ACT Party NZ policies 2026

ACT New Zealand · David Seymour · 11 seats in 2023

Classical-liberal party campaigning on lower and flatter taxes, a smaller state, deregulation and equal citizenship before the law.

Economic position

+9.4

market-leaning, on a −10 to +10 scale

Social position

+8.8

traditional-leaning

Positions recorded

each with a source and a date

See if you match ACT ACT's own website

What ACT is campaigning on in 2026

ACT Party NZ's clearest published commitments, each linked to its source. The full record on all 37 quiz questions follows below.

Strongly opposes
Opposed. Campaigning explicitly as the party of 'no new taxes' and a faster path to surplus through spending cuts.
On: New Zealand should tax the profit people make when they sell an investment property.
ACT: Faster path to surplus, no new taxes
Strongly opposes
Strongly opposed on property-rights and supply grounds.
On: Annual rent increases should be capped at around 2%, and landlords should not be able to evict without a reason.
ACT: Rent controls crazy, even for Labour
Strongly supports
Prefers lifting the Pharmac budget to 12% of health spending by 2033 and letting pharmacists treat more conditions to cut GP demand.
On: Health money should go to medicines and advanced treatment rather than making doctor's visits free.
RNZ: ACT's pharmacist-led primary care plan
Strongly opposes
Would repeal the Zero Carbon Act and scrap the 2050 net zero target, benchmarking any emissions cap against major trading partners instead. Wants Paris renegotiated over how it treats methane, and would leave only if those terms proved unreasonable, so this is opposition to the targets rather than a commitment to withdraw.
On: New Zealand should stay in the Paris climate agreement and keep to its emissions targets, even if it costs up to $5 billion and the United States has pulled out.
RNZ: ACT to scrap net zero and repeal the Zero Carbon Act
Strongly supports
Campaigning on adding burglary to the three-strikes regime, with a minimum three-year sentence and no parole or home detention.
On: Jail sentences should be longer, with a minimum term for repeat offenders.
Newswire: ACT's three strikes for burglary
Strongly opposes
Strongly opposed, campaigning to define Treaty principles in law and to put the question to a referendum.
On: A commission should be able to block laws it believes breach Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Treaty Principles Bill
Strongly opposes
Strongly opposed. Campaigning on flattening income tax rates and cutting spending instead.
On: People who own more than $10 million in assets should pay a yearly tax on it, even if they don't earn enough income to pay it.
ACT: Faster path to surplus, no new taxes
Strongly opposes
Opposed, argues the shortage is caused by planning rules, and that the state should free up land rather than build.
On: The government should borrow to build tens of thousands of new state and public houses.
ACT: On Kāinga Ora and social housing

ACT on economy, tax & cost of living

New Zealand should tax the profit people make when they sell an investment property.
Strongly opposes
Opposed. Campaigning explicitly as the party of 'no new taxes' and a faster path to surplus through spending cuts.
ACT: Faster path to surplus, no new taxes · verified 2026-08-13
People who own more than $10 million in assets should pay a yearly tax on it, even if they don't earn enough income to pay it.
Strongly opposes
Strongly opposed. Campaigning on flattening income tax rates and cutting spending instead.
ACT: Faster path to surplus, no new taxes · verified 2026-08-13
The government should fix its deficit and debt by spending less, not by taxing more.
Strongly supports
Its central pitch, consolidating 43 departments into 19 (folding Te Puni Kōkiri, the Ministry for Women and the Ministry for Pacific Peoples into a new Home Affairs department) and finding savings year after year with no new taxes.
ACT: Faster path to surplus, no new taxes · verified 2026-08-13
The government should buy back a major bank and break up the power companies and supermarkets.
Strongly opposes
Strongly opposed, argues for less state involvement in markets, not more.
ACT: Faster path to surplus, no new taxes · verified 2026-08-13
The age you can start getting NZ Super should rise above 65.
Strongly supports
Supports lifting the age of eligibility, arguing the current settings are fiscally unsustainable.
ACT: Faster path to surplus, no new taxes · verified 2026-08-13
The government should rule out any new taxes and grow the economy instead.
Strongly supports
Campaigning as the party of no new taxes and a faster path to surplus through spending cuts.
ACT: Faster path to surplus, no new taxes · verified 2026-09-29
Small businesses should pay less tax so they can grow, employ more people and grow the economy.
Supports
Campaigns on lower, flatter taxes and no new taxes, but has not published a specific small-business rate for 2026.
ACT: Faster path to surplus, no new taxes · verified 2026-09-29
People on a benefit who are able to work should lose part of it if they turn down suitable work.
Strongly supports
Drove the sanctions regime through the coalition agreement, including the Money Management card, and argues obligations must carry real consequences.
Beehive: new jobseeker sanctions (Money Management) · verified 2026-09-30

