# Question 83: 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 compare on agricultural policy, farm regulation and biosecurity?

Collected 2 November 2026

[NZ Election 2026 · Edition 8 study](https://nzbrands.ai/research/nz-election-2026/editions/8)

## ChatGPT

Answer ID: bc86c320-349e-47c0-8e0a-d6da1bd44f7c

# 2026 New Zealand election: what the parties mean for farmers

For a farming business well outside a main centre, I would assess the parties on more than their headline agricultural policies. The practical questions are:

- Operating costs: Will you face more compliance costs, emissions charges, water restrictions or council requirements?
- Environmental obligations: How much freedom will you have to manage land, waterways, wetlands, nutrients and stock?
- Biosecurity: Who will pay for pest and disease prevention, surveillance and responses when something threatens your farm?
- Rural services: What will happen to rural roads, healthcare, emergency services, telecommunications, agricultural support and access to skilled workers?

There is a significant divide in the 2026 election. National, ACT and New Zealand First generally favour reducing regulatory burdens and giving farmers greater operational freedom. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori put more emphasis on environmental standards, climate responsibilities and protection of natural resources.

Importantly, the current coalition parties should also be judged on what they have actually implemented since taking office, not just what they promise next.

## 1. Party-by-party comparison

Policy position as at 1 November 2026 · General election scheduled for 7 November 2026

### National

Production and deregulation focus

- Agriculture: Wants to grow agricultural exports, increase productivity and make it easier to invest in farming.
- Farm regulation: Proposes 19 national farming standards to replace inconsistent regional requirements. These cover matters such as farm plans, irrigation, effluent, fertiliser, wetlands, tracks and culverts.
- Water: Proposes up to $300 million in low-cost loans for farm water storage and easier irrigation consenting.
- Climate: Supports keeping agriculture outside the Emissions Trading Scheme and has backed changes to methane targets.
- Biosecurity: Supports primary-sector growth and pest control, although the detailed funding and delivery commitments need scrutiny.

What it could mean for your farm: Potentially less time and money spent navigating council rules, greater flexibility over land use and more opportunities for water infrastructure. The trade-off is whether national standards adequately protect local waterways and ecosystems.

[What the parties are now offering rural voters](https://www.interest.co.nz/rural-news/140815/after-three-years-where-coalition-government-raced-give-rural-sector-anything-it)[Federated Farmers voter guide highlights party policy differences](https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/news/federated-farmers-voter-guide-highlights-party-policy-differences/)[Election policy tracker: what the parties are promising](https://stories.theconversation.com/nz-policy-tracker-2026/)[2026 Election Policy](https://www.national.org.nz/policies)

### ACT

Strongest regulatory-reduction position

- Agriculture: Strongly supports farmers' freedom to make commercial decisions.
- Farm regulation: Supports permitted farming activities, fewer resource consents and removing Te Mana o te Wai requirements from resource consenting.
- Climate: Opposes agricultural emissions charges and government-imposed restrictions that it considers economically damaging.
- Biosecurity: Its policy direction favours practical pest management and reducing unnecessary regulatory barriers, but specific new biosecurity funding commitments are less clear.

What it could mean for your farm: Attractive if your biggest concern is compliance costs, restrictions on land use and uncertainty from environmental regulation. You would want to check how its approach would maintain environmental safeguards and fund biosecurity responses.

[Federated Farmers voter guide highlights party policy differences](https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/news/federated-farmers-voter-guide-highlights-party-policy-differences/)[Election policy tracker: what the parties are promising](https://stories.theconversation.com/nz-policy-tracker-2026/)[Compare NZ Political Parties Side by Side](https://policynavigator.neonz.org/compare?topic=agriculture)

### New Zealand First

Rural industry and regional focus

- Agriculture: Strongly advocates for farming, food production and the economic importance of the primary sector.
- Farm regulation: Supports reducing regulatory burdens, national consistency and greater farmer autonomy.
- Climate: Opposes agricultural emissions charges and has generally resisted climate policies it believes disadvantage New Zealand producers.
- Biosecurity: Supports protecting New Zealand's primary industries, although the detailed election commitments on funding, surveillance and compensation deserve closer examination.

What it could mean for your farm: A potentially attractive choice if you prioritise rural industry, regional economic development and reducing compliance costs.

One important consideration is that NZ First is a coalition partner, so its influence depends on the composition of the next government.

