Winston Peters has said NZ First will make reversing the Government's health and safety law overhaul a priority after the next election, even though the party will vote for the legislation in Parliament right now.

On 23 June 2026, Peters described being required to support the Bill as "very unfortunate" and said NZ First was "looking very hard" at the changes, according to RNZ. He stopped short of opposing the legislation in this term but signalled clearly he intends to seek changes if NZ First returns to government after the election.

The legislation in question is an omnibus Bill — a single piece that amends multiple Acts — that changes how WorkSafe operates and what the regulator is expected to do. The Cabinet papers released by the Beehive set out those details.

Peters' public reservations expose tension within the coalition. Under the confidence and supply arrangement binding the three-party government, NZ First must vote with National on agreed legislation. That obligation applies here — but it does not prevent a coalition partner from registering objection for the record and flagging a different course after an election. That is what Peters is doing.

For those tracking how the coalition partners work together, this matters procedurally as much as on substance. A minister or party signalling in advance that it will seek to repeal or amend legislation it is simultaneously passing is not common in coalition politics, but it is unusual to do so publicly and explicitly. It puts National and Act on notice that the overhaul may have a shorter lifespan than intended — depending, of course, on the electoral arithmetic after the next election.

The health and safety reform sits alongside other recent regulatory activity. Health and safety regulations supporting hydrogen development were introduced as part of the Government's 2024 Hydrogen Action Plan, with those rules coming into effect in mid-2025. Separately, the Responding to Abuse in Care Legislation Amendment Bill makes legislative changes to improve safety and well-being for children, young people, and adults in care — work flowing from the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care.

Peters' comments are aimed specifically at the WorkSafe omnibus, not those other measures. His objection appears to be with the direction of the regulatory reform rather than the legislative mechanism itself. He has not publicly detailed which specific provisions he wants changed.

The episode suggests Peters is already positioning NZ First for a campaign in which the party can present itself as distinct from its coalition partners — particularly on economic regulation, where his constituency has consistently backed lighter, more accessible compliance frameworks for small and medium businesses. Whether the overhaul survives a second term, and in what form, will depend on who is at the table after the election. Peters has made sure voters know where he intends to stand.