ACT on housing & renting

Annual rent increases should be capped at around 2%, and landlords should not be able to evict without a reason.
Strongly opposes
Strongly opposed on property-rights and supply grounds.
ACT: Rent controls crazy, even for Labour · verified 2026-08-13
The government should borrow to build tens of thousands of new state and public houses.
Strongly opposes
Opposed, argues the shortage is caused by planning rules, and that the state should free up land rather than build.
ACT: On Kāinga Ora and social housing · verified 2026-08-13
Landlords should be able to deduct mortgage interest as a business expense before paying tax on rental income.
Strongly supports
Strongly supports deductibility, treating the 2021 removal as an arbitrary tax on one industry.
ACT: We will end Labour's war on landlords · verified 2026-08-13
It should be quicker and easier to get houses and roads built.
Strongly supports
Central housing policy, argues planning restrictions are the root cause of unaffordable housing, and backed the Regulatory Standards Act to constrain rule-making.
Regulatory Standards Act 2025 · verified 2026-08-13
There are too many rules on landlords, and the cost ends up in the rent.
Strongly supports
Strongly opposed to landlord regulation, treats it as regulatory overreach into private property.
ACT: We will end Labour's war on landlords · verified 2026-08-13
The government should back 5% deposits for first-home buyers earning up to $300,000, so more people can own instead of rent.
Opposes
Argues demand-side support does not fix a housing shortage and campaigned to scrap First Home Grants. No stated position on the loan scheme's cap, so this is inferred.
RNZ: First Home Grants scrapped; Seymour on demand-side support · verified 2026-09-29
The government should add at least 6,000 social housing places over four years, even if it has to borrow to do it.
Strongly opposes
Opposed; argues the shortage is caused by planning rules and the state should free up land rather than build.
ACT: On Kāinga Ora and social housing · verified 2026-08-13

ACT on health & education

Health money should go to medicines and advanced treatment rather than making doctor's visits free.
Strongly supports
Prefers lifting the Pharmac budget to 12% of health spending by 2033 and letting pharmacists treat more conditions to cut GP demand.
RNZ: ACT's pharmacist-led primary care plan · verified 2026-08-13
There should be a separate Māori-led authority commissioning health services specifically for Māori, in addition to the health system everyone uses.
Strongly opposes
David Seymour has called the Māori Health Authority an example of racial discrimination, arguing health services should be allocated on need rather than ethnicity.
RNZ: Seymour on the Māori Health Authority · verified 2026-08-13
Schools should focus on the basics with standardised national testing, and NCEA should be replaced.
Strongly supports
Strong supporter of standardised assessment and a knowledge-rich curriculum.
ACT: Education policy · verified 2026-08-13
Parents should be able to choose their child's school, including charter schools that set their own curriculum.
Strongly supports
Long-standing signature policy, reintroduced charter schools as part of the coalition agreement.
ACT: Reinstating partnership schools · verified 2026-08-13
Public services like health and education should be expanded, even if that means Kiwis pay more tax.
Strongly opposes
Strongly opposed, argues for a smaller, more efficient state and lower taxes.
ACT: Faster path to surplus, no new taxes · verified 2026-08-13
Students should have 10% wiped off their loans, even if it costs $583 million and is paid for by taxpayers who never went to university.
Strongly opposes
David Seymour called it 'a bribe' that shifts interest-free debt onto the Crown's books so that 'all taxpayers take on the cost'.
1News: Labour's student loan pledge, with National and ACT responses · verified 2026-09-29

