New Zealand parties

The political system of New Zealand is shaped by a diverse party landscape. Normally every MP ( Member of Parliament ) of the House of Representatives belongs to a political party , there are seldom non-party direct candidates . Since the mid-1990s, New Zealand politics has no longer been determined by a purely two-party system . There are two very large parties, but the political development of the country is partly significantly influenced by smaller parties. The parliamentary elections on November 26, 2011 brought eight different parties into parliament.

history

At the end of the 19th century, the first political parties emerged from various interest groups and private groups. The country's first proper party, the Liberal Party , was founded in 1891 and determined the political landscape without competition in the years that followed. With the Reform Party , which has existed since 1912, the two-party system was established in New Zealand. Finally, in 1916, the Labor Party emerged from several political associations. The Liberal Party and the Reform Party gradually converged and took a similar opinion on more and more controversial issues until they formed the National Party in 1936 in order to be able to stand together against the Labor Party .

In the following decades, numerous smaller parties formed, such as the Social Credit Party , the New Zealand Party , the Alliance or the Values Party . However, because of the majority voting system applied at the time, they only rarely had the opportunity to be able to nominate members of parliament. On November 6, 1993, the voters decided in a binding referendum to change New Zealand's electoral law and introduce the mixed-member proportional electoral system ( MMP ). On October 12, 1996, the first election under the new electoral law was held. Since then, even previously insignificant parties can have a significant say in politics in New Zealand if the majority party has missed an absolute majority.

Registration of parties

There are registered and unregistered parties in New Zealand. Registered parties must have at least 500 paying members, each of whom is able to vote in general elections. Usually each registered party creates an electoral list in order to get votes through proportional representation. Unregistered parties are only able to nominate individual candidates in individual constituencies who can be elected by majority vote.

Parties in the House of Representatives since 2017

The parties are listed according to their current number of seats in parliament for the 2017–2020 legislative period .

Political party	Be right %	Seats	Chairperson	Political goals
National Party	44.4	56	Todd Muller	A center-right, conservative people 's party that has had the largest number of members in parliament since 2008 and that leads the governing coalition. It supports the idea of a free market , lower taxes and less interference by parliament in government tasks .
Labor Party	36.9	46	Jacinda Ardern	A center-left, social democratic people 's party that was the second largest party in parliament in 2008 and the National Party 's biggest competitor .
New Zealand First	7.3	9	Winston Peters	A right-wing, nationalist and partly as a populist called party for a strict limitation of immigration , tougher punishment of crime, reducing by the Treaty of Waitangi promised compensation for Māori , and for the re-nationalization of privatized employs former state enterprises.
Green party	6.3	8th	Marama Davidson and James Shaw	A left-wing , environmental protection -oriented party that has recently spoken out against genetic engineering and campaigns for a tax on carbon dioxide emissions . In general, she advocates a progressive social policy.
ACT New Zealand	0.5	1	David Seymour	A right-wing party on New Zealand's political spectrum that advocates a free market , lower taxes, less government spending and harsher punishments for crimes. She wants to make the government appear more reliable and make government business more transparent.

Parties admitted to the 2017 election but not represented in the House of Representatives

A total of sixteen parties were eligible for election in 2017. These included the five parties represented in parliament (see above) and the eleven parties listed below.

Political party	Be right %	Chairperson	Political goals
The Opportunities Party (TOP)	2.4
Māori party	1.2	Marama Fox and Te Ururoa Flavell	As the name suggests, this party campaigns for the rights of the indigenous people of New Zealand, the Māori . The party only came into being in 2004 around Tariana Turia , a former Labor Party minister .
Aotearoa Legalize Cannabis Party	0.3	Michael Appleby	A party which - as the name suggests - for the legalization of cannabis uses
Conservative party	0.2	Colin Craig	A right-wing conservative party that ran for the 2011 election with the themes of honesty, security, prosperity and family. The party's Law and Order topic is particularly pronounced. For example, the party advocates giving parents permission again to discipline children with appropriate coercive measures.
Mana	0.1	Hone Harawira	A left-wing party that campaigns for the indigenous rights of the Māori and, as it claims, wants to be a voice of the poor and wants to bring the dispossessed and the powerless into parliament.
Ban1080	0.1
New Zealand People's Party	0.1
United Future	0.1	Damian Light	A moderate and overtly conservative party that was formed in November 2000 through the merger of two moderate central parties, United New Zealand and Future New Zealand . The party represents the free market economy and stands for an open, modern, democratic and multicultural society in which self-reliance, independence and personal responsibility are promoted.
Outdoors party	0.1
New Zealand Democrats for Social Credit	0.0	Stephnie de Ruyter	A left-wing party that supports the theory of social credit and, among other things, advocates equal pay for men and women, as well as equal representation of the government with men and women. One of the party's motto in 2011 was: “We believe that the system is made for the people and not the people for the system.” As a Democratic Party , the party used to be part of the Alliance .
Internet party	0.0

Listed in order of number of votes.

