The politics of New Zealand function within a framework of an independent, unitary, parliamentary 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 that is the current senior ruling party. 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, right-libertarian, and conservative 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.
New Zealand First, commonly abbreviated to NZ First or NZF, is a political party in New Zealand, founded and led by Winston Peters, who has served three times as deputy prime minister. The party has formed coalition governments with both major political parties in New Zealand: with the New Zealand National Party from 1996 to 1998 and 2023 to present, and with the New Zealand Labour Party from 2005 to 2008 and 2017 to 2020. New Zealand First currently serves in a coalition government with both National and ACT New Zealand as part of the Sixth National government, having won 6.08% of the total party vote in the 2023 New Zealand general election.
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. Election day is always a Saturday, but advance voting is allowed in the lead-up to it. The most recent general election took place on 14 October 2023.
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.
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.
Damien Peter O'Connor is a New Zealand Labour Party politician who served as Minister of Agriculture, Minister for Biosecurity, Minister for Trade and Export Growth, Minister for Land Information and Minister for Rural Communities in the Sixth Labour Government. He previously served as a cabinet minister in the Fifth Labour Government. He had been a member of Parliament since 1993 and represented the West Coast-Tasman electorate. As of 2023 he is on the Labour list.
In proportional representation (PR) electoral systems, an underhang seat is a seat that becomes vacant because the party that was entitled to it by virtue of its share of the total votes cast was unable to fill it through having submitted too few candidates.
The 99 MP Party was a small New Zealand political party that contested the 2005 general election. It supported a reduction of the number of Members of Parliament from 120 to 99.
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. From the November 2008 election to 2023, he represented the Māngere electorate.
The Libertarian Party (LP), 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, uranium mining, and the relaxation of smoking laws.
The New Zealand parliamentary electoral system has been based on the principle of 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 the MMP system, 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.
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 and the ninth-highest number of votes, outpolling every other party not in parliament prior to the election.
Suffrage in Australia is the voting rights in the Commonwealth of Australia, its six component states and territories, and local governments. The colonies of Australia began to grant universal male suffrage from 1856, with women's suffrage on equal terms following between the 1890s and 1900s. Some jurisdictions introduced racial restrictions on voting from 1885, and by 1902 most Australian residents who were not of European descent were explicitly or effectively excluded from voting and standing for office, including at the Federal level. Such restrictions had been removed by 1966. Today, the right to vote at all levels of government is held by citizens of Australia over the age of 18 years, excluding some prisoners and people "of unsound mind".
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.
Matthew Maurice Doocey is a New Zealand politician who was elected to the New Zealand Parliament at the 2014 general election as a representative of the New Zealand National Party. He was re-elected in 2017 with a majority increase of over 10,000 which was a significant increase from a majority of 2,500 in 2014. It was reported that this was the largest personal vote increase in the country.
