Jones has handed US tariff negotiators a local critic to quote

A campaign line with a target on it

NZ First deputy leader Shane Jones used a Lower Hutt public meeting on 31 August 2026 to accuse the Bay of Plenty kiwifruit industry of “medieval slave practices”, and he did not leave it as a throwaway insult. He framed it as a platform commitment, saying “it’s time for a review of the Zespri legislation, because I fear that they have trivialised their social licence, and we mean to do something about it if we come back into power.”

That is a direct shot at the legislative structure underpinning one of the country’s most valuable export industries. And the timing could hardly be worse.

The sector he is aiming at

Kiwifruit is not a soft target. Export earnings hit a record $3.66 billion in 2024/25, up $958 million or 35% in a single year. Zespri’s audited financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2026 show fruit and service payments to growers of $3.166 billion, up from $2.321 billion the year before. The industry is targeting global sales approaching $7 billion by 2030.

That growth trajectory rests on one thing above all others: enough hands to pick the fruit. NZKGI’s pre-harvest labour report documented that around 27,000 workers are needed across the country during peak harvest, with New Zealanders making up 40%, working holiday visa holders 30%, and Recognised Seasonal Employment (RSE) workers 27%. The USDA’s February 2026 sector report flagged labour availability as a major constraint on harvest yield. This is not a workforce the sector can casually shed.

The problem is real, even if the rhetoric is not

Jones’s language is inflammatory, but the exploitation cases are documented. On 19 August 2026 the Employment Relations Authority ordered Bay of Plenty employer Indo Kiwi Horticulture and its former director to pay a combined $400,000 for exploiting migrant workers. Four Indian nationals were underpaid, and three had paid premiums totalling more than $65,000, some of which ended up in accounts linked to the director’s family in India. ERA member Jeremy Lynch noted the “inherent power imbalance” was “amplified by the fact the complainants were relying on the support of their employer in respect of their immigration status.”

It is not a one-off. A separate case surfaced in July 2026 involving a kiwifruit picking contractor who systematically underpaid workers, with arrears of $61,312 owed to four people. The pattern sits at the contractor tier, the layer between growers, Zespri and the workers themselves, and that is precisely where enforcement is thinnest.

Why the tariff timing is toxic

Here is the part that should worry the government. The US reimposed tariffs on New Zealand exports in 2026, partly citing forced labour concerns, and Trade Minister Todd McClay rejected that outright, insisting there is no support for forced labour in the New Zealand system. Jones is now making the opposite argument at home, that the problem is real and traceable to kiwifruit. That contradiction hands the US narrative more oxygen at the worst possible moment for an industry chasing market access.

The reforms Jones ignores

The government is already moving. Immigration Minister Erica Stanford announced RSE changes in July 2026, phased over two years, including a migrant exploitation protection visa that lets workers break contract and stay for up to six months, plus clearer accommodation standards. A further update on 31 August 2026 confirmed exemplary employers could earn six-year accreditation periods.

HortNZ chief executive Kate Scott welcomed the reforms, saying they “will help growers meet seasonal labour needs while ensuring New Zealanders remain the first priority for available jobs.” Back in 2023, HortNZ warned in a policy submission that “without the RSE scheme, a sustainable workforce and continued growth of the horticultural industry would cease to exist”. That dependency has not changed.

Zespri, for its part, says all supplying growers are certified to GLOBALG.A.P and GRASP standards, contractors are vetted by independent ethical labour investigators, and it proactively reports concerns to agencies. That is a more robust framework than Jones’s language implies, but the ERA cases show it is not reaching the contractor tier effectively.

What growers should watch

The business risk is layered. Short term, political heat means more inspections, tighter contractor vetting, and rising compliance costs, all of which land on growers. A Zespri legislative review, if it happens, introduces uncertainty over the single-desk export structure that underpins grower returns. And any disruption to RSE supply during harvest hits yield directly for a sector already naming labour as its primary constraint.

The deeper danger is reputational. If a slave labour narrative gains traction internationally, amplified by both US tariff rhetoric and domestic campaigning, it threatens the social licence and market access of an industry that just posted its best year on record. Jones has picked a genuine problem and wrapped it in language that could do far more damage than the exploitation itself.

Sources

• Shane Jones accuses kiwifruit industry of ‘slave practices’, slams National over regional shakeup (2026-08-31)
• Kiwifruit labour company must pay $400k for exploiting migrant workers (2026-08-19)
• ‘Not here for a holiday’: What standards RSE workers should expect (2026-08-31)
• Govt announces RSE changes, accommodation an open question (2026-07-29)
• ‘Kia ora! Welcome to your job. It’ll cost you $60k’ (2026-07-28)
• Voluntary Report – New Zealand Kiwifruit Sector (USDA FAS) (2026-02-05)
• Zespri Group Limited and Subsidiaries Financial Statements 2026 (2026-03-31)
• Kiwifruit Industry Performance Report 2025 (NZKGI) (2025-07)
• NZKGI Pre-harvest Seasonal Labour Report 2024 (2024-04-02)
• HortNZ Welcomes Immigration Changes That Strengthen the RSE Scheme (2026-07-29)
• Recognised Seasonal Employer policy review – HortNZ submission (2023-04-24)