Parties that did not stand for election in 2017

Political party	Chairperson	Political goals
99 MP party	Margaret Robertson	A party that is mainly in favor of reducing the number of MPs in the House of Representatives from 120 to 99. She also wants to have all legislative changes decided by referendums .
Alliance	Andrew McKenzie and Kay Murray	A democratic-socialist party that campaigns for the welfare state , a free education system, more intensive environmental protection and the rights of the Māori . The Progressive Party split from this party when Jim Anderton , the former chairman of the Alliance , left the party.
Christian Heritage NZ	Ewen McQueen	A conservative, Christian party that speaks out against gay marriages , abortion and in favor of strengthening marriage .
Destiny New Zealand	Richard Lewis	A party based on the morals of the Christian fundamentalist Destiny Church founded in Auckland . Its most important political goals are the strengthening of the family in public life, the prevention of the creation of same-sex civil partnerships and the legalization of prostitution .
Direct Democracy Party	Kelvyn Alp	A party that tries to involve all citizens directly in political processes. She is in favor of a referendum system similar to that in Switzerland .
Family Rights Protection Party	Manoo Mulitalo	A party that advocates the growing group of Pacific islanders , mainly because it believes that the major parties take the voices of this ethnic group for granted and do too little for them.
Libertarianism	Bernard Darnton	A liberal party that for a fair laissez - capitalism sets in and tried to keep the state as small as possible.
One New Zealand Party	Richard Fisher	A nationalist party that is based on the Australian One Nation Party by Pauline Hanson and, for example, opposes any special treatment of the Māori .
Outdoor Recreation NZ	Paul Check	A party that advocates the interests of hunting and fishing clubs. In the 2005 elections, she joined a faction with United Future, although the parties did not merge. The collaboration was discontinued due to poor results.
Te Tawharau	?	A party that campaigns for the rights of the Māori and emerged from the Mana- Māori movement alongside the Māori Party .
The Pirate Party of New Zealand		The content of the PPNZ is currently limited to three core topics: the reform of copyright , the abolition of the current patent system and the strengthening of civil rights.
The Republic of New Zealand Party	Kerry Bevin	A party whose main aim is to establish a republic in New Zealand and thus to abolish the constitutional monarchy . She also advocates a written constitution, referendums on important political issues and the abolition of special political institutions for certain ethnic groups.
WIN party	John van Buren	A party that claims to want to give people more freedom. Specifically, for example, she advocates the abolition of the newly introduced smoking ban in bars and restaurants.

Listed in alphabetical order.

Disbanded former party

Political party	Last chairman	Year of dissolution	Political goals
Jim Anderton's Progressive	Jim Anderton	2012	A left-wing party with formerly only one MP, which set its priorities on job creation and regional development.

Political movement

One political movement that has attracted attention in New Zealand is the Republican Movement of Aotearoa New Zealand , which seeks to abolish the constitutional monarchy and convert New Zealand into a republic .

Web links

More information about the electoral system and parties in New Zealand. Elections New Zealand , accessed November 24, 2011 .

Individual evidence

↑ Parliament Guide: Who's Who in Parliament . New Zealand Herald , 2011, archived from the original on March 22, 2016 ; accessed on May 6, 2019 (English, original website no longer available).
↑ ^a ^b 2017 General Election - Official Result . Electoral Commission New Zealand , accessed April 29, 2019 .
↑ Conservative Party policies at a glance . MediaWorks TV - 3news , accessed November 24, 2011 .
↑ Flyer for the parliamentary election in November 2011. (PDF 277 kB) Mana Party, archived from the original on April 5, 2012 ; accessed on October 18, 2017 (English, original website no longer available).
↑ Our vision . Democrats for Social Credit , archived from the original on November 18, 2011 ; accessed on November 24, 2011 (English, original website no longer available).
^ Ten Candidates Stand in Botany By-Election . Elections New Zealand , archived from the original on February 9, 2013 ; accessed on December 27, 2015 (English, eligible for by-election on March 5, 2011 in the Botany constituency).

[NZ_Herald_2011-1] Parliament Guide: Who's Who in Parliament . New Zealand Herald , 2011, archived from the original on March 22, 2016 ; accessed on May 6, 2019 (English, original website no longer available).

[Election_Results_2017-2] 2017 General Election - Official Result . Electoral Commission New Zealand , accessed April 29, 2019 .

[thrnew_1-3] Conservative Party policies at a glance . MediaWorks TV - 3news , accessed November 24, 2011 .

[mananz_1-4] Flyer for the parliamentary election in November 2011. (PDF 277 kB) Mana Party, archived from the original on April 5, 2012 ; accessed on October 18, 2017 (English, original website no longer available).

[dfsocr_1-5] Our vision . Democrats for Social Credit , archived from the original on November 18, 2011 ; accessed on November 24, 2011 (English, original website no longer available).

[enzbbe_1-6] Ten Candidates Stand in Botany By-Election . Elections New Zealand , archived from the original on February 9, 2013 ; accessed on December 27, 2015 (English, eligible for by-election on March 5, 2011 in the Botany constituency).