NZ First leader Winston Peters used the party's 2026 campaign launch in Auckland to announce a $1 billion investment in searching for oil and gas off New Zealand's coast, and to rule out governing with Labour after the election.

Peters told nearly 400 delegates and several hundred supporters that NZ First would commit an initial $1 billion to what he called a "National Subsurface Development Survey" — a large-scale mapping project covering energy, geothermal and CO2 storage sites. He said the country has 10 areas with "world-class potential" for oil and gas, and put the odds of a major discovery at "well above 90 percent" (RNZ).

The Great South Basin, Peters said, has had only eight wells drilled in its entire history and its deeper layers remain untested. Under the NZ First plan, surveying of the highest-ranked areas would be completed within 24 months, with specific drilling sites identified and what Peters described as "first physical proof that reserves exist." He said the surveying would take two years, and that within six years New Zealand could have its own oil and gas supply.

Peters called the policy a "game changer" and said he expected results within 12 months that could be converted into "knowledge that global capital can bid against" — meaning data that international energy companies would want to invest in.

The money side of the plan includes a royalty system, which means companies pay the government a share of what they extract. Peters set that share above 50 percent once production is up and running, with "fair terms" while companies are still carrying the risk of proving the fields exist. He said any oil and gas finds would be used to end gas shortfalls and to set up a sovereign wealth fund modelled on Norway's.

At the same event, NZ First deputy leader Shane Jones confirmed he is contesting the Northland electorate seat.

The broader context here is that Peters's decision to rule out Labour as a coalition partner narrows his options after the election. Under New Zealand's MMP voting system, parties often negotiate after the vote to form a government. Peters has a track record of keeping his options open until the last possible moment. Closing one off this early is a deliberate signal to both voters and potential partners.

The resource policy touches several live debates in New Zealand politics. The current government's laws around oil and gas exploration, the Fast-track Approvals Act (which speeds up infrastructure and consent decisions), and the country's emissions reduction obligations under the Climate Change Response Act all overlap with a plan to spend public money on surveying at this scale. At the moment, exploration companies pay for their own surveys and the government's role is to regulate, not to run the work itself. Peters's royalty idea, which takes a bigger share as fields mature, is also different from how petroleum royalties work in New Zealand now.

The Norwegian sovereign fund reference comes up often in New Zealand politics. Norway's fund, built from oil and gas revenue over decades, is one of the largest investment funds in the world. Peters did not say at the launch how a New Zealand version would be funded, governed, or connected to existing government funds like the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.

The campaign launch was covered by RNZ, with photo credit to RNZ/Marika Khabazi indicating an RNZ photographer was present at the Auckland event.

What the announcement does not cover is how the $1 billion would be spread across the parliamentary term, whether it would come from existing government budgets or need new spending approved, and how it would fit with the Budget process and any coalition agreements. Those questions will come up if NZ First enters government and the policy moves from a campaign promise to an actual government plan.