National's new framework is intended to clarify climate risks and responsibilities, including investment and cost-sharing before and after events. Its 2026 programme is also providing direct emergency assistance—for example, $50,000 to support flood-affected Kaikōura farmers, alongside Federated Farmers fundraising. National Adaptation framework | Ministry for the Environment

Opportunity has the most explicit large-scale adaptation funding proposal I found: a $5 billion climate-resilience fund, including community resilience. Climate Action - The Opportunity Party

Labour's emerging position is notable for saying adaptation shouldn't simply fall on rural property owners: it envisages a mixture of government, beneficiaries, those exacerbating risks, insurers and banks sharing costs. Political parties make their climate adaptation pitch

ACT's emphasis is different again: it favours engineering and practical works over using climate-risk assessments to restrict what can happen on private land. Political parties make their climate adaptation pitch

One particularly important point for a remote farm

The current Government's adaptation framework isn't just about individual farms. It is intended to affect local-government planning, infrastructure investment and decisions about where development should occur. The 2026 legislation proposes requiring adaptation planning in priority high-risk areas. Climate Change Response Amendment Bill | New Zealand Legislation

That matters if your costs depend on things such as rural roads, bridges, flood protection, water infrastructure, insurance availability or getting emergency services to an isolated property. The parties differ considerably on how much those costs should be socialised through central/local government versus borne by property owners and users.

The practical questions I'd put to each candidate are therefore:

  • Will you introduce any direct price on farm methane or nitrous oxide during the next Parliament?
  • If not, how much public money will be available for mitigation technology, and will individual farms be able to access it?
  • Who pays for farm-road, bridge, flood-control and water infrastructure made necessary by increasing climate risks?
  • Will adaptation grants cover private farm infrastructure, or principally public/community assets?
  • How will insurance work for farms in increasingly high-risk areas?
  • Will rural councils receive enough funding to maintain roads and emergency services as extreme-weather costs rise?
  • What happens to a farm's regulatory obligations if scientific estimates of climate risk change?

Those questions may tell you more about the likely impact on your farm's bottom line than the parties' broad climate slogans.

New Zealand's official 2026 emissions-reduction plan is also useful for separating what is already government policy from what is merely an election promise.

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Gemini · No location

We run a farm and live well outside a main centre. We are weighing operating costs, environmental obligations and access to local services. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. How do parties differ on agricultural emissions and support for farms adapting to climate change?

For rural property owners and farmers operating well outside main centres, the policy positions of New Zealand’s political parties regarding agricultural emissions, environmental regulations, and climate adaptation represent a major dividing line in the 2026 general election.

Parties differ significantly on whether to price agricultural emissions, how to handle compliance costs, and the level of government support provided for on-farm adaptation.

1. National and ACT (The Coalition Government Perspective)

  • Emissions Pricing: Both parties oppose imposing a broad emissions tax or bringing agriculture into the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in a way that hurts productivity. They favor industry-led approaches and have focused on backing technological solutions (such as low-methane genetics and future inhibitors) rather than taxing biological emissions directly.
  • Environmental & Adaptation Rules: The Coalition has rolled back or allowed previous restrictions on agricultural intensification and freshwater management to lapse, arguing that overly rigid regional rules stifle farm business viability. Their emphasis is on reducing red tape, cutting compliance costs, and supporting infrastructure resilience through standard regional development rather than prescriptive mandates.
  • Focus: Preserving the export competitiveness of the primary sector and ensuring that any climate obligations do not price New Zealand farmers out of international markets.

2. Labour Party

  • Emissions Pricing: Labour historically advanced the He Waka Eke Noa framework, intending to establish a bespoke pricing mechanism for agricultural emissions rather than a pure ETS backstop, though implementation was stalled. They maintain that the primary sector must contribute to climate targets under the Paris Agreement, but prefer a system designed to protect farm margins while encouraging efficiency.
  • Environmental & Adaptation Rules: Labour maintains a stronger focus on freshwater standards, catchment-level health, and capping synthetic nitrogen fertilizer use to curb long-term environmental degradation.
  • Focus: Balanced transition—attempting to couple climate accountability with government-backed research and advisory support for rural communities adjusting to changing weather extremes.

