New Zealand 2026 election: farming, regulation and biosecurity

For a farm operating well outside a main centre, I would compare parties across four practical questions: what it costs to run the farm, how much regulatory certainty you can expect, how effectively biosecurity threats will be managed, and whether rural communities will have the services and infrastructure they need.

New Zealand's general election is scheduled for Saturday 7 November 2026. The campaign is now well underway, and parties are publishing their positions on primary industries and the rural economy. Candidate and party lists releasedElection 2026: What Parties Promise the Primary Sector

The key distinction is that some parties emphasise lower compliance costs and greater freedom over land use, while others place more emphasis on environmental limits, emissions reductions and public investment in sustainable farming. There are also differences in how parties approach regional infrastructure and long-term rural resilience.

The comparison below focuses on the major parties and the Opportunity Party (TOP), with a particular emphasis on the issues that affect a working farm. It distinguishes announced policy from existing government actions and areas where a clear commitment still needs to be verified.

1. How the major parties compare

Policy position as of 12 October 2026. These are summaries of party commitments, not guarantees of what a future coalition government will enact.

National

Farm profitability, exports and regulatory flexibility

National points to removing agricultural emissions pricing under the previous framework, scrapping the ute tax, reducing regulatory burdens and replacing the Resource Management Act (RMA). Its current campaign promises include more flexibility to change land use, simpler consents for on-farm water storage, catchment-group funding and further support for water storage and irrigation. Election 2026: What Parties Promise the Primary Sector2026 Election Policy

• Operating costs: Focus on limiting new taxes and compliance burdens, while promoting export growth.
• Farm regulation: More enabling planning rules and flexibility over land use.
• Biosecurity: Assess the detail of proposed funding, prevention and response commitments separately; its wider primary-sector platform does not by itself establish how much biosecurity funding your farm would receive.
• Rural services: Look at specific commitments to rural roads, water infrastructure, health care and telecommunications rather than assuming export growth will improve local services automatically.

ACT

Property rights, fewer prescriptive rules and lower climate-related compliance costs

ACT's published farming platform proposes permanent exclusion of agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), opposition to agricultural emissions pricing, national standards for common farming activities, and clearer freshwater standards. It also proposes faster access to approved agricultural chemicals and veterinary medicines, fewer barriers to farming technology, and a dedicated Rural Workforce Visa. ACT New ZealandACT New ZealandACT New Zealand

• Operating costs: Targets regulatory and labour constraints; the proposed visa is intended to make it easier to fill year-round roles.
• Farm regulation: National standards would aim to reduce uncertainty and inconsistency between regions.
• Biosecurity: Faster approval of agricultural chemicals and veterinary medicines could help with some farm-management needs, but is not the same as a commitment to increase border biosecurity resources.
• Rural services: Proposes more rural police patrols, improved emergency communication access and greater use of spare seats on existing school buses.

Labour

Farm-business resilience, cost pressures and practical support

Labour's current campaign describes farmers as facing a cost-of-farming crisis, including energy insecurity, biosecurity risks and extreme weather. It points to its small-business proposals for equipment investment and faster payment. Labour has also previously proposed integrated farm planning to bring environmental, biosecurity, labour and health-and-safety obligations into one framework. That earlier commitment should not automatically be treated as a new 2026 promise. Election 2026: What Parties Promise the Primary SectorLabour's 2026 Election PoliciesReducing costs for farmers and growers

• Operating costs: Emphasises small-business support and investment, with the precise effect depending on eligibility and final policy settings.
• Farm regulation: Its past approach included coordinated farm plans; the exact 2026 freshwater and farm-compliance settings should be checked against current commitments.
• Biosecurity: Explicitly identifies biosecurity risk as a pressure on farming, but a concern stated in campaign material is not itself a quantified funding commitment.
• Rural services: Assess its proposed health, transport, infrastructure and business-support policies for their actual reach into remote communities.

New Zealand First

Primary industries, regional investment and biosecurity protection

NZ First emphasises regional development, water storage, irrigation, flood protection and transport infrastructure. Its published policy material also calls for adequate resourcing and technology for Biosecurity New Zealand and border agencies, greater offshore inspection capacity for invasive pests, and better coordination before and after incursions. Its 2026 campaign has also opposed costly freshwater consent requirements affecting existing farming operations. Election 2026: What Parties Promise the Primary SectorNZ First will not let Waikato farmers be buried by Plan Change 12023 Election Policies

• Operating costs: Focuses on regional investment, productive infrastructure and reducing unnecessary compliance.
• Farm regulation: Supports practical freshwater management and less red tape, with an emphasis on productive rural land.
• Biosecurity: Explicitly addresses border protection, offshore inspections and post-incursion coordination in its published policy material.
• Rural services: Its regional infrastructure approach is directly relevant to communities needing better flood protection, water systems and transport links.

