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I work in a small town rather than farming. My family drives long distances for services, and local jobs and healthcare are limited. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. What would parties do to create or retain jobs in small towns beyond farming?
For someone living and working in a small New Zealand town, I think an important question for the 2026 election is:
Which parties have a realistic plan to make small towns places where people can earn a living, access healthcare, raise families and build a future without having to move to a major city?
Your concerns go beyond farming. They involve the survival of local businesses, employment diversity, healthcare access, transport and the ability of small communities to attract and retain skilled workers.
There are meaningful differences between the parties' approaches. Below is a comparison of their 2026 election proposals, focusing on jobs outside traditional farming.
1. What the main parties are proposing
These are policies announced for the 2026 election, rather than promises that are guaranteed to be implemented.
National Party
Business investment and regional growth
National's approach focuses on making it easier for businesses to invest, expand and employ people.
Its regional proposals include:
- Retaining Investment Boost, which provides tax incentives for businesses purchasing new productive assets.
- Making commercial building consents easier, potentially helping local businesses establish or expand premises.
- Doubling New Zealand's exports by 2034, creating opportunities for regional manufacturing, processing, logistics and tourism businesses.
- Directing more International Visitor Levy funding towards councils in tourism destinations.
- Continuing regional infrastructure investment and transport resilience projects.
What this could mean for your town: More opportunities for tourism businesses, construction, manufacturing, transport and other businesses that supply regional industries.
Potential weakness: Investment incentives don't guarantee that businesses will choose smaller towns. The benefits depend on whether investment actually reaches your community.
Election 2026: What's on Offer for Regional New Zealand?Election policy tracker: what the parties are promising
Labour Party
Small businesses, skills and local jobs
Labour has several proposals that could directly benefit people working outside agriculture.
Its policies include:
- A Small Business Action Plan to improve cash flow and reduce paperwork.
- A proposed $10,000 tax write-off for new business equipment.
- A target for 15% of government contracts to go to New Zealand small businesses and start-ups.
- Extended Apprenticeship Boost payments and a $1,000 toolbox grant.
- Its Start Work Now programme, involving construction, school improvements and hospital repairs, alongside support for nearly 30,000 apprentices.
- A New Zealand Future Fund to support infrastructure and innovation.
- A Family Doctor Loan Scheme to help doctors buy into local medical practices.
What this could mean for your town: Opportunities for tradespeople, builders, mechanics, small retailers, local contractors, healthcare workers and people wanting to start businesses.
The government-contract target is particularly interesting: smaller businesses could have more opportunities to win work rather than having contracts concentrated among large companies.
Potential weakness: Many of these measures support small businesses generally. They don't necessarily guarantee that jobs will be created in towns that are already struggling economically.
Labour's 2026 Election PoliciesElection 2026: What's on Offer for Regional New Zealand?
Policy details: Labour's 2026 election policies.
ACT New Zealand
Lower business costs and regulation
ACT's approach is based on reducing regulatory barriers and making it easier for businesses to employ people.
Its proposals include:
- Simplifying employment rules and reducing the cost and risk of hiring.
- Modernising tax rules to encourage small-business investment.
- A Rural Workforce Visa to improve access to workers.
- Changes to planning and resource-consenting rules.
- Reducing regulatory requirements affecting rural businesses.
What this could mean for your town: Small construction companies, tourism operators, workshops, trades businesses and other employers could benefit from lower compliance costs and easier access to workers.
Potential weakness: Reducing business costs doesn't necessarily create new industries or bring investment into towns where there is little existing economic activity.
Election 2026: What's on Offer for Regional New Zealand?October AMM Comms: Election 2026 – What the Parties Are Proposing for Employers and Small Businesses
Green Party
Community-led development and new industries
The Greens put considerable emphasis on keeping services and economic opportunities within communities.
Their regional policies include:
- Community-led regional economic development.
- Support for local markets and locally owned businesses.
- Investment in renewable energy and community energy projects.
