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Arapono is an independent platform. All information is sourced from official NZ government and electoral sources. We are not affiliated with any political party.

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Conservative Party NZ

Conservative Party NZ
Not in Parliament Founded 2011
HH
Leader
Helen Houghton

Strong families, a strong economy, a better future.

Official websiteparliament.nz Track
0
Seats
0.0% of 123

Overview

The Conservative Party NZ is a socially and fiscally conservative party. It campaigns on traditional family values, lower taxation and smaller government, free speech, and citizen-initiated referendums, and states that it opposes what it calls “woke” ideology. It holds no seats in the current Parliament.

History

Founded in 2011 by businessman Colin Craig as the Conservative Party, its best result was 3.97% of the party vote in 2014 — never reaching the 5% threshold or an electorate seat. It was rebranded New Conservative in 2017 and reverted to Conservative Party NZ in 2026; Helen Houghton is its leader.

First established in 2011 as the Conservative Party; later rebranded New Conservative, and reverted to Conservative Party NZ for 2026.

Core values

Defend what the party calls traditional values
Restore “common sense” to government decision-making
Reduce the size of government and its role in daily life
Lower taxation, including a “Family Builder” tax policy
Support binding citizen-initiated referendums
Protect free speech

Where they stand

Tap an issue to read Conservative Party NZ’s position on it, in our words with their source. 8 of 11 topics have a recorded position.

Conservative Party NZ on Economy
Lower taxes, reduce debt, encourage business and investment

The Conservative Party wants to cut taxes for people and businesses, lower GST from 15% to 12.5%, and reduce the government debt built up under the previous Labour-Green government. They believe lower tax rates will bring more money into the country, encourage people to start businesses, and keep New Zealanders from moving overseas. They also want company tax rates to match the top personal income tax rate to make things simpler.

What they say they'll do

  • Press for lower income tax rates for individuals
  • Lower company tax rates, aligned with the top personal income tax rate
  • Reduce GST to 12.5%
  • Urgently tackle government debt
  • Align New Zealand tax rates with or below those of countries like Australia to remain competitive

Who this affects

Individual taxpayers
The party proposes reducing the rate of income tax that individuals pay.
Small businesses and entrepreneurs
Lower tax rates and aligned company/personal tax rates are intended to reduce administrative costs and encourage people to start and keep businesses in New Zealand.
Young families
The party says reducing government debt is aimed at relieving the financial burden placed on today's young families and future generations.
Consumers
A proposed reduction in GST from 15% to 12.5% would change the consumption tax applied to goods and services.

In their own words

“Conservatives NZ are committed to urgently tackling the massive debt the Labour Green government imposed on young families of today and their children of tomorrow.”
“Corporation tax rate should be aligned with the top rate of income tax.”
“A lower rate of GST -12.5% is favoured.”
Verify at Conservative Party NZ — official policy page

Summarised neutrally from Conservative Party NZ’s own official policy (as at 2026-09-07) and checked by an editor. Nothing is paraphrased without the source linked. Read the original ↗ Arapono is non-partisan. Compare all parties on Economy →

Full breakdown Every party on economy
Leadership
HH
Helen Houghton
Leader
At a glance
Total seats0
Electorate seats0
List seats0
Share of House0.0%
Founded2011

Latest coverage

News and video mentioning Conservative Party NZ, from the sources on our coverage page.

In the news

How a triumphant NZ First would force permanent change on the big old partiesNewsroom · 22 Jul
All news

On video

No video tagged to this party in the current window. That is the real state of the pool, not a loading error — coverage of the smaller parties is genuinely thin.

Sources

Seat counts from the 2023 General Election (Electoral Commission). Party background from parliament.nz and official party records. Leadership verified against the parliament.nz member roster.