Green Party

Freshwater health, biodiversity and a transition to sustainable farming

The Greens' 2026 manifesto supports sustainable food and fibre production, environmental restoration and healthier freshwater. Its agricultural policy is framed around the wellbeing of land, people and animals. It argues for stronger protection of ecosystems and changes to farming practices where they damage water quality or contribute to climate change. Manifesto 2026Complete Party PolicyManifesto 2026

• Operating costs: Environmental improvements may involve up-front investment and transition costs, while policy support for sustainable farming may offer opportunities for some operations.
• Farm regulation: Greater emphasis on environmental outcomes and stronger freshwater and biodiversity protections may mean more constraints for some intensive or high-impact activities.
• Biosecurity: Biodiversity and invasive-species management fit within its environmental priorities, but check for specific new border inspection and response funding pledges.
• Rural services: Consider its broader public-service and regional investment policies alongside the farm-specific policies.

Opportunity Party (TOP)

Research, innovation, land-use diversification and environmental restoration

TOP's campaign emphasises agricultural research and development, technology investment, and greater long-term stability in infrastructure and public policy. Its healthy-land platform proposes biodiversity funding, support for landowners protecting significant natural areas, and investment in native forestry, agroforestry and regenerative land-use options. Election 2026: What Parties Promise the Primary SectorHealthy Land

• Operating costs: Its proposed 25% tax credit for qualifying new business investment could be relevant to farm technology, subject to the scheme's detailed rules.
• Farm regulation: Emphasises long-term policy stability and environmental improvements, but check its detailed freshwater and land-use proposals for your farm type.
• Biosecurity: Its native forestry and invasive-pest priorities are relevant, though these do not establish a comprehensive border biosecurity programme.
• Rural services: Its proposed long-term infrastructure strategy and investment in research are relevant to rural resilience; delivery and funding details matter.

The policy sources are not all at the same stage of detail. In particular, ACT and the Greens did not provide responses in time for the Rural News primary-sector questionnaire published on 6 October, so their entries above rely on their own published policies rather than answers to that questionnaire. Election 2026: What Parties Promise the Primary SectorACT New ZealandManifesto 2026

2. Biosecurity: what deserves particular attention?

For a farm outside a main centre, biosecurity has two distinct dimensions: keeping threats out of New Zealand and responding quickly when pests or diseases reach a farm or region.

Party	Relevant published direction	What to verify before voting
National	Broader primary-sector support and pest-management activity.	Border inspection capacity, rapid response funding and who pays for eradication.
ACT	Faster access to agricultural chemicals and veterinary medicines; targeted action against wilding pines. ACT New ZealandFederated Farmers Welcomes $79M Wilding Pine Control Funding Boost	Funding for surveillance, laboratory diagnosis and emergency responses.
Labour	Identifies biosecurity threats as a major farming cost and resilience issue. Election 2026: What Parties Promise the Primary SectorLabour's 2026 Election Policies	Specific funding increases, compensation arrangements and response times.
NZ First	Explicitly proposes stronger offshore inspections, adequately resourced border agencies and coordinated responses to incursions. 2023 Election Policies	How proposed resources would be allocated across threats, regions and industries.
Greens	Emphasises biodiversity protection and ecological restoration. Manifesto 2026Complete Party Policy	Specific commitments on agricultural disease prevention, border controls and compensation.
TOP	Supports native biodiversity protection and tackling invasive pests and weeds. Healthy Land	Whether it proposes additional national biosecurity capacity and how it would be funded.

One concrete example of why funding detail matters: in 2026, the Government announced a further $79 million for wilding-conifer control over three years, taking its stated commitment to $109 million. That is an existing government funding announcement, not a promise that every party has independently committed to maintain the same programme. Federated Farmers Welcomes $79M Wilding Pine Control Funding Boost

When comparing biosecurity proposals, look for commitments covering:

• Early detection: access to veterinary services, diagnostic laboratories and specialist advice when a disease is suspected.
• Rapid response: how quickly government agencies can investigate and contain an outbreak.
• Fair cost-sharing: compensation for livestock destruction, movement restrictions or other losses arising from an official response.
• Pest management: reliable multi-year funding for regional control programmes, including wilding trees and invasive weeds.
• Rural access: practical access to testing, advice and emergency assistance when the nearest specialist service is a long drive away.