- Jobs associated with a lower-carbon economy.
- Better access to healthcare, education, disability, financial and other essential services.
- Mobile services and community hubs for communities that cannot sustain conventional facilities.
- Investment in public transport and regional connections.
What this could mean for your town: Employment opportunities in renewable energy, building and retrofitting, community services, healthcare, public transport, environmental restoration and locally owned enterprises.
The community-hub approach is particularly relevant when people currently have to travel long distances for basic services.
Potential weakness: New industries and community projects require funding, skilled workers and long-term demand. There is a question of how quickly these proposals would translate into permanent jobs.
Election 2026: What's on Offer for Regional New Zealand?Election policy tracker: what the parties are promising
New Zealand First
Regional investment and natural resources
NZ First puts regional investment and economic development near the centre of its approach.
Its proposals include:
- Returning 50% of mining royalties to the regions where they are generated.
- A national survey of underground resources, including geothermal energy and carbon storage opportunities.
- A proposed infrastructure fund of up to $100 billion over multiple decades.
- Reducing the company tax rate for small and medium-sized businesses to 20%.
What this could mean for your town: Potential opportunities in mining, geothermal energy, engineering, construction, transport, supporting services and small businesses.
The royalty proposal is worth examining if your region has mineral or energy resources.
Potential weakness: Mining and resource development are geographically dependent. Towns without suitable resources may see fewer benefits. Resource projects can also be capital-intensive and may not create as many permanent local jobs as expected.
Election 2026: What's on Offer for Regional New Zealand?October AMM Comms: Election 2026 – What the Parties Are Proposing for Employers and Small BusinessesElection policy tracker: what the parties are promising
Te Pāti Māori
Māori ownership and local economic development
Te Pāti Māori emphasises local ownership, Māori economic development and investment in communities.
Its proposals include:
- A $1 billion Energy Sovereignty Fund.
- Developing a Māori energy workforce and energy industry.
- Greater investment in Māori-owned businesses.
- Supporting community food systems and local food sellers.
- Māori-led healthcare and education services.
- Expanding papakāinga housing and local development opportunities.
What this could mean for your town: Jobs in renewable energy, construction, healthcare, education, food distribution, local retail and Māori-owned enterprises.
These policies could be particularly relevant to towns where iwi and Māori organisations have land, assets and opportunities to develop local enterprises.
Potential weakness: The extent of the benefit will depend on local investment, access to capital and the ability to establish commercially sustainable enterprises.
Election 2026: What's on Offer for Regional New Zealand?Election policy tracker: what the parties are promising
The Opportunity Party (TOP)
Innovation and economic diversification
TOP has an interesting approach for communities that want to move beyond traditional industries.
Its proposals include:
- Growing high-skill industries such as research, software and high-tech manufacturing.
- Expanding renewable energy.
- Supporting factories to move away from fossil fuels.
- Putting a 30-year infrastructure plan into law.
- Directing 60% of infrastructure spending towards maintenance.
- Establishing more durable climate-adaptation arrangements.
What this could mean for your town: Opportunities in manufacturing, technology, engineering, renewable energy and infrastructure maintenance.
The emphasis on high-value industries is important because smaller towns need employment options that provide skilled, reasonably paid, year-round work.
Potential weakness: High-tech industries often need reliable broadband, skilled workers, capital and access to larger markets. TOP's proposals would need to overcome these barriers to benefit smaller communities.
Election 2026: What's on Offer for Regional New Zealand?October AMM Comms: Election 2026 – What the Parties Are Proposing for Employers and Small Businesses
2. Comparing the parties against the problems you described
Here is how I would assess their proposals against the practical needs of a small town.
| Issue | Parties with particularly relevant proposals |
|---|---|
| Helping existing small businesses survive | Labour, National, ACT, NZ First |
| Creating jobs outside farming | Labour, Greens, TOP, National |
| Manufacturing and processing | National, TOP, Labour |
| Renewable energy employment | Greens, Te Pāti Māori, TOP, NZ First |
| Tourism and hospitality jobs | National, Greens, Labour |
| Construction and trades | Labour, National, ACT |
| Local healthcare employment | Labour, Greens, Te Pāti Māori |
| Community-owned development | Greens, Te Pāti Māori |
| Regional infrastructure | National, Labour, NZ First, TOP |
| Lowering business compliance costs | ACT, National, Labour |
This is a comparison of policy relevance, not a ranking of which party would deliver the most jobs.
