Election 2026: Four parties lay out plans on supermarkets, super, climate and housing

Four political parties released major policy announcements on 6 September 2026, taking aim at supermarket competition, superannuation eligibility, climate targets and first-home buyer support as the November general election campaign picks up pace. RNZ

The Green Party announced its "KiwiMart" plan as part of a broader "Affordable Kai" policy package, costing more than $6 billion over four years. The plan would force Foodstuffs and Woolworths — the two companies that dominate New Zealand's grocery sector — to sell 120 stores and two distribution centres into public ownership. That would require new legislation to implement.

Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said buying existing stores and transferring them to public ownership is the key to breaking up the supermarket duopoly (where two companies control most of the market). The party also pledged to bring back and expand the previous government's school lunch programme as part of its 2026 election policies. RNZ

NZ First separately announced its own policy to end the supermarket duopoly, saying it would break the duopoly's stranglehold. The party had previously published a campaign policy document on 19 April 2026 titled "NZ First Will Break Up the Supermarket Duopoly, Bring Food Prices Down for Kiwis." NZ First

NZ First states that Woolworths and Foodstuffs control more than 80 percent of New Zealand's grocery market, and that big supermarkets make exorbitant profits — with one earning up to 19 percent in a single year, or over three times the inflation rate. NZ First

NZ First leader Winston Peters also promised citizens-only superannuation, under which only New Zealand citizens would be eligible for NZ Super. The policy does not support other changes to entitlements or eligibility, nor raising the retirement age to 67. RNZ

ACT leader David Seymour announced a plan to ditch New Zealand's net zero emissions target, repeal the Zero Carbon Act, and cut the carbon tax if elected. ACT climate change spokesperson Simon Court said the party would seek a better deal for New Zealand under the Paris Agreement — the international treaty on reducing emissions — regarding treatment of methane and CO2, and might consider pulling out of it. RNZ

National vowed to expand access to the Kāinga Ora First Home Loan scheme, which allows buyers to purchase a first home with a 5 percent deposit. The party said that if re-elected it would raise the First Home Loan income threshold so anyone earning less than $300,000 combined, whether single or combined income, could access the scheme. RNZ

National had earlier pledged to widen access to low-deposit mortgages for first-home buyers if it wins the November 2026 general election. RNZ The party has also announced legislation that would allow farm workers to use their KiwiSaver savings to buy their first home. National

The broader context here is that supermarket competition has become contested policy ground across more than one party. Both the Greens and NZ First are proposing to break up the duopoly, but through materially different mechanisms. The Greens' approach involves compulsory divestment of specific assets into public ownership, backed by new legislation and a fiscal cost exceeding $6 billion over four years. NZ First's announcement is framed around breaking the duopoly's stranglehold, citing market concentration above 80 percent and profit margins it describes as exorbitant. Neither party's proposal has yet been costed by Treasury or scrutinised by a select committee (the parliamentary committees that examine legislation in detail before it becomes law).

On superannuation, Peters' citizens-only proposal would narrow eligibility in a system that currently applies to permanent residents as well as citizens. The policy explicitly stops short of raising the retirement age, drawing a line between residency-based eligibility reform and broader entitlement changes that other parties have periodically floated.

ACT's climate package, if implemented, would unwind the core architecture of New Zealand's emissions reduction framework. Repealing the Zero Carbon Act and abandoning the net zero target would be a fundamental shift in the country's climate policy stance, with flow-on effects for the Emissions Trading Scheme (the system that puts a price on carbon emissions) and New Zealand's obligations under the Paris Agreement. Court's suggestion that ACT might consider withdrawing from Paris entirely would place New Zealand outside the multilateral climate accord.

For National, the First Home Loan expansion is the latest in a series of housing-related announcements. The proposed income threshold of $300,000 would significantly widen the pool of eligible buyers under a scheme that currently operates with lower caps. The party's broader housing agenda includes building reforms that introduced proportionate liability, required professional indemnity insurance and home warranties, and imposed harsher penalties. National

Labour, meanwhile, has outlined a fiscal strategy that commits to returning the operating balance (OBEGAL) — the difference between government revenue and spending — to surplus by 2029/30, the same timing forecast in Budget 2026. The party's New Zealand Future Fund policy page states the NZ Super Fund has grown to $85 billion and delivered strong returns, but notes only 11 percent of it is invested domestically. Labour Labour has also previously called on the Government to direct the NZ Super Fund and ACC wealth funds to withdraw investments from illegal settlements. Labour

The overlapping supermarket duopoly proposals from the Greens and NZ First, combined with ACT's climate policy and National's housing package, signal that post-election negotiations could involve complex trade-offs across economic, climate and housing portfolios. The Greens' $6 billion KiwiMart plan and ACT's proposed Zero Carbon Act repeal sit at opposite ends of the interventionist spectrum. Any government involving both would need to reconcile fundamentally different views on the role of the state in the economy and climate policy.