ACT
Position: Right/Libertarian l Leader: David Seymour l Currently: Coalition partner, David Seymour is Deputy PM since May 2025
Website: ACT New Zealand
What they stand for
Party History
Key Policies
ACT believes individuals own their own lives and must be free to act on their own judgment - as long as they respect others' freedom. The party is built on classical liberalism: minimal government, free markets, personal responsibility, deregulation, and what is called the 'colour-blind' policy (equal rights for all, regardless of ethnicity).
Economy: Major tax cuts, deregulation, privatise underperforming state assets, slash red tape; created the new Minister for Regulation role
Treaty of Waitangi: Opposed co-governance; pushed Treaty Principles Bill
Māori: Abolished Māori Health Authority; ended race-based health waitlists; wants colour-blind policy across all government agencies
Education: Charter schools are ACT's signature - expanded to 50 by 2026
Law & Order: Three Strikes 2.0: tougher sentencing; boot camps for young offenders
Climate: Wants to repeal Zero Carbon Act: tie New Zealand's carbon price to trading partners': a 'split-gas' emissions target easing methane restrictions on farmers
Firearms: Pushed for review of the firearms registry: more permissive gun ownership approach
Free Speech: Strongly opposed social media age restrictions: fights for academic freedom; opposed 'hate speech' legislation
Constitution: Secured legislation to extend parliamentary term from 3 to 4 years
Agriculture: Proposed Rural Workforce Visa for year-round farm labour supply.
ACT (the Association of Consumers and Taxpayers) was founded in 1994 by Derek Quigley (former National MP) and Roger Douglas (Labour finance minister)
1996-1999: 8 seats; supported National government under Jenny Shipley
2000s: Gradually declined; Richard Prebble left through difficult years
2008-2011: Near death under Rodney Hide; managed to survive through the Epsom electorate deal with National
2011-2017: Don Brash briefly led; David Seymour won Epsom in 2014 and kept the party alive - Within this period ACT had just one MP
2020: Massive resurgence - won 10 seats, as voters disenchanted with National flocked to ACT
2023: Won 11 seats with 8.6% of the vote; became a kingmaker party in the three-party coalition
The Leader
David Seymour l Born: 1983, Whangarei l MP for: Epsom, Auckland l Role: Deputy Prime Minister (since May 2025) & Minister for Regulation
David Seymour grew up in Whangarei with two brothers, a pharmacist mother, and a draughtsman father. Seymour studied electrical engineering and philosophy at the University of Auckland. Seymour joined ACT as a student, drawn by a deep belief in personal freedom and individual responsibility. After graduating in 2006, he worked various different jobs such as the night shift at a sawmill, a design project for a fibre optic rollout, and working in Canada as a policy analyst, before returning to New Zealand to pursue politics. Seymour has a partner - Kartini Martelli.
Seymour is one of the most perseverant politicians in New Zealand history, running for Parliament unsuccessfully three times before finally winning in 2014. In 2014 he was selected as ACT's candidate for the Epsom electorate in Auckland. Seymour won Epsom in 2014 and on the same day became the leader of the ACT party - at a time where the ACT party had one MP in Parliament (himself). From 2014 to 2020 Seymour became the face of Act in Parliament. In 2020 under his leadership, ACT's vote surged from under 1% to over 8%, winning 10 seats. In 2023 ACT won 11 seats and 8.6% of the vote, becoming New Zealand's first-ever ACT Deputy Prime Minister on 31 May 2025.
Seymour is a classical liberal who believes individuals own their own lives. He is fiercely opposed to what he calls government overreach, race-based policy, and unnecessary regulation. He is known for his
self-deprecating humour, including jokes about being ACT's 'one man band' during the lean years.