ACT's Agriculture Policy
ACT strongly opposes agricultural emissions pricing, freshwater regulations it deems excessive, Three Waters reform, and what it describes as anti-farming bureaucracy. They support deregulation, voluntary environmental standards, and protecting farm property rights.
In simple terms
Scrap farm emissions charges, remove freshwater rules that hurt farmers, oppose government control of water, and let farmers manage their land without excessive regulation.
Impact to New Zealanders
Farming costs drop, but fewer farmers invest in cleaner technology since regulations no longer require it.
Waterways downstream worsen from reduced regulation, pushing cleanup costs onto councils and urban ratepayers instead.
Export markets demand environmental standards; NZ farms face tariffs or rejection, harming competitive advantage globally.
Green Party's Agriculture Policy
The Green Party supports transitioning farming to lower-emission practices, pricing agricultural methane emissions, reducing intensive dairy farming on environmentally sensitive land, supporting organic and regenerative agriculture, and paying farmers for environmental services.
In simple terms
Charge farmers for methane emissions, reduce intensive dairy farming near rivers, support organic farming, and pay farmers for protecting the environment.
Impact to New Zealanders
Smaller family farms adopt emissions charges more easily than large operations, shifting competitive advantage and consolidating land ownership among wealthy farming corporations.
Reduced dairy intensity near rivers improves water quality, attracting tourism and property investment to rural areas, but pushes farming communities out through rising land costs.
New Zealand's food production concentrates in fewer, larger, environmentally-compliant operations, reducing rural employment but potentially making exports more profitable and certifiable as premium.
Labour's Agriculture Policy
Labour proposed bringing agriculture into the ETS from 2025, introduced the He Waka Eke Noa levy system alternative, invested in agricultural research, and balanced freshwater standards with farming needs. They support sustainable farming practices and increasing export returns.
In simple terms
Price agricultural emissions to help NZ meet climate goals, invest in sustainable farming research, and clean up rivers while supporting farmers to adapt.
Impact to New Zealanders
Smaller farms struggle more with emission costs than large operations, accelerating consolidation into fewer, bigger corporate-owned farms.
Rural communities shrink as family farms sell; local schools, shops, and services close, pushing young people toward cities for work.
New Zealand food production concentrates regionally; rural land repurposes for forestry or carbon credits, reducing agricultural employment permanently.
National's Agriculture Policy
National has exempted agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme, opposed farm-level emissions pricing, reduced freshwater regulation affecting farmers, supported irrigation schemes, and repealed the ban on gene technology to enable precision agriculture in NZ.
In simple terms
Protect farmers from carbon charges, ease freshwater rules, support irrigation, and allow gene technology so farmers can grow better crops.
Impact to New Zealanders
Farmers invest heavily in irrigation and gene tech, boosting productivity but requiring larger upfront loans only wealthier farms can afford.
Smaller farms struggle to compete with expanded industrial operations, leading to consolidation and fewer but larger farm businesses across rural communities.
Delayed water quality improvements mean councils must spend more on water treatment, shifting environmental costs from farming to urban ratepayers' bills.
NZ First's Agriculture Policy
NZ First is a strong defender of the farming sector, opposing agricultural emissions pricing, protecting farmland from foreign ownership, supporting the primary industries as the backbone of the economy, and opposing what they see as urban-centric environmental regulations.
In simple terms
Protect farmers from emissions charges and excessive regulation, stop foreigners buying farmland, and recognise farming as the foundation of the New Zealand economy.
Impact to New Zealanders
Farmers face lower compliance costs, but pastoral export prices may fall as other countries tighten environmental standards for imports.
Reduced foreign farmland investment protects local ownership, but less capital flows in, slowing farm modernisation and making NZ exports less competitive globally.
Farming remains profitable short-term, but younger New Zealanders avoid the sector due to stagnant innovation, creating labour shortages and regional decline outside cities.
Te Pāti Māori's Agriculture Policy
Te Pāti Māori supports Māori farming and whenua Māori (Māori land) development, investment in papakainga (Māori community farming), fair water rights for Māori land holders, and transitioning to sustainable Māori-led agricultural practices that align with kaitiakitanga.
In simple terms
Invest in Māori farming, support development of Māori land for agriculture, ensure Māori have fair water access, and promote sustainable farming practices.
Impact to New Zealanders
Capital flows to Māori farms reduce lending available for non-Māori rural businesses needing expansion or equipment upgrades.
Increased Māori agricultural output may depress commodity prices, hurting established farmers while benefiting urban food consumers through lower costs.
Consolidated Māori land-based wealth could reshape rural political influence and regional water management priorities, affecting farming practices nationwide.