ACT has named Nicole McKee as its new deputy leader, with the associate justice minister replacing Brooke van Velden, who's standing down from Parliament at the election.
The party revealed the appointment at its AGM in Auckland this afternoon, where McKee addressed supporters, candidates and volunteers.
The list MP, who entered Parliament in 2020, was chosen by the party's caucus to step into the role van Velden has held for six years.
McKee, who is leading a rewrite of the Arms Act, said she had worked to show she was "more than just the 'gun lady'", citing her reinstatement of the Three Strikes law, work to speed up the courts, and reforming anti-money laundering rules.
"Those issues may sound different," she said.
"But they are connected by the same values. Protect the public from real harm, hold offenders accountable, respect the law-abiding, cut red tape where it serves no purpose, and remember that the state has enormous power, so it must use that power carefully."
Questions begin already around who’ll replace Brooke van Velden. (Source: 1News)
The associate minister said she came to politics after the firearms laws that followed the March 15 Christchurch terror attack, which she called "rushed, confused, and unfair".
"They punished the wrong people. I saw good, law-abiding New Zealanders blamed and scapegoated, while the real failures were played down."
She also used the speech to take aim at Te Pāti Māori.
"I am proud of both my Māori and my British ancestry," McKee said.
"I do not need to choose between them, and I do not need a political party to tell me what my identity is supposed to mean. My whakapapa is mine. My views are mine. My vote is mine. My country is mine too.
"Te Pāti Māori claim to speak for all Māori. They do not speak for me.
"They do not speak for every Māori parent who wants their children safe and well educated, every Māori business owner who wants less red tape and more opportunity, or every Māori victim of crime who wants consequences."
ACT leader David Seymour said McKee had earned the confidence of her colleagues and was "the perfect choice" for deputy.
"She has proven herself as a minister who fixes what matters and stands up for the little guy," he said.
"Seven years ago, ACT alone opposed rushed firearms laws that scapegoated an entire community and did not make New Zealand safer.
"Under extreme scrutiny and determined campaigns to stop her, she delivered for a group of New Zealanders that every other political party had forgotten."
In a statement confirming the appointment, McKee struck a campaign-focused note.
"The ACT caucus has placed its trust in me, and I am deeply grateful. Together, we are focused on locking Labour out so we can unlock New Zealand’s potential."
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee spoke to Q+A's Jack Tame. (Source: 1News)
She said she had never expected to end up in politics, describing herself as "a humble wife and mother of four, a New Zealand sporting representative, a small-business owner, a hard worker, and a community volunteer".
McKee paid tribute to van Velden in her speech, saying her predecessor had served "with intelligence, modesty, courage, and kindness".
"I am very grateful she is staying long enough to help teach me the ropes."
Van Velden, MP for Tāmaki, announced in March she would not seek re-election, saying she wanted to "explore opportunities in the private sector".
At the time, Seymour described her departure as "bittersweet", praising a political career he said was "as close to perfect as a political career could ever be".
Van Velden said she would see out the remainder of her term and intended to return to public service "at some point in the future".
Plastic cards and a benefit crackdown
ACT's AGM or "rally" doubled as the launch of its election campaign, where Seymour announced a welfare policy he said would make benefits "a hand-up, not a way of life".
In a combative campaign speech, he also took aim at ACT's rivals, branding Te Pāti Māori a "toxic mix", accusing the Greens of "flying business class paid for by corporate lobbyists", and describing Labour's Chris Hipkins as trading in "bumper sticker politics".
He questioned whether National was "Labour Lite", and mocked NZ First leader Winston Peters - whom he dubbed "Wily Winnie" - as an unpredictable first five-eighth who might "run down the blindside again".
Seymour used the rally to unveil two policies the party will take into November's election.
The first would tighten welfare, with ACT arguing that too many people were being paid "to stay at home who could be doing jobs we are currently filling with migrants".
ACT proposes making money management mandatory for Jobseeker Support recipients who stay on a work-ready benefit for more than four months, delivering their payments through a card directed to essentials such as groceries, rent, power and transport.
The card would block spending on alcohol, gambling, tobacco and cash withdrawals.
The party also wants to require all health and disability benefits to be signed off by an independent pool of MSD-approved doctors, rather than a person's own GP, with existing recipients reassessed against new criteria on a phased basis.
The second policy would shrink the size of government, cutting the number of departments from 43 to 19 and reducing ministers from 28 to 18, with each department reporting to a single minister.
Seymour said New Zealand's government had "grown like a hedge you forgot about", pointing to Norway, which he said ran a similar-sized population with 20 ministers.
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