Editing Politics of New Zealand (section)

=== Party politics ===
{{Main|List of political parties in New Zealand}}
[[File:Nzelection2011 ballot4.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Ballot]] showing parties, [[2011 New Zealand general election|2011 general election]]]]
The first organised political party in New Zealand was founded in 1891, and its main rival was founded in 1909—New Zealand had a ''de facto'' [[two-party system]] from that point until the adoption of MMP in 1996.<ref name="parties">{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Curtin |first1=Jennifer |last2=Miller |first2=Raymond |author1-link=Jennifer Curtin |title=Political parties |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/political-parties |encyclopedia=Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand |access-date=19 October 2022 |date=21 July 2015}}</ref> Since then New Zealand has been a multi-party system, with at least five parties elected in every general election since. By rarely producing an overall majority for one party, MMP also ensures that parties need to agree with other parties to pass laws.<ref>{{cite web |title = What is MMP? |url = https://elections.nz/democracy-in-nz/what-is-mmp/ |publisher=[[Electoral Commission]] |access-date = 13 September 2019 }}</ref> In the late 1990s, a phenomenon called "[[waka-jumping]]" emerged as MPs increasingly switched their party allegiance while in Parliament, prompting the implementation of a 2001 law mandating the resignation of waka-jumping MPs; this legislation expired in 2005, but a renewed effort to prevent waka-jumping emerged with the passage of the [[Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Act 2018]].<ref name="Martin"/>

Historically the two largest, and oldest, parties are the [[New Zealand Labour Party]] (formed in 1916) and the [[New Zealand National Party]] (formed in 1936).<ref name="parties"/> Labour has generally positioned itself as [[centre-left]] in New Zealand politics,<ref name="Papillon">{{cite book |last1= Papillon |first1= Martin |last2= Turgeon |first2= Luc |last3= Wallner |first3= Jennifer |last4= White |first4= Stephen |title= Comparing Canada: Methods and Perspectives on Canadian Politics |year = 2014 |publisher=UBC Press |isbn= 9780774827867 |page = 126 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=WpU8BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA126 |access-date= 30 August 2016 |quote= ...in New Zealand politics, by the centre-left Labour Party and the centre-right National Party }}</ref> and has featured [[socialism in New Zealand|socialist (historically)]] and [[social-democratic]] principles in its platform and legislation,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Aimer |first=Peter |title=Labour Party: Ideology and the role of unions|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/labour-party/page-5 |encyclopedia=Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand|date=1 June 2015|access-date=19 October 2022}}</ref> while National has generally positioned itself as [[centre-right]],<ref name="Papillon"/> and has [[liberalism|liberal]] and [[conservative]] tendencies.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title= National Party: Party principles |author-link=Colin James (journalist) |first=Colin |last=James |url= http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/national-party/page-4 |encyclopedia=Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand |date=13 December 2016 |access-date=19 October 2022}}</ref> Other smaller parties represented in Parliament, following the {{as of|2023|lc=on|alt=October 2023 general election}}, are the [[ACT New Zealand|ACT Party]] (right-wing, [[classical-liberal]] and [[Conservatism|conservative]]), the [[Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand|Green Party]] (left-wing, [[green politics]]), [[New Zealand First]] (right-wing, [[populism in New Zealand|populist]] and [[nationalist]]), and [[Te Pāti Māori]] (left-wing, [[Māori rights]]-based).<ref>{{cite web |title = Parliamentary parties |url = https://www.parliament.nz/en/mps-and-electorates/political-parties/ |publisher=New Zealand Parliament |access-date=31 October 2020 |language=en-NZ }}</ref>

Parties must register with the [[Electoral Commission (New Zealand)|Electoral Commission]] in order to contest the [[party vote]] in an election.<ref>{{cite web |title = Register of political parties |url = https://elections.nz/democracy-in-nz/political-parties-in-new-zealand/register-of-political-parties |publisher=Electoral Commission |access-date=17 September 2019 }}</ref>

The table below summarises the [[Results of the 2023 New Zealand general election|results of the latest general election]].
{{#section:Results of the 2023 New Zealand general election|Results}}

==== Party funding ====
{{Main|Political funding in New Zealand}}

In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the importance of [[political party funding]] as a public policy concern. To address this, specific regulations have been implemented to set limits on foreign donations, ensuring that they do not exceed NZ$50<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 December 2019 |title=New Zealand bans foreign political donations amid interference concerns |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/03/new-zealand-bans-foreign-political-donations-amid-interference-concerns |website=[[the Guardian]]|access-date=19 July 2023}}</ref> and placing restrictions on anonymous donations, which are limited to a maximum of NZ$1,500. These limitations aim to promote transparency and accountability in the political process by curbing the potential influence of foreign and anonymous contributions.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Donations protected from disclosure|url=https://elections.nz/democracy-in-nz/political-parties-in-new-zealand/donations-protected-from-disclosure/|access-date=10 July 2023|website=elections.nz|language=en-NZ}}</ref>