ACT on climate, energy & environment

New Zealand should stay in the Paris climate agreement and keep to its emissions targets, even if it costs up to $5 billion and the United States has pulled out.
Strongly opposes
Would repeal the Zero Carbon Act and scrap the 2050 net zero target, benchmarking any emissions cap against major trading partners instead. Wants Paris renegotiated over how it treats methane, and would leave only if those terms proved unreasonable, so this is opposition to the targets rather than a commitment to withdraw.
RNZ: ACT to scrap net zero and repeal the Zero Carbon Act · verified 2026-09-07
New Zealand should look for more oil and gas to grow the economy.
Strongly supports
Supports resuming exploration and expanding resource extraction as an energy security and growth measure.
interest.co.nz: ACT's climate policy · verified 2026-08-13
Farmers should not have to pay for the greenhouse gases their animals produce.
Strongly supports
Campaigning for a split-gas target and keeping agriculture permanently out of the ETS, arguing NZ farmers are the most emissions-efficient in the world.
interest.co.nz: ACT's climate policy · verified 2026-08-13
New Zealand should make it easier to mine and develop natural resources to grow the economy.
Strongly supports
Strongly supports resource development and reducing consenting barriers.
interest.co.nz: ACT's climate policy · verified 2026-08-13
Even though farming is our biggest export earner, farm animal numbers should be reduced and synthetic nitrogen fertiliser phased out to clean up rivers.
Strongly opposes
Strongly opposed, treats it as an attack on productive farming.
interest.co.nz: ACT's climate policy · verified 2026-08-13
Transport funding should prioritise roads and highways over public transport and cycleways.
Supports
Supported the coalition transport programme that moved funding into state highways and out of cycleways. ACT has published no separate 2026 transport policy, so this is inferred from that record rather than a stated commitment.
NZ Herald: new roads in, cycleways out of the transport programme · verified 2026-09-30

ACT on law, order & justice

Jail sentences should be longer, with a minimum term for repeat offenders.
Strongly supports
Campaigning on adding burglary to the three-strikes regime, with a minimum three-year sentence and no parole or home detention.
Newswire: ACT's three strikes for burglary · verified 2026-08-13
Prisons should be phased out by 2040 and replaced with community-led alternatives.
Strongly opposes
Campaigning in the opposite direction: a three-strikes rule jailing repeat burglars for a minimum three years with no parole, home detention or early release.
Newswire: ACT's three strikes for burglary · verified 2026-08-13
We should build more prison capacity and put considerably more police on the front line.
Strongly supports
Supports expanded capacity as the necessary consequence of longer sentences.
National: Restoring law and order · verified 2026-08-13
The justice system should spend more on fixing the causes of crime, like poverty and addiction, and less on punishment.
Strongly opposes
Its published law-and-order policy is built on mandatory minimum sentences rather than addressing drivers of offending: three strikes for burglary, no parole and no home detention.
Newswire: ACT's three strikes for burglary · verified 2026-08-13
Gang patches should stay banned in public and police should have more power to disrupt gangs.
Strongly supports
Supported the gang patch ban and expanded police dispersal powers.
National: Restoring law and order · verified 2026-08-13

