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# NZ First Just Made The First Organic Pledge Of The Election. Here's What Happens Next.
- URL: https://www.organicfoodtogether.nz/nz-first-just-made-the-first-organic-pledge-of-the-election-heres-what-happens-next/
- Published: 2026-09-21T18:31:36.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-21T18:46:03.000Z
- Description: In August, the organic sector told every party the same thing: nobody has a policy for us. On Sunday, one of them finally did.
- Author: Luke Nicholas
- Tags: Politics, organic certification, regulation, Election 2026

In early August, Organics Aotearoa New Zealand spent two days in Wellington putting the same message to every political party it could get in front of: [not one of you has a specific policy](https://ruralnewsgroup.co.nz/rural-news/rural-general-news/oanz-national-organic-policy-election-2026?ref=organicfoodtogether.nz) for growing organics in this country. OANZ called it out publicly, [put seven questions to every party](https://www.oanz.org/new-blog/vote-organic-2026-organic-election-manifesto?ref=organicfoodtogether.nz), and started building a scorecard to hold them to it.

On Sunday, New Zealand First became the first party, as far as I can find, to actually answer that call. [Point 15](https://www.nzfirst.nz/nzfirst%5Fcampaign%5Fannouncement%5Fthe%5Fplan%5Fto%5Fmake%5Fnz%5Fhealthy?ref=organicfoodtogether.nz) of its 15-point "Make NZ Healthy" policy commits to backing organic producers, cutting "unnecessary barriers," and growing new markets so the sector can create jobs, strengthen regional communities, and get more value from the land.

That's the first commitment from any party this election that names organic growers directly and promises to act for them. Fourteen of the policy's other points are about vitamins, metabolic health, GP workload and dietary guidelines; this is the one about the sector I write about every day, and it's worth sitting with for a second. After months of the sector saying nobody was listening, somebody wrote it into a campaign document.

What it doesn't have yet is detail. No number, no named barrier, no mechanism, no date. That's normal for a first announcement, not a knock against it, but it does raise a question worth asking now, while it's still live: which barriers?

There's a real answer available to that question this week. [The Ministry for Primary Industries has been consulting](https://www.mpi.govt.nz/consultations/proposed-changes-to-new-zealands-organic-regulations?ref=organicfoodtogether.nz) since 11 August on how New Zealand's new organic regulations will actually work, and submissions close at 11:59pm today, 22 September 2026\. This is the same consultation behind [the $10,000 threshold piece](https://www.organicfoodtogether.nz/the-10-000-line-that-decides-which-organic-growers-get-checked/) I wrote last month. It covers four things:

- Whether the $10,000 annual turnover exemption threshold stays, rises to $12,700 (inflation-adjusted), rises to $30,000, or moves somewhere else entirely
- Whether MPI can issue infringement notices for minor paperwork failures, and whether the proposed fees are fair
- A set of technical clarifications to the Organic Products and Production Regulations and Organic Standards Regulations
- Whether New Zealand gets one national organic mark, several, or none

These are, right now, the actual candidates for "unnecessary barriers." Full compliance with the new Organic Standards Regulations is mandatory from 31 March 2028, so whatever comes out of this consultation is what growers will be operating under well before the next government's term is out, regardless of who forms it.

If you're a certified or almost-certified organic operator, there's still time to have a say in what "cut unnecessary barriers" should actually mean before it's decided without you. [The submission form is here](https://mpi.surveymonkey.com/r/8PGC3G5?ref=organicfoodtogether.nz), or you can email [organicsconsultation@mpi.govt.nz](mailto:organicsconsultation@mpi.govt.nz).

OANZ's own scorecard on how every party answered its seven questions is still to come. Once it's out, we'll know whether NZ First's pledge lines up with what the sector actually asked for, and whether anyone else has followed.

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