National is promising to modernise laws on sexual consent, saying there must be consent before sex every time, rather than assuming it has been given.
The party says if it is re-elected, it will ensure that consent is actively given, meaning there must be a "yes" rather than the absence of a "no".
Both Labour and Greens have called out the National party for walking away from cross party support on the issue.
Justice spokesperson Paul Goldsmith said the "yes" could be communicated by words or actions and that silence was not consent.
"Unlike other jurisdictions we normally compare ourselves with, New Zealand law does not define what consent is. Rather, the Crimes Act provides a non-exhaustive list of what consent is not.
"The change would align the law with what we've been telling our kids for a long time: that you need positive consent before sex, each and every time, rather than presuming it," he said.
In court cases, the prosecution would still need to prove beyond reasonable doubt that consent was not given and that the defendant did not believe on reasonable grounds that it was, he said.
"This isn't only about the courts, where explaining what consent is, not just what it isn't, helps judges and juries. It also resets social expectations, so that sex is understood as something both people actively choose."
Goldsmith said National's sexual consent laws built on the party's promise to ban good character discounts at sentencing for all sexual offending, and its work in government to give sexual violence victims the power to determine whether their perpetrators received permanent name suppression.
Labour, Greens call out National for waiting despite cross party support
The Labour Party agree the government should crack on with tightening consent laws, by supporting a member's bill Labour has already drafted.
The bill was developed by a cross-party group of MPs and seeks to define consent as something "communicated through words or actions" and make clear the consent cannot be inferred from silence or inaction and make it clear that a person cannot reasonably believe consent has been given unless they have taken reasonable steps to establish it.
In a statement, Labour's Justice spokesperson Camilla Belich said the reform was ready and National could act now or "continue to delay".
"This should never have become a political issue. MPs from across Parliament worked together to develop this Bill because New Zealanders deserve consent laws that are clear, modern and fit for purpose."
"It's deeply disappointing National walked away from those bipartisan discussions. If they are serious on reform, why wait? We can do this now. This Bill already has support from the Labour and Green caucus and is being actively discussed with other parties across the House."
The Green party also called out National for walking away from cross party support to improve consent laws.
Greens co leader Marama Davidson said if National is so keen on the safety of survivors, the party could make it happen straight away with support from the Greens and Labour.
Davidson said National walked away from cross party work to progress their own bill, but are delaying change and turning it into a false election issue.
Asked if he would be willing to get the reform over the line by working with the opposition, Goldsmith said National were "focussed" but already had an "extremely" busy agenda.
"'I've got many changes in relation to retail crime and a whole bunch of things that we've been doing, and we're indicating that if we're re-elected, we'll be changing the law in this space."
"I'm glad that Labour are supportive of it, and I'm surprised they didn't do it when they were in government." he said.
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