[Federated Farmers voter guide highlights party policy differences](https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/news/federated-farmers-voter-guide-highlights-party-policy-differences/)[What the parties are now offering rural voters](https://www.interest.co.nz/rural-news/140815/after-three-years-where-coalition-government-raced-give-rural-sector-anything-it)[Compare NZ Political Parties Side by Side](https://policynavigator.neonz.org/compare?topic=agriculture)

### Labour

Middle-ground environmental and production approach

- Agriculture: Supports a productive agricultural sector while placing greater emphasis on sustainable farming.
- Farm regulation: Less supportive of removing regional environmental controls wholesale. Opposes some of the proposed deregulation supported by the current coalition.
- Climate: Wants to restore a genuine emissions-pricing approach and maintain New Zealand's Paris Agreement commitments. Its precise approach to agricultural emissions has been less definitive than its overall climate position.
- Biosecurity: Its broader policy approach supports public services and environmental protection, but specific new farm-level biosecurity commitments need checking.

What it could mean for your farm: Potentially more environmental accountability and climate-related obligations, but also an emphasis on research, innovation and long-term agricultural sustainability.

An important rural consideration is Labour's proposal to restore rural school buses and improve healthcare access, as well as its broader regional services agenda.

[Labour's 2026 Election Policies](https://www.labour.org.nz/policy)[Compare NZ Political Parties Side by Side](https://policynavigator.neonz.org/compare?topic=agriculture)[Federated Farmers voter guide highlights party policy differences](https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/news/federated-farmers-voter-guide-highlights-party-policy-differences/)

### Green Party

Strongest environmental regulation focus

- Agriculture: Wants a transition towards more sustainable and regenerative farming.
- Farm regulation: Supports stronger freshwater, biodiversity and wetland protections, and an agricultural sustainability standards framework.
- Climate: Supports stronger emissions reduction requirements, including agricultural emissions pricing.
- Biosecurity: Proposes increased resourcing for invasive species and weed eradication and control.

What it could mean for your farm: Potentially greater compliance costs and more restrictions on some farming practices, especially where waterways, wetlands and biodiversity are concerned.

There could also be opportunities for farmers involved in biodiversity restoration, regenerative agriculture and environmental projects.

[Election policy tracker: what the parties are promising](https://stories.theconversation.com/nz-policy-tracker-2026/)[Greenpeace 2026 General Election Scorecard](https://www.greenpeace.org/aotearoa/act/election-environmental-policy-scorecard-2026/?j=371031&jb=12007&sfmc_sub=352954329)[Compare NZ Political Parties Side by Side](https://policynavigator.neonz.org/compare?topic=agriculture)

### Te Pāti Māori

Māori land, freshwater and environmental stewardship

- Agriculture: Emphasises Māori land development, sustainable farming and support for Māori agricultural businesses.
- Farm regulation: Places greater importance on environmental stewardship, Treaty obligations and Māori authority in natural-resource management.
- Climate: Supports stronger climate action and protection of the natural environment.
- Biosecurity: Environmental protection and ecosystem health are important themes, but detailed farm biosecurity proposals are not particularly well developed in the published material.

What it could mean for your farm: Particularly relevant to Māori landowners and farming operations involving Māori land or freshwater interests. For other farmers, the main consideration is how its freshwater governance and environmental policies might affect land and water management.

[Election policy tracker: what the parties are promising](https://stories.theconversation.com/nz-policy-tracker-2026/)[Greenpeace 2026 General Election Scorecard](https://www.greenpeace.org/aotearoa/act/election-environmental-policy-scorecard-2026/?j=371031&jb=12007&sfmc_sub=352954329)[Compare NZ Political Parties Side by Side](https://policynavigator.neonz.org/compare?topic=agriculture)

### The Opportunity Party (TOP)

Alternative policy approach

- Agriculture: Its approach places emphasis on economic reform and environmental sustainability, although its specific agricultural policy detail is less extensive.
- Farm regulation: Does not support the broad deregulation proposals advanced by National, ACT and NZ First.
- Climate and environment: More supportive of environmental protections and sustainability measures.
- Biosecurity: I would not assume a particular funding or compensation commitment without checking its detailed policy.

What it could mean for your farm: Worth considering if you want an alternative to the traditional major parties, but you would need to investigate its detailed agricultural commitments before relying on it for a farming-business decision.

