Electoral reform in New Zealand has been a political issue in the past as major changes have been made to both parliamentary and local government electoral systems.
New Zealand is a representative democracy in which members of the unicameral New Zealand Parliament gain their seats through elections. General elections are usually held every three years; they may be held at an earlier date at the discretion of the prime minister, but that usually only happens in the event of a vote of no confidence or other exceptional circumstances. A by-election is held to fill an electorate vacancy arising during a parliamentary term. The most recent general election took place on 14 October 2023.
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 subsequently renamed 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, although 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 New Zealand Family Rights Protection Party was a political party in New Zealand. Membership were primarily Pasifika New Zealanderss, on a platform that the established political parties did not give sufficient consideration to the concerns of Pacific Islanders in New Zealand.
The Electoral Commission is an independent Crown entity set up by the New Zealand Parliament. It is responsible for the administration of parliamentary elections and referendums, promoting compliance with electoral laws, servicing the work of the Representation Commission, and the provision of advice, reports and public education on electoral matters. The commission also assists electoral agencies of other countries on a reciprocal basis with their electoral events.
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 the 1996 election. MMP was introduced following a referendum in 1993. It replaced the first-past-the-post (FPP) system New Zealand had previously used for most of its history. Under MMP, New Zealanders have two secret ballot votes to elect members of Parliament (MPs). The first vote is for a candidate from an electorate, a geographic electoral district. The second is the party vote for the political party the voter wants to form the government.
The New World Order was a registered political party in New Zealand. The party was founded in 2006 by Nathan Lee Couper. Its stated goal was to bring about global peace through a unified World Government. The Chief of the WGEC is Stephanie Monique Smith.
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.
The Mana Movement, originally known as the Mana Party, is a former political party in New Zealand. The party was led by Hone Harawira who formed it in April 2011 following his resignation from the Māori Party. Harawira won the by-election in Te Tai Tokerau of 25 June 2011 for the Mana Party and retained the seat during the 2011 general election in November.
The New Zealand Sovereignty Party was a political party in New Zealand. It was founded in 2010 by Southland businessman Tony Corbett.
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 referendums. Its founding leaders were former Direct Democracy Party leader Kelvyn Alp and Rangitunoa Black.
The Internet Party was a registered political party in New Zealand that promoted Internet freedom and privacy. The party was founded in January 2014 with the financial support and promotion of internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom, and was first led by former Alliance MP Laila Harré, then by citizen journalist Suzie Dawson.
Political funding in New Zealand deals with political donations, public funding and other forms of funding received by politician or political party in New Zealand to pay for an election campaign. Only quite recently has political funding become an issue of public policy. Now there is direct and indirect funding by public money as well as a skeleton regulation of income, expenditure and transparency.
Vision NZ is a nationalist political party in New Zealand led by Hannah Tamaki, the co-leader of the fundamentalist Christian movement Destiny Church. Its policies have included opposition to abortion, homosexuality, immigration, and the construction of new mosques. It has supported creating a Māori-owned bank and Tūhoe ownership of Te Urewera, and has called for government funding for Destiny Church programmes.
Heartland New Zealand is a New Zealand political party founded in 2020. The party is rural-based, and opposed the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, the Paris Agreement, and attempts to limit the environmental impacts of agriculture.
