Climate activists have dramatically interrupted Parliament’s final Question Time of this term unveiling full-length banners above MPs protesting against a lack of action, particularly on agriculture.

Four protesters unveiled the large pink banners reading: “Too many cows. Climate Action Now”.

Speaker Adrian Rurawhe asked the protesters to leave and they were removed by Parliamentary security.

The protesters, all associated with environmental non-governmental organisation Greenpeace, have been trespassed from Parliament grounds for two years.

Speaking outside Parliament protester Rowan Brooks said they had chosen the final day of the Parliamentary term to advocate for a “climate election”, with a focus on regulating industrial dairy and use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser.

Agricultural emissions make up about half of New Zealand’s entire greenhouse gas emissions.

“We took action today because this Government has not done enough... and the next Government needs to do more.

“We need a climate election to regulate the industrial dairy industry.”

Brooks said they had done petitions and other “creative actions” but progress had been “too little, too slowly”.

He said they had not coordinated with any MPs, and the timing of the speech - during a question to Climate Change Minister and Green Party co-leader James Shaw - was not a dig at any one politician. The executive director of Greenpeace Aotearoa is Russell Norman, former co-leader of the Greens.

“All political parties need to be courageous and push for real climate action,” said Brooks.

“I think the Green Party has done what they can in their position. I’d love to see more leadership from labour. I’d love to see more leadership from National. We need our major political parties to be committing to regulating our worst polluter, which is industrial dairy.”

He said rather than focusing on producing milk powder, the industry could be transformed “into an ecologically grounded, diverse food system, where a whole range of crops are grown in ways which are climate resilient, which create more food that farmers are happier growing, that restore the health of rivers that bring back wildlife”.

Brooks said they had snuck the banners into the public gallery under their clothes and waited for the right moment.

Earlier, Parliament got off to a raucous start for the final Question Time of the 53rd Parliament.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, meanwhile, is facing off against the man vying for his job, National leader Christopher Luxon.

It comes as Parliament adjourns today and politicians officially enter campaign mode ahead of the election on October 14.

Following Question Time party leaders will speak again in the adjournment debate. Both will be livestreamed on the Herald website.

Luxon is addressing Hipkins in the second question.

This week National unveiled its $14.6 billion tax plan.

The party promises to pay for the plan with about $8.4b of cuts and $6.2b of revenue increases, including taxing foreign buyers (after National ends the foreign buyers ban for some homes), taxing online gambling, and raising charges on some visas.

Luxon said the plan would target the “squeezed middle” by lifting income tax brackets to compensate for inflation. The party has called it a “Back Pocket Boost”.

The big change comes from shifting tax thresholds. This is an effective tax cut as it means people will have less of their income taxed at higher rates.

Those changes will mean someone earning $60,000 will get an extra $50 a fortnight. A household on $120,000 without children would get $100 a fortnight and an average income household with children would get $250 a fortnight.

Labour meanwhile has alleged National’s cuts to public spending in its proposed tax plan will threaten key public services, while its intention to allow foreign buyers to purchase Kiwi homes would “pour petrol” on the housing market.

Labour’s finance spokesman Grant Robertson said National’s cuts to public services were more than double what the Government announced on Monday.

“National will be asking for 8 per cent cuts in many agencies and therefore they will not be able to protect frontline services.

“The Government announced earlier this week moderate restraint of public service spending, which would protect frontline services. National’s cuts will gut the agencies that support Kiwis.”

Meanwhile, the Act Party is calling on National to be bolder while the Green Party claims it prioritises wealthy property investors over low and middle-income earners.

Act leader David Seymour was quick to criticise the package as “loose change” and too similar to Labour’s plan.

“Tax bracket indexation is exactly what it sounds like: Labour’s tax policy adjusted for inflation.

“It’s not a tax cut, it’s tinkering that freezes the unfairness of Labour’s tax policy in time. That’s just not good enough for New Zealand, we don’t need to trim the sails, we need a turn-around job.”

Green Party co-leader James Shaw was adamant National’s plan would benefit landlords and property investors over students and people on benefits.

“National’s plan is a cynical ploy to do the absolute least for middle-income earners in order to get away with tax cuts for the wealthiest few,” he said.

“Under National’s plan, people on the lowest incomes would miss out while high-income property speculators can continue to line their pockets.”

He also criticised National’s slashing of public spending as uncertain “pie-in-the-sky stuff” as opposed to the Greens’ policy to create a wealth tax on top earners in New Zealand to fund things like free dental care for all.

The party also claims National’s plan involves cutting the climate budget and cancelling $2 billion of investment in action to cut emissions.