[Federated Farmers voter guide highlights party policy differences](https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/news/federated-farmers-voter-guide-highlights-party-policy-differences/)[Greenpeace 2026 General Election Scorecard](https://www.greenpeace.org/aotearoa/act/election-environmental-policy-scorecard-2026/?j=371031&jb=12007&sfmc_sub=352954329)

## 2. Side-by-side comparison

Here is how I would summarise the broad policy differences.

| Issue | National / ACT / NZ First | Labour | Greens / Te Pāti Māori |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Farm compliance | Reduce | Retain/rebalance | Strengthen |
| Council regulation | More national consistency | More local accountability | Stronger environmental oversight |
| Agricultural emissions | Oppose farm charges | More pricing | Stronger pricing |
| Freshwater | More flexibility | Environmental standards | Stronger protections |
| Irrigation | Encourage investment | Sustainable management | Greater environmental constraints |
| Wetlands and biodiversity | Balance with production | Protect | Strong protection |
| Farm productivity | Strong priority | Strong priority with conditions | Sustainability-led |
| Pest and weed control | Support | Support | Support, with greater emphasis on ecological restoration |

This is a broad comparison, not a claim that every party has published a specific policy for every issue.

## 3. Biosecurity deserves particular attention

For a farm outside a main centre, biosecurity can be just as important as emissions policy.

Consider the consequences of:

- Mycoplasma bovis or another livestock disease entering your area.
- Foot-and-mouth disease reaching New Zealand.
- Invasive weeds spreading onto productive farmland.
- Pest animals affecting pasture, crops or native vegetation.
- Restrictions on livestock movements during an outbreak.

The important policy questions are:

1. Border protection: Will the government invest sufficiently in MPI inspections, surveillance and prevention?
2. Rapid response: Will it have the resources to contain an outbreak before it spreads through rural districts?
3. Compensation: Will affected farmers receive fair and timely compensation for movement restrictions, destroyed stock and business interruption?
4. Farmer involvement: Will farmers and industry organisations have a meaningful role in local biosecurity decisions?
5. Research: Will funding support new vaccines, diagnostics, treatments and pest-control technologies?

The Greens have an identifiable commitment to increased invasive-species control. For the other parties, I would be cautious about assuming that general support for farming translates into a stronger biosecurity programme.

Horticulture New Zealand's 2026 election manifesto is also useful here: it identifies border protection, early detection, rapid responses and access to effective crop-protection tools as important priorities. [2026 Election Manifesto](https://www.hortnz.co.nz/assets/About-Us/Corporate-documents/HortNZ-Election-Manifesto-2026.pdf)[Election policy tracker: what the parties are promising](https://stories.theconversation.com/nz-policy-tracker-2026/)

## 4. Rural services: an issue that can get overlooked

I would give this considerable weight in your circumstances.

A party can promise lower farm compliance costs, but those savings might mean less if rural infrastructure and essential services deteriorate.

| Rural issue | What to investigate |
| --- | --- |
| Rural roads | Maintenance funding, bridges, heavy vehicle access |
| Healthcare | Rural GP availability, ambulance response and hospital access |
| Fire and emergencies | Volunteer brigade funding and emergency response capacity |
| Telecommunications | Rural broadband and mobile coverage |
| Education | Rural schools, school buses and transport |
| Labour | Availability of skilled agricultural workers and training |
| Veterinary services | Access to rural vets and animal health support |
| Infrastructure | Water storage, electricity reliability and transport networks |

One particularly relevant difference is Labour's commitment to restoring rural school buses, while National has highlighted regional infrastructure and its plans for economic growth. Labour has also proposed an independent review of Fire and Emergency New Zealand. [Labour's 2026 Election Policies](https://www.labour.org.nz/policy)[Election policy tracker: what the parties are promising](https://stories.theconversation.com/nz-policy-tracker-2026/)[2026 Election Policy](https://www.national.org.nz/policies)

## 5. What I would examine before deciding how to vote

Rather than simply asking which party is most pro-farmer, I would use these five tests:

My suggested farm-voting scorecard

Give each issue a score out of 5 for how important it is to your operation.

Lower farm operating and compliance costs

5/5

Practical freshwater and environmental regulations

5/5

Strong biosecurity and outbreak compensation

5/5

Rural healthcare, roads and emergency services

4/5

Farm productivity, export growth and market access

4/5

Climate policy that recognises farming realities

4/5

Your scores represent the importance of each issue, not party ratings.

