Gas has become one of the sharpest dividing lines of this campaign. Domestic production is falling faster than expected: OMV, the operator of the Māui gas field, has told the market the field will stop producing by the end of 2026. The parties disagree on almost every lever: whether to search for more gas, whether to import it, and how to keep the lights on in a dry year without it.
This article summarises the parties' public statements and policies as at 20 October 2026. Sustainability Partners is non-partisan. We don't support or oppose any party; our interest is in what the options mean for businesses that depend on gas.
Three questions that divide the parties
- Should New Zealand search for more gas? The 2018 ban on new offshore exploration permits was reversed in 2025. Some parties would keep the ban reversed; others would bring it back.
- Should we import liquefied natural gas (LNG)? The Government has reportedly chosen a preferred provider for a floating import terminal at Port Taranaki (The Post), but no contract will be signed before the election.
- How should gas users be helped to transition? A Crown-backed loan scheme for businesses opened in July 2026; however, parties differ on what else they would do, and on households.
At a glance
| Party | New offshore exploration | LNG import terminal | Main answer to the dry-year problem | Help for gas users |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National | For. Reversed the ban in 2025 | For. Contract decision deferred until after the election | LNG backstop; Huntly coal stockpile in the meantime | Gas Transition Loan Guarantee Scheme (in place) |
| ACT | Strongly for | For, as near-term backup | Market-led investment, with LNG for dry years | No separate policy found |
| NZ First | Strongly for. Also advocates for a $1b offshore survey | Accepts it as the "least worst" option; prefers domestic gas | More domestic gas; split up the gentailers | Points to the Budget 2026 loan scheme |
| Labour | Against. Reinstate the ban; however, they will honour existing permits | Against. Won't proceed if it can be stopped | Electricity market reform work in the first 100 days | Supports partnering with business to electrify; no detailed programme published |
| Greens | Strongly against. Reinstate the ban and revoke new permits | Against | Kiwipower, a publicly owned renewable generator | Expand Warmer Kiwi Homes to cover household gas transitions |
| Te Pāti Māori | Strongly against | Against | Storage, demand flexibility, geothermal, community solar | No specific policy found |
| Opportunity | Strongly against | Against | 30 GW of new renewables by 2050 through a cross-party accord | No specific policy found |
The governing parties
National
National's view is that falling gas supply is an energy security problem that needs a firm backstop. In government it passed the Crown Minerals Amendment Act 2025, which reversed the offshore exploration ban and changed the law's purpose from managing exploration to promoting it (WhichParty NZ).
Its centrepiece is the LNG terminal. MBIE has selected a preferred provider, proposing a floating storage and regasification vessel moored at Port Taranaki, but says a final contract won't be signed before the election (The Post). Christopher Luxon has said plainly: "I do want an LNG backstop facility" (NZ Listener). Until LNG arrives, the Government is relying on a coal stockpile at Huntly (Bloomberg via Energy Connects) and has consulted on a Winter Energy Reliability Obligation requiring large buyers and generators to secure back-up supply (Enerdata).
For gas users, the Government introduced the Gas Transition Loan Guarantee Scheme in Budget 2026. The Crown guarantees 80% of each loan, supporting up to $1.2 billion of lending to businesses using at least 1,000 GJ of gas a year, with a $50 million cap per borrower (MBIE). It opened on 31 July 2026 through ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Kiwibank and Westpac and runs for three years (MBIE). National's 2 October election energy policy focuses on lines companies, Transpower and rooftop solar rather than gas (NZ Herald).
ACT
ACT is the most consistently pro-gas party. It opposed the 2018 ban from the start, arguing it pushed production offshore rather than cutting emissions. ACT backed the decision to import LNG while saying it would rather see New Zealanders use locally produced gas. Its energy spokesman Simon Court put the party's case simply: "Gas is a practical, reliable option when hydro lakes are low" (ACT).
ACT wants the electricity market to stay investment-led, supports LNG for near-term dry-year security, and sees transmission and distribution connections as the main constraint on new generation (Electrification NZ). It opposes breaking up the gentailers. Together with NZ First, it agreed that no LNG contract would be signed before the election (RNZ).
NZ First
NZ First wants to go further than its coalition partners on domestic gas. Its headline policy is an initial $1 billion National Subsurface Development Survey of offshore basins. The party says results could come within 12 months, with any finds used to end gas shortfalls and seed a Norwegian-style sovereign fund (1News). The survey would also map geothermal resources and potential carbon storage sites.
NZ First is less enthusiastic about LNG. At the BusinessNZ energy debate its spokesperson described the terminal as the "least worst option" and said domestically produced gas would be preferable (Stuff). The party also campaigns on separating electricity generation from retail, and points to the Budget 2026 loan scheme as one of its wins in government (Electrification NZ). Worth noting: NZ First was part of the 2017–2020 government that introduced the original ban.