3. Healthcare is also an employment issue
I would pay particular attention to this issue because you mentioned that your family has to travel long distances to access services.
A town without adequate healthcare doesn't just inconvenience residents. It can also struggle to attract and retain:
- Teachers and their families.
- Skilled tradespeople.
- Nurses and other healthcare professionals.
- Business owners and employees.
- Young families.
- Older residents who need ongoing support.
Some relevant proposals include:
- Labour: A Family Doctor Loan Scheme to help doctors buy into community practices, and a Graduate Nurse Job Guarantee.
- Greens: Better access to rural healthcare and community-based services.
- Te Pāti Māori: Investment in Māori-led health services.
- ACT: More funding to attract and retain GPs.
- National: Additional medicines funding and healthcare improvements.
- Opportunity: Greater emphasis on primary, community and preventative healthcare.
- NZ First: Greater emphasis on illness prevention.
An important distinction is whether parties will simply improve access to services or actually establish more permanent jobs and healthcare facilities in smaller communities.
The rural health organisation Hauora Taiwhenua has also published a 2026 election manifesto identifying rural health workforce shortages, training, accessible services and technology as priorities.
Election 2026Election policy tracker: what the parties are promising
4. What I would look for before deciding how to vote
I wouldn't judge the parties simply by how many jobs they promise nationally.
I would look for answers to six specific questions:
Where will the jobs be? Are there actual commitments to provincial and small-town communities, rather than just national employment targets?
What industries will employ people? Are there plans for manufacturing, tourism, renewable energy, construction, healthcare, technology and local services?
Will the jobs be permanent? Or will they be temporary construction projects that disappear once the work is completed?
How will local businesses survive? Will they have access to finance, contracts, training, reliable infrastructure and affordable premises?
Can families access healthcare locally? Are there commitments to retain doctors, nurses and other health professionals in smaller towns?
Will young people have a future there? Can they obtain apprenticeships, training and skilled employment without having to leave their communities?
5. My overall assessment
Based on the policies announced for this election, I see several different approaches:
- Labour has a relatively direct combination of small-business support, apprenticeships, construction employment and healthcare workforce initiatives.
- National emphasises business investment, exports, infrastructure and tourism.
- ACT focuses on making it easier and less expensive for businesses to operate and employ people.
- The Greens place greater emphasis on community-led development, local services and emerging low-carbon industries.
- NZ First focuses on regional investment, infrastructure and resource-based economic opportunities.
- Te Pāti Māori emphasises Māori ownership, energy development and community-led enterprises.
- TOP emphasises economic diversification through innovation, manufacturing, technology and long-term infrastructure.
I wouldn't say any one of these approaches automatically solves the problems facing small towns. The critical difference is whether the policies result in actual investment, permanent employment and accessible services in communities outside the main centres.
One final thought
I think there is a particularly important question you could put to every local candidate before voting:
What specific policies will your party implement to ensure people living in small New Zealand towns can find meaningful, well-paid employment outside farming, access healthcare without travelling long distances, and raise their families without having to relocate to a major city?
Ask them to identify the funding, the industries, the expected jobs and the timeframe.
That will tell you considerably more than general promises about growing the economy.
Useful election resources:
- The Conversation – 2026 election policy tracker
- Business Central – What's on offer for regional New Zealand?
- Hauora Taiwhenua – 2026 rural health election priorities
These are especially useful for checking the detail behind the parties' announcements.
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