Reset priorities

## 6. Useful independent election resources

I would read three sources before casting your vote:

- [Federated Farmers 2026 voter guide](https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/news/federated-farmers-voter-guide-highlights-party-policy-differences/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) – particularly useful because it asked parties 25 questions about farming, land use, resource management and local government. Remember that it reflects the priorities of a farming advocacy organisation.
- [Policy.nz 2026 party policy comparison](https://policy.nz/2026/party-vote/policies/environment?utm_source=chatgpt.com) – useful for comparing parties across wider environmental and economic issues.
- [Greenpeace 2026 environmental scorecards](https://www.greenpeace.org/aotearoa/act/election-environmental-policy-scorecard-2026/?j=371031&jb=12007&sfmc_sub=352954329&utm_source=chatgpt.com) – useful for understanding the environmental perspective, although it is an advocacy organisation rather than a neutral election authority.

## My overall assessment

There are three broad choices:

- National, ACT and NZ First: More attractive if your overriding concern is farm profitability, regulatory certainty, freedom to manage your land and reducing compliance costs.
- Labour: Potentially attractive if you want a compromise between agricultural production, environmental protection and public investment in rural communities.
- Greens and Te Pāti Māori: More attractive if environmental restoration, freshwater protection, biodiversity and stronger climate action are your leading priorities.
- TOP: Worth examining if you want a different approach to economic and environmental policy.

I wouldn't automatically equate fewer regulations with better farming policy. Equally, environmental protection that imposes disproportionate costs on individual farmers without practical support can undermine rural businesses.

One final distinction: The election is for a government, not just an agricultural minister. Under MMP, coalition agreements and the ability of smaller parties to negotiate policy changes can be just as important as individual party manifestos.

My suggestion is to look particularly closely at the combination of farm profitability, practical environmental rules and properly funded biosecurity.

I can also put together a weighted comparison of all seven parties from the perspective of a working New Zealand farm, including operating costs, freshwater rules, methane, biosecurity and rural services.

## Gemini

Answer ID: 45541005-a2f9-49c7-a35f-9814695935b0

When considering your vote as a farmer living a significant distance from a main centre, the major political parties offer distinct philosophical approaches to primary sector management. Debates centre on balancing operational costs and farm gate profitability with environmental compliance, biosecurity protection, and regional service access. 

The major political parties compare across three core pillars:

---

### 1. Agricultural Policy & Farm Economics
* **National, ACT & NZ First (Centre-Right / Coalition Alignment):** 
  * *Focus:* Maximising export revenue, reducing compliance costs, and supporting farm profitability. 
  * *Key Actions/Stances:* Emphasise deregulation, having taken agriculture out of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and scrapping the previous government's ute tax and *He Waka Eke Noa* framework. They focus heavily on trade agreements, boosting rural confidence, and easing input cost pressures (such as fuel and fertilizer). 
* **Labour, Greens & Te Pāti Māori (Centre-Left):** 
  * *Focus:* Addressing the "cost-of-farming" crisis while tightly linking economic survival to ecological sustainability. 
  * *Key Actions/Stances:* Labour highlights pressures from global inflation and logistics, supporting targeted assistance for rural communities and better streamlining of processes like agricultural chemical approvals (to reduce years-long wait times for safer compounds). The Greens place heavier emphasis on transitioning toward regenerative practices, supporting organic and low-impact farming, and establishing dedicated advocacy structures for environmental and animal welfare.
* **The Opportunity Party (TOP):** 
  * *Focus:* High-value, low-impact diversification (using sectors like kiwifruit as a model) and technological innovation. They support investment tax credits for small businesses, including farms, adopting new technologies.

---

### 2. Farm Regulation & Environmental Obligations
* **Resource Management & Freshwater Standards:**
  * *Centre-Right:* Favour simpler rules and consents for on-farm water storage and irrigation, alongside regulatory reform to ease what they view as an over-burdened compliance framework. They have embedded food and fibre production targets directly into reformed natural environment legislation.
  * *Centre-Left / Greens:* Strongly advocate for uncompromised environmental bottom lines (especially regarding freshwater health and stock exclusion). They argue that protecting long-term soil and water health is essential for maintaining New Zealand's premium export brand overseas, warning against rolling back vital environmental protections.
* **Agrichemicals & Tools:** Across the political spectrum, there is growing bipartisan acknowledgment that the approval systems for modern, safer agrichemicals and veterinary medicines are too slow (often taking many years), hindering productivity and environmental gains. Parties differ on whether deregulation (ACT/National) or strictly conditioned, sustainability-focused streamlining (Labour/Greens/TOP) is the best fix.