The opposition parties
Labour
Labour introduced the 2018 ban and has pledged to reinstate it, while honouring permits already granted (WhichParty NZ). It opposes the LNG terminal. Chris Hipkins has said signing a binding contract before the election would be "recklessly irresponsible" (Stuff), and Labour's campaign chair has confirmed that LNG is carved out of the party's commitment to honour projects already under way (interest.co.nz).
On the alternative, Labour's detail is still emerging. Energy spokesperson Megan Woods says a Labour government would begin work on structural reform of the electricity market within its first 100 days, focused on the dry-year problem and on backing up intermittent renewables. She has long floated a "thermal co" model and says there is likely no single solution (The Post). Labour has also announced SolarSaver, a $160 million, four-year programme for household and community solar and batteries (Labour).
For businesses, Labour says government should partner with firms to electrify, but it has not yet published a full industry programme (Electrification NZ). We could not find a Labour statement on whether it would keep, change or replace the Gas Transition Loan Guarantee Scheme.
Green Party
The Greens take the hardest line against new gas. Co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has pledged to reinstate the ban and revoke any permits granted since it was lifted, going further than Labour (WhichParty NZ). The party opposes the LNG terminal; launching its energy policy at the Dunedin Gasworks Museum, Swarbrick said: "Gas belongs in a museum" (Green Party).
Its answer to the dry-year problem is Kiwipower, a publicly owned company that would invest directly in renewable generation and support independent players. For households, the Greens would expand Warmer Kiwi Homes to cover gas transitions for low-income homes, alongside zero-interest loans for solar and batteries and $200 million for community-owned renewables (Green Party).
Te Pāti Māori
Te Pāti Māori opposes both the exploration reversal and LNG imports. Co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said of the terminal: "That's not energy security, that's energy dependency" (Te Pāti Māori). The party's alternative is to invest in storage and demand flexibility, expand geothermal, back rooftop solar with workable feed-in tariffs, build community microgrids, and direct the state-owned gentailers to treat dry-year risk as a public obligation. Its September Energy Sovereignty policy centres on who owns new generation, shifting ownership towards whānau, hapū, iwi and communities.
Opportunity
The Opportunity Party opposes the LNG terminal and new exploration, and plans to retire gas-fired plants (WhichParty NZ). Its Abundant Energy plan seeks cross-party agreement to add 30 GW of renewable capacity by 2050, ring-fence government profits from power generation for reinvestment in renewables, merge energy regulators and consolidate the 29 lines companies into no more than eight (1News).
Where they agree, and where they don't
Common ground. Every party accepts that domestic gas is declining and that the dry-year problem is real. Every party supports more rooftop solar in some form; National's October policy has been compared to Labour's SolarSaver.
The real divide is the backstop. The governing parties want imported gas (and, for ACT and NZ First, more domestic gas) to cover dry years. The opposition parties want storage, renewables, demand flexibility and, for Labour and the Greens, a bigger role for the state in firming.
Cross-cutting lines. On breaking up the gentailers, NZ First and the Greens are on the same side, against National, ACT and Opportunity, with Labour leaving the door open. On exploration permits already granted, Labour and the Greens differ: Labour would honour them, the Greens would revoke them.
Coalition arithmetic matters. Under MMP the smaller parties will shape the outcome. National has ruled out working with Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori, and NZ First has ruled out Labour. On stated positions, a National-led government would likely keep exploration open and pursue LNG, though how hard NZ First pushes for domestic gas over imports is an open question. A Labour-led government would likely reinstate the ban and cancel the terminal if it hasn't been contracted, with the treatment of new permits a likely negotiating point with the Greens.
What it means for your business
While it is easy to get overwhelmed by the myriad of differences, in this case, Sustainability Partners would encourage business owners to focus on the clear areas where there is certainty and consensus. Whichever way the vote goes, the direction for gas users is the same: less gas, at higher and less predictable prices.
- Domestic supply keeps falling either way. Exploration, even if successful, is slow. NZ First itself describes a pathway of around six years from survey to domestic supply (RNZ via Ground News).
- LNG is a backstop, not a rescue. It is now delayed, the 2028 start looks out of reach, and under a change of government it may not happen at all. If it does, it brings international pricing. We cover this in more detail in what the LNG terminal means for manufacturers.
- The loan scheme is open now. The Gas Transition Loan Guarantee Scheme runs for three years from July 2026, and EECA co-funding is available today. No opposition party has said it would scrap the scheme, but none has committed to keep it either. A project financed under the current rules carries less political risk than one that waits for the next government's settings.
- The easiest wins don't depend on politics. Low-temperature process heat, hot water and space heating are the most straightforward to electrify, and they are where most sites should start.
Next step: talk to us to discover your options. Start by checking your funding eligibility in two minutes, then book a 30-minute call and we'll work through the right path for your business.
Information current as of 20 October 2026, based on party announcements and media reporting. Party positions may change before the 7 November election. Sustainability Partners is non-partisan and does not support or oppose any political party.