These are questions to put to every party, rather than assuming that a broad commitment to farming automatically covers them.

3. Farm regulation and environmental obligations

The main distinction is between reducing the number and complexity of rules, and strengthening environmental requirements while trying to make compliance more coordinated.

Rules, consents and land use

National and ACT both emphasise a more enabling planning system and greater flexibility for productive land use. NZ First also emphasises reducing unnecessary compliance burdens. Labour's earlier integrated farm-planning approach aimed to consolidate obligations, while the Greens place greater emphasis on environmental limits and ecosystem protection. Election 2026: What Parties Promise the Primary SectorACT New ZealandManifesto 2026Reducing costs for farmers and growers

Freshwater and nutrient management

This is an area where the difference between national standards and catchment-specific limits matters. ACT proposes national standards and clearer methodologies; NZ First has advocated catchment-focused freshwater management. The Greens prioritise the health of waterways. Labour's current detailed approach should be checked against its 2026 commitments rather than inferred solely from its previous term. ACT New Zealand2023 Election PoliciesManifesto 2026Labour's 2026 Election Policies

Climate and emissions

ACT explicitly opposes agricultural emissions pricing and proposes keeping farming permanently outside the ETS. National says it has removed agriculture from the ETS and scrapped the He Waka Eke Noa pricing framework. The Greens support stronger climate action, while Labour and NZ First's exact current commitments should be checked against their detailed 2026 policies. ACT New ZealandElection 2026: What Parties Promise the Primary SectorManifesto 20262023 Election Policies

Forestry and land-use change

The question is not just whether a party supports forestry, but how its policies affect conversion of productive farmland, carbon-credit incentives, biodiversity and the cost of managing neighbouring land. TOP proposes greater support for native forestry and land-use diversification, while NZ First's published policy has sought to restrict carbon-forestry incentives on productive land. Healthy Land2023 Election Policies

A useful caution: fewer rules do not necessarily mean lower total farm costs in every situation. For your business, the result will also depend on consent fees, infrastructure requirements, nutrient-management obligations, insurance, and the cost of meeting environmental standards imposed by customers or export markets.

4. Rural services and the cost of operating remotely

National policy announcements often focus on national export earnings and economic growth. Those are relevant to the sector, but they do not directly tell you whether your own community will have better access to a GP, reliable broadband, affordable electricity, skilled workers or passable roads.

Compare each party's specific commitments in these areas:

Issue	What to look for
Rural health care	GP recruitment, after-hours cover, ambulance response and distance to emergency services.
Roads and freight	Funding for rural road maintenance, bridge resilience, access to processors and ports, and storm recovery.
Water infrastructure	On-farm storage, irrigation, flood protection and how projects will be consented and funded.
Labour	Seasonal and year-round recruitment, visa conditions, accommodation and training.
Energy and connectivity	Electricity reliability, rural broadband and mobile coverage, including emergency calling.
Farm investment	Equipment tax treatment, research funding, grants, loans and the conditions attached to each.

There are concrete differences in emphasis. ACT has proposed a rural workforce visa and additional rural police patrols. National has highlighted water storage and irrigation. NZ First has emphasised regional infrastructure, including flood protection and water projects. TOP has proposed a 25% tax credit for qualifying new business investment and greater investment in agricultural research. ACT New ZealandElection 2026: What Parties Promise the Primary Sector2023 Election Policies

One additional issue for TOP is its proposed land-value tax. The party says rural land would face a reduced rate of 0.5%, with possible deferrals, rather than the proposed general rate of 1.75%. It describes the tax as part of a wider package intended to lower land prices and encourage productive investment. For a farm with substantial land value but relatively modest annual cash flow, it is important to examine the detailed tax treatment rather than considering the investment tax credit in isolation. Tax Reset

5. How to make the comparison useful for your farm

Before settling on a party, I would test its policies against your actual exposure to costs and regulatory changes.

Build a farm-specific policy comparison

Choose the options that best describe your situation. I'll use them to compare the relevant published commitments without ranking parties or telling you how to vote.

For checking the latest policy detail directly, these sources are useful:

• Policy.nz — 2026 election policy comparisons
• National — 2026 election policies
• Labour — election policies
• ACT — Make Farming Fun Again
• Green Party — full policy platform
• Opportunity — Healthy Land
• NZ First — published policy archive

The central question is which mix of farm profitability, predictable rules, effective biosecurity and dependable rural services best reflects your priorities—and which commitments are sufficiently detailed, funded and durable to matter beyond the election campaign.