---

### 3. Biosecurity
* **Border Protection & Domestic Risk Management:** 
  * Biosecurity funding is managed via Vote Agriculture and Biosecurity (with baseline operational funding supporting the Ministry for Primary Industries). 
  * *Right-Leaning Parties* generally approach biosecurity through the lens of protecting primary export lines and trade pathways, scaling up border tech (such as exploring AI tools to speed up import health standards safely), and minimizing red tape for movement.
  * *Left/Green Perspectives* typically advocate for robust, well-funded public biosecurity systems that factor in climate resilience, protection of native flora and fauna interfaces, and strict import standards to prevent incursions that threaten both wild ecosystems and pastoral farming.

---

### Key Considerations for Remote Rural Living
Living well outside a main centre means your vote also heavily impacts **regional infrastructure, local service access, and connectivity** (such as rural health support via Rural Support Trusts/Farmstrong, roading resilience against extreme weather, and freight costs). 
* Right-of-centre parties lean toward regional development funding tied to resource extraction royalties (e.g., mining/forestry) and reducing compliance hurdles. 
* Left-of-centre parties focus more on public service funding retention, climate change mitigation infrastructure, and community-led catchment group backing.

Are there specific compliance areas—such as freshwater rules, climate reporting, or local transport infrastructure—that weigh most heavily on your day-to-day operation right now?

## Google AI Mode

Answer ID: 6062ba61-a4aa-4476-9451-6b9c67ac8af9

When weighing your options for the upcoming general election on **Saturday 7 November 2026** , New Zealand's political parties present distinct philosophies regarding how farming intersects with economic pressures, environmental compliance, and rural services.

Because party manifestos and comparative tools (such as Policy.nz) frame these debates through different lenses, the major political blocs generally approach the core rural pillars as follows:

 * **National Party / Centre-Right Alignment**
 * **Farm Regulation:** Focuses strongly on cutting red tape, easing freshwater and resource management constraints, and reviewing or scaling back prescriptive rules on-farm to lower operational costs.
 * **Agricultural Emissions:** Favours industry-led or delayed pricing mechanisms for biogenic methane and carbon, emphasizing that targets should not undermine the international competitiveness of the export-driven agricultural sector.
 * **Biosecurity & Services:** Typically prioritises front-line border protection investment and partnering with primary industry bodies (like DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb) to maintain strict exclusion protocols, alongside a general focus on regional infrastructure resilience.

 * **Labour Party / Centre-Left Alignment**
 * **Farm Regulation:** Emphasises structured environmental bottom-lines, catchment-level freshwater management, and upholding national standards to protect long-term soil and water health.
 * **Agricultural Emissions:** Supports a transparent path toward reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and integrating farming into climate accountability frameworks, often via coordinated research funding into mitigation technologies.
 * **Biosecurity & Services:** Supports robust biosecurity funding at international ports and airports, tightening vector controls, and protecting native flora and fauna from introduced diseases or invasive species.

 * **Green Party / Te Pāti Māori (Progressive / Left Alignment)**
 * **Farm Regulation:** Advocates for tighter ecological restrictions, accelerating the transition away from synthetic nitrogen fertilisers and intensive stock-piling, and tying financial support to regenerative or organic practices.
 * **Agricultural Emissions:** Favours faster, harder caps or pricing on agricultural emissions to meet strict domestic and international climate goals.
 * **Biosecurity & Services:** Focuses heavily on biosecurity measures targeted at protecting indigenous ecosystems, controlling invasive predators, and managing diseases impacting native species over commercial production considerations.

 * **ACT New Zealand (Libertarian / Right Alignment)**
 * **Farm Regulation:** Proposes aggressive deregulation of resource management laws, local council powers over private land, and compliance costs, aiming to restore property rights for landowners.
 * **Agricultural Emissions:** Strongly opposes specific taxes or levy systems on agricultural emissions that aren’t matched internationally, arguing it punishes local producers.
 * **Biosecurity & Services:** Generally advocates for streamlined, cost-effective service delivery and co-regulation models with industry rather than centralized bureaucratic oversight.

