At a glance
- The Green Party published its AI policy on 12 October 2026, 26 days before New Zealand votes on 7 November.
- It asks for a pause on consenting new hyperscale data centres "until the regulatory framework is established".
- In July the party asked for a one-year pause, and the written policy gives the pause no end date.
- New data centres would need an impact assessment, new renewable generation for all their power, water limits with public reporting, and local consent.
- Contact Energy and CDC had not lodged a consent application for their 250MW Stratford proposal as at 16 September, and it sits well above the 50MW line Swarbrick gave in July.
The Green Party published its AI policy on 12 October 2026. It calls for a pause on consenting new hyperscale data centres, the largest campuses built for cloud and AI companies, until national rules for them exist. Co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick launched it with the line "We don't work for AI", RNZ reported.
The written policy gives the pause no end date. When the party first called for it on 26 July 2026, it asked for one year. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called the July proposal "quite alarmist" and said a moratorium "sends a message to global investors". A day later he directed officials to draft principles for the sector, a task given to Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis.
The Greens set four conditions for new data centres
The policy requires a mandatory environmental impact assessment for each hyperscale AI data centre. It asks each new AI facility to bring new renewable generation covering all of its energy use, instead of competing for existing supply. It adds limits on water use with public reporting, and community consultation with local consent.
Of the three parties, only the Greens say how much new power a data centre must bring: enough new renewable generation to cover everything it uses. National asks for new, firmed generation with each project, meaning supply that can run when wind and sun fall away, and Labour asks a campus to secure its own renewable supply. Neither sets a share.
The policy says new infrastructure "should only proceed where environmental and community benefits are clear." It does not say who assesses a project, how much water a site may use, or what local consent means in law.
On data, the policy says information people have given the government, and classified government data, should not go to third parties for model training or inference, and that "Onshoring public data should be prioritised." The data centre measures sit in an eight-page document that also calls for labels on AI-generated content and an AI office inside the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Swarbrick said in July the pause meant sites of 50MW and up
The policy gives hyperscale no size. In July interviews Swarbrick put the line at 50MW, the size at which she said facilities are "defined internationally" as hyperscale.
Swarbrick argued in July that councils decide these consents under their own planning rules, and can grant them on a non-notified basis with no public input, RNZ reported. A non-notified consent is one a council grants without public submissions. She called the pause a chance to "figure out the right way to do this".
A 50MW line leaves out sites of 20-30MW, the size Anthropic and OpenAI have sought overseas, CNBC reported in September. MBIE lists three data centre feeders of that size due in Auckland in 2027. A feeder is a power line run from a local substation.
National and Labour ask data centres to bring their own power
National and Labour each want a large campus to bring new generation with it, and neither proposes a pause.
| Party | What it asks of new data centres | Published |
|---|---|---|
| National, in government | New, firmed generation with each project; Luxon added grid investment and paying for transmission upgrades | 14 August 2026 (South Island plan); Luxon to RNZ, 27 July 2026 |
| Labour, in opposition | Own renewable supply, own connection costs, lower demand at peak times, efficient water use | 9 September 2026 (AI in New Zealand's Interests) |
| Greens, July | A one-year pause on consenting new AI data centres | 26 July 2026 (release) |
| Greens, October | A pause on consenting new hyperscale data centres until national rules exist, plus impact assessments, new renewable generation for all energy use, water limits and local consent | 12 October 2026 (Safe, sovereign AI) |
Source: National, plan for the South Island; Labour, AI in New Zealand's Interests; Green Party release, 26 July 2026, and Safe, sovereign AI, 12 October 2026.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins opposed a moratorium in July and said Labour would pursue action "very similar" to what Australia was doing. ACT leader David Seymour called the July pause unrealistic, arguing that New Zealand needs technology that lifts productivity and wages. Labour published its four conditions on 9 September.
Datagrid holds consents for its first 280MW at Makarewa
Datagrid's Makarewa campus in Southland holds consents for a first stage of 280MW, granted in March 2026, and Datagrid projects 1,000MW at full build. Environment Southland declined a request to review its water consent on 22 September. CDC's 54MW Hobsonville Campus Two in Auckland is operating.
Contact Energy and CDC were still preparing a consent application for their 250MW Stratford proposal in Taranaki when Contact told shareholders on 16 September that its key hurdles might clear within six to 12 months. Contact has said the project depends on securing anchor tenants, meaning customers that commit early to a large share of the space, plus approvals and project finance. Stratford District Council decides land use, and Taranaki Regional Council decides water and discharge.
The Greens confirmed the change to The Post
The Post reported the change on 12 October under the headline "Greens' AI data centre pause now has no end date". A party spokesperson confirmed to the paper that the new wording allows large new data centres to be consented sooner than a one-year moratorium would, and The Post noted that with no fixed end date it could also mean later. The paper reported that National is sticking with the coalition's principles-based approach under existing law.
RNZ, interest.co.nz, NBR and Newstalk ZB covered the launch, where Green MP Lawrence Xu-Nan told Newstalk ZB that AI needs to be sensibly regulated. As at 13 October we found no published response to the policy from a data centre operator or an industry body.
We expect the consenting pause to carry less weight after the election than the power and water conditions, because National rejected a pause in July and Labour opposed one, while both already ask a large campus to bring its own power. The Greens' requirement for new renewable generation equal to a facility's full use goes further than either party's, and is the part a coalition partner might adopt without a pause.
What to watch
- The 7 November election. The Greens are in opposition, so the pause and the conditions apply only if they join the next government and it adopts them.
- A size for hyperscale. A written figure from the party would settle which projects the pause covers.
- Waikato Regional Council on 29 October. Its draft statement asks developers to fund new power for their demand and disclose water use, and is due back for possible adoption that day, nine days before the vote.
- The Stratford application. Contact Energy and CDC were preparing it for the two Taranaki councils in September.
- The government's principles. Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet have held them since 27 July 2026, and had not published them as at 12 October.