ACT on te tiriti, rights & immigration

A commission should be able to block laws it believes breach Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Strongly opposes
Strongly opposed, campaigning to define Treaty principles in law and to put the question to a referendum.
Treaty Principles Bill · verified 2026-08-13
The New Zealand population should decide on whether to keep the Māori electorate seats.
Strongly supports
Supports putting questions of Māori-specific representation to a public vote, consistent with its equal-citizenship framing.
Treaty Principles Bill · verified 2026-08-13
Migration should be cut to take pressure off housing, roads and hospitals.
Opposes
Wants a market-driven system where employers hire the workers they need, but pairs this with tighter English requirements, a welfare stand-down and an overstayer enforcement unit.
NZ Herald: ACT's immigration policy · verified 2026-08-13
Non-citizens who commit serious crimes should be deported, and a dedicated unit should track down overstayers.
Strongly supports
Explicit campaign policy, deport serious non-citizen offenders and create an overstayer enforcement unit, plus a five-year welfare exclusion for residency visa holders.
NZ Herald: ACT's immigration policy · verified 2026-08-13
As 4.3% of New Zealand's population speak it, te reo Māori should be actively promoted across government and society, including in the names of public agencies.
Opposes
Opposes state promotion of language by ethnicity and has campaigned on abolishing demographic ministries. It has not published a specific te reo policy for 2026, so this is inferred from that consistent position rather than a stated commitment.
ACT: Faster path to surplus, no new taxes · verified 2026-08-13

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ACT Party NZ policies 2026

What ACT is campaigning on in 2026

ACT on economy, tax & cost of living

New Zealand should tax the profit people make when they sell an investment property.

People who own more than $10 million in assets should pay a yearly tax on it, even if they don't earn enough income to pay it.

The government should fix its deficit and debt by spending less, not by taxing more.

The government should buy back a major bank and break up the power companies and supermarkets.

The age you can start getting NZ Super should rise above 65.

The government should rule out any new taxes and grow the economy instead.

Small businesses should pay less tax so they can grow, employ more people and grow the economy.

People on a benefit who are able to work should lose part of it if they turn down suitable work.

ACT on housing & renting

Annual rent increases should be capped at around 2%, and landlords should not be able to evict without a reason.

The government should borrow to build tens of thousands of new state and public houses.

Landlords should be able to deduct mortgage interest as a business expense before paying tax on rental income.

It should be quicker and easier to get houses and roads built.

There are too many rules on landlords, and the cost ends up in the rent.

The government should back 5% deposits for first-home buyers earning up to $300,000, so more people can own instead of rent.

The government should add at least 6,000 social housing places over four years, even if it has to borrow to do it.

ACT on health & education

Health money should go to medicines and advanced treatment rather than making doctor's visits free.

There should be a separate Māori-led authority commissioning health services specifically for Māori, in addition to the health system everyone uses.

Schools should focus on the basics with standardised national testing, and NCEA should be replaced.

Parents should be able to choose their child's school, including charter schools that set their own curriculum.

Public services like health and education should be expanded, even if that means Kiwis pay more tax.

Students should have 10% wiped off their loans, even if it costs $583 million and is paid for by taxpayers who never went to university.

ACT on climate, energy & environment

New Zealand should stay in the Paris climate agreement and keep to its emissions targets, even if it costs up to $5 billion and the United States has pulled out.

New Zealand should look for more oil and gas to grow the economy.

Farmers should not have to pay for the greenhouse gases their animals produce.

New Zealand should make it easier to mine and develop natural resources to grow the economy.

Even though farming is our biggest export earner, farm animal numbers should be reduced and synthetic nitrogen fertiliser phased out to clean up rivers.

Transport funding should prioritise roads and highways over public transport and cycleways.

ACT on law, order & justice

Jail sentences should be longer, with a minimum term for repeat offenders.

Prisons should be phased out by 2040 and replaced with community-led alternatives.

We should build more prison capacity and put considerably more police on the front line.

The justice system should spend more on fixing the causes of crime, like poverty and addiction, and less on punishment.

Gang patches should stay banned in public and police should have more power to disrupt gangs.

ACT on te tiriti, rights & immigration

A commission should be able to block laws it believes breach Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

The New Zealand population should decide on whether to keep the Māori electorate seats.

Migration should be cut to take pressure off housing, roads and hospitals.

Non-citizens who commit serious crimes should be deported, and a dedicated unit should track down overstayers.

As 4.3% of New Zealand's population speak it, te reo Māori should be actively promoted across government and society, including in the names of public agencies.

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