The politics of New Zealand function within a framework of an independent unitary parliamentary representative democracy. The system of government is based on the Westminster system, and the legal system is modelled on the common law of England. New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy in which King Charles III is the sovereign and head of state, while his prime minister serves as the head of government.
The New Zealand National Party, shortened to National or the Nats, is a centre-right New Zealand political party, currently leading a coalition government. It is one of two major parties that dominate contemporary New Zealand politics, alongside its traditional rival, the Labour Party.
ACT New Zealand, also known as the ACT Party or simply ACT, is a right-wing, classical-liberal political party in New Zealand. It is currently led by David Seymour, and is in coalition with the National and New Zealand First parties, as part of the Sixth National government.
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, commonly known as Green or the Greens, is a green and left-wing political party in New Zealand. Like many green parties around the world, it has four pillars. The party's ideology combines environmentalism with left-wing and social-democratic economic policies, including well-funded and locally controlled public services within the confines of a steady-state economy. Internationally, it is affiliated with the Global Greens.
New Zealand First, commonly abbreviated to NZ First, is a populist and nationalist political party in New Zealand. The party formed in 1993 following the resignation of its leader and founder, Winston Peters, from the National Party. Peters had been the Member of Parliament for Tauranga since 1984 and it was the base for New Zealand First until defeats to National Party candidates in 2005 and 2008. The party has formed coalition governments with both major political parties in New Zealand: with the National Party from 1996 to 1998 and 2023 to present, and with the Labour Party from 2005 to 2008 and 2017 to 2020. New Zealand First currently serves in a coalition government with both National and ACT as part of the Sixth National government.
Libertarianz was a political party in New Zealand that advocated libertarianism, favouring self-government and limiting the power of the government over the individual. Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism was a major influence on the party. Its slogan "More Freedom, Less Government" is indicative of the party's basic policy platform. It went into recess and was de-registered by its own request in 29 January 2014.
Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party (ALCP), also known as the Cannabis Party, is a political party in New Zealand. It is dedicated to the legalisation of cannabis for medical, recreational and industrial use. It was founded in 1996 and has stood in every general election since, but has never won representation in Parliament. Several of its members have gone on to political success after leaving the party.
This article discusses Christian politics in New Zealand.
Te Pāti Māori, also known as the Māori Party, is a political party in New Zealand advocating Māori rights. With the exception of a handful of general electorates, Te Pāti Māori contests the reserved Māori electorates, in which its main rival is the Labour Party.
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent statutory authority and agency of the Australian Government responsible for the management of federal Australian elections, by-elections and referendums.
Aupito Tofae Su'a William Sio is a politician who became a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives on 1 April 2008 for the Labour Party as a list MP. Since the November 2008 election, he has represented the Māngere electorate.
The Libertarian Party, formerly known as the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), is an Australian political party founded in Canberra in 2001. The party espouses smaller government and supports policies that are based on classical liberal, libertarian principles, such as lower taxes, opposing restrictions on civil liberties, decentralisation, utilising nuclear energy, and the relaxation of smoking laws.
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 votes to elect members of Parliament (MPs). The first vote is for a candidate from an electorate. The second is the party vote – for the political party the voter wants to form the government.
Todd Michael McClay is a New Zealand politician and former ambassador. He is the Member of Parliament for Rotorua. He was previously an ambassador for the Cook Islands and Niue to the European Union.
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.
Alfred Ngaro is a New Zealand politician. He was a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 2011 to 2020, representing the National Party. He unsuccessfully contested the 2023 general election as the leader of NewZeal, a Christian conservative party.
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.
The Ban 1080 Party was a political party in New Zealand that opposed the use of sodium fluoroacetate (1080) poison, which is widely used in New Zealand for controlling mammalian pests such as possums and rats. The party was founded in 2014 by Bill Wallace and its co-leaders were Bill Wallace and Mike Downard. The party was registered by the Electoral Commission in 2014 and deregistered in February 2018.
The 2023 New Zealand general election was held on 14 October 2023 to determine the composition of the 54th Parliament of New Zealand. Voters elected 122 members to the unicameral New Zealand House of Representatives under the mixed-member proportional (MMP) voting system, with 71 members elected from single-member electorates and the remaining members elected from closed party lists. Of the 72 electorates, only 71 seats were filled, with the remaining electorate MP determined in the 2023 Port Waikato by-election, due to the death of one of the general election candidates. Two overhang seats were added due to Te Pāti Māori winning six electorate seats when the party vote only entitled them to four seats, with an additional overhang seat added after the by-election making for 123 members of parliament.
Brooke Olivia van Velden is a New Zealand politician who has served as the deputy leader of ACT New Zealand since June 2020. She has been a member of Parliament (MP) since the 2020 general election, first as a list MP and, since 2023, the MP for Tāmaki. Van Velden currently serves in the National-led government as the 38th minister of internal affairs and 6th minister for workplace relations and safety. She is the second youngest cabinet minister in New Zealand history, being just 8 days older than Phil Goff was when he became Minister of Housing after the 1984 election.