To help narrow down which party aligns best with your specific operation, tell me:

 * What **type of farming** do you run (sheep/beef, dairy, horticulture, forestry)?
 * Which specific **cost or regulation** is hitting your bottom line the hardest right now?

## AI Overviews

Answer ID: cf4a574e-f7a4-43ae-a9c9-3fac1bec9a7e

For the **2026 New Zealand general election** , political parties have drawn distinct battle lines around farming regulation, operating costs, and environmental mandates.

* * *

Direct Policy Comparison

Policy Area| National & ACT (Coalition)| Labour Party| Green Party| New Zealand First
---|---|---|---|---
**Agricultural Emissions & ETS**| **Keeps agriculture completely out of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)** ; prioritizes scientific innovation.| **Dropped previous plans to tax farm emissions** ; focuses on an urgent review of exotic carbon forestry in the ETS.| **Proposes pricing agricultural emissions** and completely removing forestry from the ETS to prevent land distortion.| Focuses on economic growth over emissions taxes; rules out new taxes on farmers.
**Farm Regulation & Compliance**| **Announced 19 national standards to slash council red tape** (covering micro-hydro, farm quarries, water storage). Replacing the RMA.| Focuses on legislative certainty; promises **not to repeat the "repeal and replace cycle"** of the RMA.| Advocates for **strict regulatory bottom lines** and lowering the synthetic nitrogen fertilizer cap to 125kg/ha.| Supports lowering compliance costs but advocates for a **dedicated Minister for Arable Agriculture**.
**Freshwater & Land Use**| Streamlined consenting for on-farm water storage; **banned full farm-to-forest carbon conversions**.| Wants to **refine Freshwater National Policy via Select Committee** ; pledges strict rules to limit farm-to-tree conversions.| Favors **catchment-specific environmental targets** and reducing stocking rates in heavy dairy areas (e.g., Southland).| Strongly backs **regional infrastructure investments** (irrigation, water storage, and flood protection).
**Biosecurity & Pest Control**| Committed **$109M to wilding pine control** and $16M for feral goats, deer, and other pests.| Focuses on tightening biosecurity enforcement and strengthening supply chain transparency for inputs.| Seeks to **substantially increase funding for invasive species** and weed eradication.| Prioritizes biosecurity to protect market access; links R&D to the new Bioeconomy Science Institute.
**Taxation & Farm Expenses**| Retains the **20% Investment Boost asset deduction** ; rules out capital gains or equipment taxes.| Explicitly **excludes family farms from its proposed 28% Capital Gains Tax** on commercial property.| Proposes **wealth and inheritance taxes** that they state would impact the top 2% of corporate/large farms.| Proposes **dropping the corporate tax rate** to boost small-to-medium regional businesses.

* * *

Critical Trade-offs for Rural Voters

 * **Operating Costs vs. Long-Term Infrastructure:** National and ACT focus on immediate relief by reducing compliance paperwork and providing $300 million in concessional loans for water storage. New Zealand First mirrors this with its Regional Infrastructure Fund. Conversely, Labour emphasizes lowering general cost-of-living indicators, strengthening the Grocery Supply Code to help farm-gate returns, and funding agricultural apprenticeships.

 * **The Carbon Forestry Problem:** If you are worried about productive farmland being swallowed by pine trees, National, Labour, and the Greens all agree that the system needs fixing. National uses direct bans on full farm-to-forest conversions. Labour plans to pause new forestry registrations in the ETS to fix the economic distortion, while the Greens want forestry completely segregated from the ETS.

 * **Local Services & Rural Workforce:** To address severe shortages in rural health and vet services, National has pledged to fund up to 70 graduate vets per year to work in rural areas and progress a new rural-focused medical school. Labour focuses on broad public healthcare access and expanding localized training.

If you would like to look closer at a specific policy, let me know:

 * Your **primary farming sector** (e.g., dairy, drystock, arable, or horticulture)

 * Whether **freshwater restrictions or emissions pricing** is your biggest regulatory concern

 * How heavily your operation relies on **RSE/migrant labor** 2026 General Election - NZKGIElection 2026: How Parties Would Lift the Arable SectorCarbon farming, freshwater targets and tax features of farmer policy debate | RNZ