New Zealand's political parties from left to right, in plain English
Six parties are in Parliament. Here is where each one sits and the two or three policies that put it there.
The short answer
Going by what each party has published for 2026, the order from left to right on the economy is: the Greens, Te Pāti Māori, Labour, NZ First, National, ACT.
Left here means wanting a larger state that taxes and spends more. Right means wanting lower taxes, less spending and more left to the market. This order comes from the same sums the NZVoteCheck quiz uses to place you.
The parties on the left
The Greens sit furthest left. They propose a 2.5% yearly tax on net assets above $10 million, a cap on rent rises, and large public spending on housing and climate.
Te Pāti Māori is close to them. It wants the wealthiest taxed more, with the money going into housing, health, education and Māori-led institutions.
Labour is nearer the middle. Its one new tax is 28% on the profit from selling investment property, ring-fenced for health. It has ruled out a wealth tax this term.
The parties on the right
National is campaigning on no new taxes and a return to surplus by 2028/29 through spending restraint, while widening help for first-home buyers.
ACT sits furthest right. It wants deeper spending cuts, flatter income tax, and 43 government departments merged into 19.
NZ First is on the right but closer to the middle on money. It wants company tax cut to 20% for smaller firms, and it is also the party most open to the state owning things, including buying back a bank.
Why left and right is not the whole story
NZ First shows the problem with a single line. On tax it sits between Labour and National. On law and order and immigration it is among the most traditional parties in Parliament.
That is why a second line helps, running from progressive to traditional. Our guide to what a political compass test measures explains how the two lines work together.
How they group into governments
No party governs alone under MMP. The current government is National, ACT and NZ First. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are in opposition.
Those groupings follow history more than perfect agreement. Parties inside a bloc disagree on a good deal, and the party you match most closely may end up governing with one you match poorly. Our MMP guide explains why.
Where Opportunity fits
Opportunity is not in Parliament but is polling well enough that it could be after the election. Its best-known policies are a yearly tax on land value and a Citizen's Income paid to almost all adults.
It is not one of the six parties scored in the quiz. It has published positions on fewer than half of our 37 questions, and scoring a party on that many blanks would not be fair to it or to you. The methodology page sets out the reasoning, and it will be added when its published policy covers enough.
To see which of the six actually matches you, take the quiz or start from the home page.
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