New Zealand politics have featured a strong party system since the early 20th century. Usually, all members of Parliament's unicameral House of Representatives belong to a political party.
The centre-left New Zealand Labour Party and the centre-right New Zealand National Party are New Zealand's two major parties, having jointly contested each election since 1938; they are the only two New Zealand political parties to have won the popular vote in four consecutive elections twice. Labour won the popular vote from the 1938 election through to 1946 and again from 1978 through to 1987 – although during the latter period National twice disproportionately gained a majority of seats. Likewise, National won the popular vote from 1960 through to 1969, and then again from 2008 through to 2017, but in the final year could not form a coalition government under proportional representation.
The introduction of the mixed-member proportional system in 1996 led to a multi-party system, such that smaller parties have substantial representation in Parliament and can now reasonably expect to gain seats in government. , six parties have members in the 54th Parliament.
History
New Zealand's party system did not arise until the late 19th century. Before this, members of Parliament (MPs) stood as independent candidates, and while some MPs joined factions, these typically were formed around prominent individuals such as Julius Vogel, and did so after an election, not before.
The Liberal Party, which was formed in 1891, was New Zealand's first 'modern' political party. It was the country's sole political party until the formation of the more conservative Reform Party in 1909. The Labour Party was founded in 1916, and by 1919 these three parties dominated New Zealand politics.
The Liberal Party was succeeded by the United Party in 1928. The United and Reform parties found themselves working together more often, and they formed a coalition in 1931. After Labour won office in 1935, United and Reform formally amalgamated in 1936 to form the National Party. The first-past-the-post (FPP) plurality voting system (in use before the 1990s) entrenched a two-party system, since the two major parties usually won far more seats than their share of the overall vote.
Over the years, a number of third parties or so-called minor parties developed, notably the Social Credit Party, the New Zealand Party, the Values Party, and the Alliance. However, the FPP electoral system meant that regardless of how many votes a party gained nationwide, it could not win a seat without a plurality in a particular electorate. For example, the Social Credit Party won over 11% of the votes cast in the 1954 election but did not have a plurality in any electorate so won no seats. Similarly, in the 1984 election, the New Zealand Party received over 12% of the votes cast but also won no seats. Under such conditions, minor parties mostly performed poorly in terms of making an impact in Parliament.
In 1993, the Electoral Act 1993 was passed, introducing the mixed-member proportional (MMP) electoral system for the 1996 election. Now, voters cast both a party vote and an electorate vote. Any party that won at least 5% of the party vote entered Parliament, and candidates could still enter through the previous electorate pathway. This made it much easier for smaller parties to enter Parliament, but more difficult to gain elected as a non-party independent.
In the late 1990s a trend originated in New Zealand's multi-party system in which MPs sitting in Parliament increasingly switched parties (or formed breakway parties), known as "waka-jumping". This is now disallowed to maintain the integrity of the party-based proportional representation.
Registration of parties Political parties in New Zealand can be either registered or unregistered. Registered parties must have five hundred paying members, each eligible to vote in general elections, and party membership rules.
If a party registers, it may submit a party list, enabling it to receive party votes in New Zealand's MMP electoral system. Unregistered parties can only nominate candidates for individual electorates.
, registered political parties are also entitled to spend up to $1,169,000 during the campaign for the party vote and $27,500 per electorate seat. Unregistered entities are entitled to spend up to $330,000 on general election advertising.
Current parties Parties represented in Parliament There are six parliamentary parties in the 54th New Zealand Parliament. The default order of this list corresponds to the number of MPs they currently have.
PartyLeader(s)FoundedRepresentedPositionIdeologySeats Christopher Luxon 1936 1936–present Labour Party Chris Hipkins 1916 1916–present Centre-left Social democracy Green Party 1990 1997–present ACT David Seymour 1994 1996–present New Zealand First Winston Peters 1993 1993–20082011–20202023–present Right-wing Te Pāti Māori 2004 2004–20172020–present Māori rights Tino rangatiratanga
Registered parties outside Parliament Parties listed in alphabetical order:
PartyLeader(s)FoundedPositionIdeology Alliance Victor Billot 1991 Left-wing Democratic socialism Robert McNeil and Dannette Wereta 2022 Single issue Animal rights Maki Herbert and Michael Appleby 1996 Single issue Cannabis legalisation Conservative Party NZ Helen Houghton 2011 Right-wing Conservatism, social conservatism, right-wing populism Free Palestine Paul Hopkinson 2026 Single issue Anti-Zionism, Palestinian independence New Zealand Loyal Liz Gunn / Kelvyn Alp 2023 Far-right Conspiracism NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party Sue Grey 2015Syncretic Anti-vaccination, anti-lockdown, environmentalism Te Tai Tokerau Party Mariameno Kapa-Kingi 2026 Tino rangatiratanga The Opportunity Party (Opportunity) Qiulae Wong 2016 Radical centre Radical centrism Vision NZ Hannah Tamaki 2019 Far-right Christian nationalism, right-wing populism Women's Rights Party Jill Ovens and Dawn Trenberth 2023 Single issue Anti-transgender sentiment
Unregistered parties An accurate list of active unregistered parties can be difficult to determine. Any person may announce a political party, but these parties may or may not gain followers, receive any media coverage or go on to contest an election. It can also be difficult to determine when parties have ceased operating or moved away from politics.
The list below lists active and notable parties.
PartyLeader(s)FoundedPositionIdeology DemocracyNZ Matt King 2022 Right-wing Anti-vaccine mandate, anti-environmentalism Democratic Alliance Joseph Blessing 2023 Right-wing Right-wing antiglobalism, anti-vaccine mandate, small-government, anti-climate policy Heartland New Zealand Party Mark Ball 2020 Centre-right Agrarianism, anti-environmentalism Leighton Baker 2023 Far-right Anti-establishment, conspiracism, social conservatism, anti-vaccine mandate. New Communist Party of AotearoaKatjoesja Buissink2019https://peoplesdispatch.org/2020/02/16/new-communist-party-of-aotearoa-seeks-to-blaze-a-new-trail-in-new-zealand/Far-leftCommunism, Marxism–Leninism New Zealand Momentum PartyGaurav Sharma2022CentreMoney Free Party Richard Osmaston 2014Money Free movement New Nation Party 2022 Right-wing Anti-vaccine mandate NewZeal Vacant 2020Right-wing Christian fundamentalism, social conservatism Progressive Party of Aotearoa New Zealand Bruce Dyer 2020 Syncretic Progressive utilization theory Socialist Aotearoa Anu Kaloti 2008Far-left Revolutionary socialism, socialism, Marxism, Tino rangatiratanga, Trotskyism When a candidate stands for parliament in an electorate, they may describe themselves as 'independent' or give a party name. A candidate listing a party name is not necessarily an indication that the party exists beyond that single candidate. In the 2023 general election, single candidates stood under the party names of Economic Euthenics, Future Youth, the Human Rights Party, the New World Order McCann Party, the New Zealand Sovereignty Party, the Northland Party, and the Republic of New Zealand Party. Two candidates stood under each of Not A Party (NAP), Protect & Prosper New Zealand Party, and Workers Now.
Historical parties Parties that held seats