3. The Green Party

  • Emissions Pricing: The Greens take the firmest stance, advocating to bring agricultural emissions directly into the NZ ETS and removing forestry offsetting loopholes. They argue that heavy emitters should face clear market costs to drive genuine decarbonization.
  • Environmental & Adaptation Rules: Their platform includes phasing out synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, banning imported palm kernel expeller (PKE), and setting strict catchment limits to reduce stocking rates and lower overall environmental pollution.
  • Focus: Systemic shift away from intensive farming models toward regenerative practices, with state-backed financial support specifically targeted at helping farms transition to lower-carbon footprints.

4. New Zealand First and Te Pāti Māori

  • New Zealand First: Strongly opposes policies that mandate scaling down production or imposing heavy carbon costs on the primary sector. NZ First emphasizes food security, regional economic backing, and investing in scientific innovation (like low-methane solutions) without penalizing farmers through taxes.
  • Te Pāti Māori: Focuses heavily on indigenous land rights, strict environmental guardianship (kaitiakitanga), and catchment-based resource management, aligning closer with the Greens on lowering emissions and regulating intensive land use.

Summary of Key Trade-offs for Your Vote

  • Cost vs. Obligation: If your primary concern is operational cost and shielding your bottom line from new levies or regulatory hurdles, center-right options (National, ACT, NZ First) prioritize deregulation and tax avoidance. If you are worried about long-term climate degradation and market access requirements in eco-conscious export destinations, center-left options (Labour, Greens) argue that early, regulated adaptation protects the sector's long-term license to operate.
  • Adaptation Support: Parties differ on whether adaptation should be funded via public R&D subsidies for new tools or driven by market penalty structures that force operational changes.

How heavily do you weigh direct emissions pricing versus regulatory compliance costs when looking at the viability of your farm operation?

Ask Gemini

Gemini is AI and can make mistakes.

Captured 5 October 2026 · shown as Gemini gave it, not a verified account

Google AI Mode · No location

We run a farm and live well outside a main centre. We are weighing operating costs, environmental obligations and access to local services. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. How do parties differ on agricultural emissions and support for farms adapting to climate change?

Navigating operating costs, environmental rules, and climate adaptation as a remote rural landowner is a central theme in New Zealand politics. The current political landscape shows distinct divides across the parties regarding how agricultural emissions should be priced, the handling of carbon farming (land conversion to pine), and adaptation support.

An overview of how the key parties differ on these issues highlights these distinct approaches:

  • National (Coalition Government lead): Focuses heavily on producer confidence, economic growth, and easing regulatory pressure. National has committed to no new taxes for farmers and backed the coalition's move to scrap previous proposals for a mandatory farm-level greenhouse gas pricing mechanism (He Waka Eke Noa). Instead, their approach leans on technological innovation, practical mitigations, and stopping the wholesale conversion of productive farmland into carbon-farming pine forests.
  • ACT: Strongly aligns with deregulation and removing friction for primary producers. ACT opposes carbon pricing on biological emissions, arguing that taxes penalize production without global climate benefits if food production simply shifts to higher-emitting overseas competitors. Their emphasis is on cutting red tape, property rights, and avoiding extra compliance costs for remote and family-owned operations.
  • New Zealand First: Emphasizes regional infrastructure, water storage, irrigation, and food security resilience over compliance-heavy carbon management. NZ First has taken a populist, independent stance on international climate accords (expressing skepticism toward strict global frameworks like the Paris Agreement) and prioritizes protecting domestic food-growing capacity and regional flood protection over emissions pricing mechanisms.
  • Labour: Has signaled a shift toward listening closely to the rural sector after past friction ("listened and we've learned"). While Labour previously advanced work on agricultural emissions pricing, they have committed to no new farm taxes (and clarified no broad capital gains tax targeting working farms), while pushing for an urgent review of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to stop productive pastoral land from being swallowed up by whole-farm pine conversions.
  • The Green Party: Stands apart by advocating for direct pricing of agricultural emissions through the Emissions Trading Scheme. The Greens argue that farming is New Zealand's biggest environmental challenge and opportunity, and propose separating or reforming forestry within the ETS to prevent market distortions while directly pricing agricultural methane and synthetic nitrogen inputs to drive structural change.

