ACT says every person should have the same rights regardless of their background or ancestry. They want government to be smaller so ministers can be held responsible for what they do. They say they will write equal rights into law, keep local referendums, and make sure the public service is based on merit, not race or group identity.
“ACT stands for one person, one vote and one law for all.”
“The people who exercise public power should answer to voters, and taxpayers should be able to see who is responsible when government fails.”
“In Government, ACT has put need before race, restored local referendums, reinforced merit in the public service and put property rights and better lawmaking standards into law.”
Summarised neutrally from ACT’s own official policy (as at 2026-08-23) and checked by an editor. Nothing is paraphrased without the source linked. Read the original ↗ Arapono is non-partisan. Compare all parties on Democracy & Government →
ACT would merge New Zealand’s 43 government departments into 19 and its 78 ministerial portfolios into 18, so that each department answers to a single minister. Ministers would appoint their own chief executives on fixed renewable terms and be able to remove them for non-performance or policy misalignment, and the Public Service Commission’s functions would move into the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The document maps every current department and portfolio to where it would land.
Which party holds a published position on which topic.
Swipe across to see all 11 topics — the party column stays put.
| Party | Economy | Housing | Health | Education | Climate | Environment | Crime & Justice | Treaty & Māori Affairs | Immigration | Foreign Policy | Democracy & Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National |
| ∅ |
| Labour | ∅ | ∅ | ∅ | ∅ | ∅ | ∅ |
| Green |
| ACT |
| NZ First |
| Te Pāti Māori |
| TOP |
| Also contesting, without seats in Parliament | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Free Palestine | |||||||||||
| NZ Loyal | ∅ | ||||||||||
| Te Tai Tokerau | ∅ | ||||||||||