By Lucy Craymer
WELLINGTON (Reuters) – Election polls give New Zealand’s centre-right National Party a comfortable lead going into the Oct. 14 election. However, it is unlikely to be able to govern without the support of at least one minor party and probably might need two.
National has said its preferred choice is the ACT Party but that it would also be prepared to negotiate with New Zealand First.
ACT PARTY
Founded in 1994, the right-wing, economic libertarian ACT Party was a minor coalition partner with National from 2008 to 2017.
ACT won 7.6% or 10 seats in the 2020 election but is polling higher ahead of this election. The Newshub-Reid Research poll earlier this week had them sitting at 8.8%.
Its leader David Seymour, 40, has been in parliament since 2014. He was behind the law change in New Zealand to legalise euthanasia, voted in favour of legalising abortion in 2020 and attended a pro-Hong Kong democracy protest in Auckland in 2019.
ACT also wants a significant reduction in government spending, lower taxes and more involvement of the private sector to deliver health, education and infrastructure.
It also wants to roll back a number of policies introduced by the liberal government including tougher environmental regulations for farming and new gun laws introduced after the Christchurch mosque shooting.
ACT wants a referendum on co-governance – the principle that indigenous people or Maori get a role in the management of, for example, key resources. Critics say its stance on indigenous issues is divisive and racist.
ACT is more vocal on defence and geopolitical issues than many New Zealand parties. Deputy leader Brooke van Velden, 30, was the only member of New Zealand foreign affairs committee to visit Taiwan, and the party wants to increase defence spending to 1.5% of GDP from less than 1%. Van Velden could become Minister of Foreign Affairs under a coalition agreement.
ACT initially ruled out working with New Zealand First but that stance has now softened.
NEW ZEALAND FIRST
The populist party and its leader Winston Peters has determined three of New Zealand’s governments since 1996. Peters, first elected to parliament in 1978, has ruled out putting Labour back in office – in contrast to what he did in 2017.
Peters a populist, who grew up in a Maori and Scottish family, regularly espouses anti-multiculturalism opinions. His party wants to remove policies such as the naming of ministerial departments with Maori names.
Peters served as Foreign Minister from 2005 to 2008 and then from 2017 to 2020 and could potentially take up the role again. He launched the Pacific Reset in 2018, to woo neighbouring countries at a time when China began dramatically increasing its presence in the region.
The party has several very local policies including moving the Ports of Auckland further north and developing an aerodrome in a small town in the north of the North Island.
(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Sonali Paul)
