ACT Local is the local government division of ACT New Zealand. The party announced it would run local candidates for the first time at the 2025 local elections. The party would campaign on limiting rates, opposing local council climate action, opposing the "war" on cars, and opposing co-governance. They supported the anti-Māori ward position in the nation-wide local referendums on the issue.
The party had not put forward local government candidates prior to 2025.[1] Party leader David Seymour told TVNZ's Breakfast that the party had "strong" values related to "saving money, letting people be free to choose and treating people equally".[1] The party was the first national-level right wing party to contest local elections, something typically only the left wing parties had done.[2]
Seymour told the New Zealand Herald that the campaign was "exploratory", saying that better representation was needed on local councils.[3] He said that in 2023 that the country had voted for change but that local councils had not "got the memo" and that it was time for a "clean-out".[4]
ACT local government spokesperson Cameron Luxton criticised rising rates across the country; he said "Councillors will be standing for cutting waste, reducing rates, and keeping councils focused on their knitting, because that is the problem New Zealanders are facing".[5] Seymour said that the party would be for less "waste" with regards to local council spending, saying that ratepayers were "fed up" with previous councillors that had made promises they had not delivered on.[4] He was "frustrated" at the "inefficiencies" in local councils.[6]
The party announced that their candidates would oppose climate action by local councils. This included opposing funding for emission reductions, disregarding missions from council land use consents, opposing emissions reduction plans, opposing climate emergency declarations, opposing ratepayer-funded climate junkets, and a focus on storm water infrastructure and stop banks. Luxton said the focus on climate action was a cause of massive rates increases.[5]
Seymour said that the party would oppose efforts "[to get] people out of their cars".[7] He said that councils had been "waging war" on drivers and that ACT candidates would support more choice in transport. He pointed to cycleways and speedbumps as part of this alleged war.[4]
The party would support getting rid of the "racial discrimination" that had "crept" into council politics,[7] opposing co-governance and Māori wards.[4]
Joel MacManus of The Spinoff said that the party's "core" principles would translate easily to local politics; these principles included cutting spending, reducing rates, ending Māori wards, and ending co-governance.[2] MacManus suggested it could be a good thing as voters often find it hard to know where every local candidate stands, and that an ACT endorsement would be a "simple signifier" of someone's values.[2]
Julienne Molineaux, a senior social sciences lecturer at Auckland University of Technology, noted a tension between clear policy positions put out by the party and the requirements under the Local Government Act for councillors to make decisions with an open mind and to avoid predetermined positions.[8]
Radio New Zealand reported on 13 June that the party had finalised its candidate selection.[5] The party was not considering mayoral or Māori ward candidates.[2][3] Seymour said the party was in discussions with sitting councillors,[3] and he claimed that over 300 people had indicated an interest in running.[6] The party began announcing candidates several weeks later.
ACT announced 46 candidates (37 running for local or regional councils, and 9 running exclusively for local boards in Auckland) across 24 councils.[a 1][9]
| Council | Position | Candidate | Details | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Far North District Council | Bay of Islands-Whangaroa ward councillor | Davina Smolders | [a 2][10] | |
| Whangarei District Council | Bream Bay ward councillor | Matthew Yovich | Details | [a 3][10] |
| Kaipara District Council | Otamatea ward councillor | Roger Billington | [a 4][10] | |
| Kaiwaka-Mangawhai ward councillor | Nima Maleiki | [a 5][10] | ||
| Auckland Council | Albany ward councillor | Samuel Mills | Details | [a 6] |
| Hibiscus and Bays local board member | ||||
| North Shore ward councillor | Helena Roza | [a 7] | ||
| Devonport-Takapuna local board member | ||||
| Howick ward councillor | Ali Dahche | [a 8] | ||
| Howick local board member | ||||
| Manukau ward councillor | Henrietta Devoe | [a 9] | ||
| Ōtara-Papatoetoe local board member | ||||
| Franklin ward councillor | Dene Green | [a 10] | ||
| Franklin local board member | ||||
| Papakura local board member | Prasad Gawande | [a 11] | ||
| Kaipātiki local board member | Martin Lundqvist | [a 12] | ||
| Henderson-Massey local board member | Ben Cox | [a 13] | ||
| Hibiscus and Bays local board member | Yang Kang Hong Qu | [a 14] | ||
| Howick local board member | Pat Arroyo | [a 15] | ||
| Howick local board member | William Goldberg | [a 15] | ||
| Ōrākei local board member | Martin Mahler | |||
| Ōrākei local board member | Amanda Lockyer | |||
| Ōrākei local board member | Robert Meredith | |||
| Hauraki District Council | Paeroa ward councillor | Michelle Magnus | Details | [a 16] |
| Plains ward councillor | Andrew Pickford | [a 17] | ||
| Waikato District Council | Tamahere–Woodlands ward councillor | Peter Mayall | [a 18] | |
| Hamilton City Council | Western ward councillor | Nidhita Gosai | Details | [a 19] |
| Eastern ward councillor | Preet Dhaliwal | [a 20] | ||
| Waipā District Council | Cambridge ward councillor | Stuart Hylton | [a 21] | |
| Napier City Council | Ahuriri ward councillor | Iain Bradley | Details | [a 22] |
| New Plymouth District Council | Kaitake-Ngāmotu ward councillor | Damon Fox | Details | [a 23] |
| Manawatū District Council | Feilding ward councillor | Aaron McLeod | [a 24] | |
| Feilding ward councillor | Jerry Pickford | [a 25] | ||
| Palmerston North City Council | Te Hirawanui general ward councillor | Glen Williams | Details | [a 26] |
| Greater Wellington Regional Council | Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai/Lower Hutt constituency councillor | Nigel Elder | Details | [a 27] |
| Pōneke/Wellington constituency councillor | Alice Claire Hurdle | |||
| Porirua City Council | Pāuatahanui ward councillor | Phill Houlihan | Details | [a 28] |
| Wellington City Council | Wharangi/Onslow-Western ward councillor | Ray Bowden | Details | [11] |
| Takapū/Northern ward councillor | Mark Flynn | [11] | ||
| Motukairangi/Eastern ward councillor | Luke Kuggeleijn | [11] | ||
| Marlborough District Council | Marlborough Sounds ward councillor | Malcolm Taylor | [a 29] | |
| Blenheim ward councillor | John Hyndman | |||
| Tasman District Council | Motueka ward councillor | David Ross | Details | [a 30] |
| Richmond ward councillor | Daniel Shirley | [a 31] | ||
| Environment Canterbury | South Canterbury constituency councillor | Toni Severin | ||
| Hurunui District Council | South ward councillor | Tom Spooner | [a 32] | |
| Waimakariri District Council | Kaiapoi-Woodend ward councillor | Nathan Atkins | [a 33] | |
| Selwyn District Council | Kā Mānia Rolleston ward councillor | Chris Till | [a 34] | |
| Timaru District Council | Timaru ward councillor | John Bolt | [a 35] | |
| Otago Regional Council | Molyneux constituency councillor | Robbie Byars | Details | [a 36] |
| Dunedin City Council | At-large ward councillor | Anthony Kenny | Details | [a 37][12] |
| 24 of 77 councils | 46 candidates | |||
