ACT New Zealand, usually known as ACT, is a conservative and classical liberal political party in New Zealand. According to former party leader Rodney Hide, ACT stands for "individual freedom, personal responsibility, doing the best for our natural environment and for smaller, smarter government in its goals of a prosperous economy, a strong society, and a quality of life that is the envy of the world". Young ACT is its affiliated, albeit not official, student wing.
Electoral reform in New Zealand has, in recent years, become a political issue as major changes have been made to both parliamentary and local government electoral systems.
New Zealand is a representative democracy. Members of the unicameral New Zealand Parliament gain their seats through nationwide general elections, or in by-elections. General elections are usually held every three years; they may be held at an earlier date at the discretion of the prime minister, although it usually only happens in the event of a vote of no confidence or other exceptional circumstances. A by-election is held to fill a vacancy arising during a parliamentary term. The most recent general election took place on 17 October 2020.
United Future New Zealand, usually known as United Future, was a centrist political party in New Zealand. The party was in government between 2005 and 2017, first alongside Labour (2005–2008) and then supporting National (2008–2017).
The Workers Party of New Zealand was a socialist political party in New Zealand. It published a monthly magazine called "The Spark". In February 2013 the party was transformed from a "mass workers party" to a "fighting propaganda group". The organisation was renamed to Fightback.
Elections in Australia take place periodically to elect the legislature of the Commonwealth of Australia, as well as for each Australian state and territory and for local government councils. Elections in all jurisdictions follow similar principles, though there are minor variations between them. The elections for the Australian Parliament are held under the federal electoral system, which is uniform throughout the country, and the elections for state and territory Parliaments are held under the electoral system of each state and territory.
The Kiwi Party was a political party operating in New Zealand between 2007 and 2011. Briefly known as Future New Zealand, it was a breakaway from the United Future New Zealand party and sought to carry on the tradition of Future New Zealand. The party was formed when MP Gordon Copeland left United Future after a dispute over support for the Crimes Amendment Act 2007. At the 2008 general election, the Kiwi Party was unsuccessful, and was not re-elected to Parliament. It did not contest the 2011 general election under its own banner, but the leaders and other members stood for the Conservative Party.
The Republic of New Zealand Party is an unregistered New Zealand political party which seeks to end monarchy in New Zealand. It was a registered party from 2005 to 2009, contesting two general elections in that time and each time receiving the lowest share of the party vote. After deregistration, some members continued in politics under the party name, though since at least 2011 only one person, Jack Gielen, has contested elections under the name.
The New Zealand electoral system has been mixed-member proportional (MMP) since 1996. MMP was introduced after a referendum in 1993. MMP replaced the first-past-the-post (FPP) system New Zealand had previously used for most of its history.
Craig Raymond Robert Foss is a New Zealand investment banker and politician. He was elected to the Hawke's Bay Regional Council in October 2019 and was previously the Member of Parliament for Tukituki from 2005 until 2017.
Te Atatū is a parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The current MP for Te Atatū is Phil Twyford of the Labour Party.
The Bill and Ben Party was a New Zealand joke political party formed in 2008 and voluntarily deregistered in 2010. The party's leaders were Jamie Linehan and Ben Boyce of the TV3 satirical sports show Pulp Sport. In the 2008 general election the party secured 0.56% of the vote, outpolling every other party not in parliament prior to the election. It gained the ninth-highest number of votes out of the 19 parties standing for election.
Taupō is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate returning one Member of Parliament to the House of Representatives. Taupo first existed between 1963 and 1981, and was recreated for the introduction of MMP in 1996. The current MP for Taupō is Louise Upston of the National Party. She has held this position since 2008.
The 2011 Te Tai Tokerau by-election was a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Te Tai Tokerau that was caused by Hone Harawira's resignation from the seat. He chose to re-contest it with the Mana Party in order to seek a new mandate for his views. After generating several days of media interest and criticism Harawira announced on 4 May 2011 that he was delaying his resignation in order to consult his supporters in his electorate. On 11 May 2011 Harawira wrote to the Speaker of the House to resign from Parliament, with effect from 20 May 2011. On 12 May 2011 the Prime Minister John Key announced that the by-election would be held on 25 June.
The OurNZ Party was a political party in New Zealand. The party advocated a new currency, a 1% transaction tax, a written constitution, and binding referenda. Its founding leaders were former Direct Democracy Party leader Kelvyn Alp and Rangitunoa Black.
Focus NZ was a political party in New Zealand. Founded as "NZ Rural", the party was based in Northland and represented the interests of business owners, producers and provincial communities. Areas of concern include the exchange rate and empowerment of communities.
The Internet Party is a political party in New Zealand that promotes Internet freedom and privacy. Founded in January 2014 with the support of Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom, the party contested the 2014 New Zealand election as part of an electoral alliance with the Mana Movement but failed to win any seats in the New Zealand House of Representatives. The Internet Party contested the 2017 general election under the leadership of journalist Suzie Dawson but failed to win any seats.
The New Zealand People's Party is a political party in New Zealand. The party was established in 2015 and has a particular focus on the rights of immigrants. It operated as an independent party for a 2016 by-election and the 2017 general election, and as a component party of Advance New Zealand for the 2020 election. The party's leader, as of September 2020, is Anil Sharma.
Vision NZ is a nationalist political party in New Zealand led by Hannah Tamaki, the co-leader of the Christian movement Destiny Church. The party was announced in May 2019. It contested the 2020 New Zealand general election both for electorate seats and the party list vote, receiving 0.1% of the party vote and winning no seats.
Heartland New Zealand is a New Zealand political party founded in 2020. The party is rural-based, and opposes the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, the Paris Agreement, and attempts to limit the environmental impacts of agriculture. The party is led by former Franklin District mayor Mark Ball, who is the party's candidate for Port Waikato. It is backed by Hamilton entrepreneur Harry Mowbray, a billionaire who, with his siblings, was on the 2019 NBR Rich List.
