Enough big kids for a minute – these are the truly small parties seeking your vote.

The Opportunity Party? Giants. They have no place here. Our purpose is to survey the properly small parties, the pipsqueaks and the minnows. The ones for whom the only way – hopefully? – is up. For as the philosopher said, you can’t start a fire without a spark. 

First, a note on eligibility. Included in this non-exhaustive hop around the lily pads are parties that currently have, did have in 2023 or are currently seeking registration with the Electoral Commission.

This isn’t crunchy peanut butter, so we’ll do it alphabetically. 

Alliance Party of Aotearoa New Zealand

A famous name in New Zealand politics – at least to those familiar with the 90s. Once an umbrella of parties including the Greens, Mana Motuhake and the NewLabour of Jim Anderton, who took the Alliance into coalition in 1999, the party has been in effect dormant for many years. 

At the start of this month, however, it confirmed its return, this time without that aggregative structure, by applying for registration with the Electoral Commission. Led by Dunedin trade unionist and writer of odes Victor Billot, the Alliance says it will “offer a genuine democratic socialist alternative to the failed policies of the status quo”.

Animal Justice Party Aotearoa New Zealand

The most recent 1News poll puts Animal Justice at 0.6%, which is very respectable, given their 0.17% election result in 2023. The mission: “fighting for stronger animal welfare, environmental protection, and a compassionate Aotearoa”.

Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party

For 30 years now, the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party has been campaigning to legalise cannabis in Aotearoa, a pure example of doing what it says on the side of the tinnie. 

The party has had better days. In the last election it registered 0.45%; it’s hit 0.1% in the latest 1News poll.

Conservative Party NZ

The Conservative Party, which rails against wokeism and self-appointed pronouns, has over the years identified as the Conservative Party, New Conservative Party, the New Conservatives, and, today, Conservative Party NZ.

Since the Colin Craig era – during which the controversial figure took the party to 3.97%, just over a point away from parliament – the party’s list of leaders has included Leighton Baker (who, after being ousted, set up his own party) and Elliot Ikilei (today a NZ First candidate).

At the end of 2021, Ted Johnston and Helen Houghton announced a co-leadership. By mid-2023, Houghton had become sole leader, a position she continues to hold. Last month the party announced that Ross Meurant had joined as an advisor. Meurant was a commander in the Red Squad during the 1981 Springbok tour and later an MP for National. He quit the party in 1994 and formed the RoC (Right of Centre) party, which became the Conservative Party. That forerunner has no lineal link with the party started by Craig, but it’s a pleasing historical rhyme. 

The party, which scored 0.15% at the last election (about 25 times less than the lofty days of 2014) is reaching out to voters “tired of watching radical agendas reshape our society” as it strives to grow polling of 0.3% (1News) and 0.2% (TPU).

DemocracyNZ

The party led by former National MP Matt King, bedevilled by infighting ahead of the last election, won less than a quarter of one percent in 2023, and deregistered a few months later.

Free Palestine

Another whose application to register is currently being considered by the Electoral Commission, though under an abbreviated version of the name on its website, Palestine Free from the River to the Sea Party. It describes itself as “committed to justice, international law, and a democratic national state with equal rights for all citizens”.

Freedoms New Zealand 

In the leadup to the 2023 election, Brian Tamaki announced an umbrella group to unite anti-establishment “freedom movement” groups. He said they could win 20% of the vote. After a few false starts, Freedoms NZ harnessed the energy of Tamaki’s Freedoms & Rights movement while combining under one canopy two registered parties, the NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party and Vision NZ (more on both below), and one unregistered party, Rock the Vote NZ (which remains unregistered), under a single canopy. 

Freedoms NZ fell short of the 20% ambition, recording 0.33% (one third of one percent). It cancelled its registration in May last year. Tamaki’s co-leader Sue Grey of Outdoors & Freedom, has now moved to elevate the “freedom” flame (see below). 

Leighton Baker Party

It didn’t work out for Leighton Baker in 2023. The former New Conservative Party leader’s new and conservative party scored just 0.09% in 2023. The Leighton Baker Party was wound up shortly afterwards. 

New Nation Party

2023: 0.05%. 2025: deregistered.

NewZeal

Formerly the ONE Party, NewZeal won 0.56% in 2023. But it’s all over now, with leader and staunch social conservative Alfred Ngaro deregistering the party and joining NZ First. The chats with anatomist Stuart Nash and Shane “kneepad” Jones must be something. 

New Zealand Loyal

In 2023, Liz Gunn founded New Zealand Loyal, fuelled by a passionate but conspiracy-replete platform. The party finished eighth in the election, with almost 35,000 votes or 1.2% of the party vote.

Things quickly hit turbulence, with a furious war of words with Kelvyn Alp, a more militantly minded conspiracy theorist, ensuing. Alp, best known for Counterspin Media and charges over distributing an objectionable publication, says that Gunn unilaterally registered the party and he is the victim of mud-slinging. Gunn says she remains the rightful leader and the party has been stolen from her. 

The party – for which registration has been sought – has failed to bother the scorers in opinion polls this year. Alp finished fifth of five candidates contesting the Tamaki Makaurau byelection 10 months ago, winning 26 votes. 

NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party / Freedom

Big news for the Sue Grey community. The Outdoors & Freedom Party, of which the lawyer, activist and conspiracy theorist is leader, has lost the Outdoors and is now the mononym Freedom, or will be, officially, if the Electoral Commission signs it off. The “core platform” from here is “power to the people”, with a range of citizen-powered initiatives. It remains opposed to 5G, 1080 and vaccines.

The party has lodged an application to change its name with the Electoral Commission, which has until August 6 to make a decision. It wants to change its logo, too, from the OF version in the picture above to this:

Will this rebrand be what the party needs to blast it towards the 5% sky, like that top bit of the m above? It will need some wings: current polling puts it on 0.2% (1News) and 0.3% (TPU).

Te Tai Tokerau Party

Mariameno Kapa-Kingi has applied to register this party, under which banner she intends to contest, believe it or not, Te Tai Tokerau. Kapa-Kingi won the seat for Te Pāti Māori in 2023, but divorced from the party in spectacular fashion.

Vision New Zealand

Brian Tamaki’s time as a parliamentary candidate may be over (he never really wanted to be a politician anyway) but his wife, Hannah, remains in the game, with her Vision NZ party promising “one unified country, free from global overreach and divisive race-based politics”.

Vision’s best known candidate, however, may be the serial heckler and fence man Karl Mokaraka. 

The latest TPU/Curia poll puts Vision NZ on 0.3%.

Women’s Rights Party

Founded in 2023, the party won 0.08% in the last election. It would need 63 times as many votes to get across the threshold in 2026.

The party’s pitch: “We are women and men who believe in democracy, equality and biological reality. Clarity about sex is critical for safeguarding the human rights of everybody.” In the latest 1News poll it hit 0.2%.