You can explore detailed, side-by-side party manifestos and specific environmental commitments using the non-partisan Policy.nz Environment Policies guide.

To help tailor this to your specific situation, could you tell me:

  • What type of farming you run (sheep/beef, dairy, horticulture, forestry integration)?
  • Are your primary concerns around cashflow/compliance costs or extreme weather adaptation (like water storage and erosion control)?
Ask anything

Captured 5 October 2026 · shown as Google AI Mode gave it, not a verified account

AI Overviews · No location

We run a farm and live well outside a main centre. We are weighing operating costs, environmental obligations and access to local services. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. How do parties differ on agricultural emissions and support for farms adapting to climate change?

AI Overview

In the lead-up to the 2026 New Zealand General Election , the major political parties present starkly different pathways for rural landowners balancing operating costs with climate obligations. The political landscape on farming emissions shifted significantly following recent policy adjustments by both the current coalition government and the Labour opposition.

Comparison of Key Party Policies for the 2026 Election

Political Party Policy on Agricultural Emissions Pricing 2050 Biogenic Methane Targets Support for Adaptation & Technology
National Party No new emissions taxes or pricing system. Agriculture is kept completely out of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Reduced target to 14–24% below 2017 levels (lowered from the previous 24–47% range). Uses a split-gas approach. Technology-led. Investing over $400m to fast-track methane-busting tools (like EcoPond). Recognizes on-farm sequestration (e.g., wetlands).
Labour Party No campaign on taxing emissions. In a major shift, Labour ruled out a methane tax after decades of advocating for it. Aligns with a technology-first transition rather than penalizing production. ETS Reform & Tech. Focuses on accelerating the commercialization of overseas and local tech. Pledges an urgent review of the ETS to stop whole-farm pine conversions.
ACT New Zealand Opposes all climate taxes on farming. Proposes a strict "split-gas" framework separating short-lived gases from carbon. Scrapping the Net Zero target entirely and repealing the Zero Carbon Act. Short-lived gases would only need to cause "no additional warming". Deregulation. Vows to cut bureaucratic barriers to cleaner technology so market tools can lead without government levies.
Green Party Price agricultural emissions immediately by bringing farming directly into the ETS. Retains a strict focus on slashing agricultural methane to meet international Paris Agreement climate goals. Regenerative Farming. Proposes removing forestry offsetting from the ETS entirely so polluters can't just plant pine trees. Supports voluntary biodiversity credit schemes to fund farm restoration.
New Zealand First Opposes emissions taxes on food production. Aligns with the current coalition stance. Supports the lowered 14–24% target and has openly floated the idea of reviewing or withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. Rural Advocacy. Prioritizes regional infrastructure, lower compliance costs, and supporting the profitability of rural communities.
The Opportunity Party (TOP) Cap-and-trade or levy mechanism to reduce emissions. Separately proposes a 0.5% annual rural land value tax. Target of 35–47% biogenic methane reduction by 2050. Rebates. Offers a 25% technology investment rebate for farmers adopting green tools. Restricts pine trees in the ETS while rewarding on-farm sequestration.

What This Means for Your Farm’s Bottom Line

  • If you want to minimize immediate compliance costs: A vote for National , ACT , or NZ First ensures no direct tax or levy on your livestock emissions for the foreseeable parliamentary term, keeping your overhead predictable.

  • If you are concerned about exotic forestry overtaking productive land: Both National and Labour have committed to reviewing the ETS rules to restrict or place moratoriums on whole-farm pine tree conversions, protecting traditional food-producing farms.

  • If you want to capitalize on environmental adjustments: The Greens or TOP would impose emissions pricing but offer alternative revenue streams via biodiversity credits or tech rebates to reward you for locking carbon into soil, bush, or wetlands.

If you would like to explore specific regional policies, let me know your primary farming sector (e.g., dairy, sheep, beef, or horticulture) or which local service issues (like rural roading or health) matter most to your area.

Ask anything

Captured 5 October 2026 · shown as AI Overviews gave it, not a verified account