New Zealand
New Zealand exhibits high-range performance across three categories of the Global State of Democracy framework: Representation, Rights and Rule of Law. It performs in the mid-range with regard to Participation. With comparatively robust civil and political rights, it is among the world’s top 25 per cent of performers across the majority of factors. Over the last five years, the island country has experienced a decline in Freedom of Association and Assembly. The services industry makes the largest contribution to the economy, with manufacturing, professional, scientific and technical services taking the largest shares.
New Zealand is home to an ethnically-diverse population, with Europeans being the majority and the Māori and Asians and Pacific Islanders making up minority communities. The roots of the indigenous Māori community stem from waves of migration from Polynesia in the 14th century. European settlement occurred in the centuries thereafter. In the 1800s, larger numbers of British migrants arrived, culminating in the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 – the founding document of modern New Zealand - which formed the political agreement between the British Crown and Māori. Although Māori customs and law (‘Tikanga’) have been recognized as part of the common law of the country, one of the key political fractures since the signing of the Treaty has been regarding Crown sovereignty and rangatiratanga (Māori authority over their own affairs); political debates around such power-sharing have been contentious. Historically low levels of Māori political representation have improved and the overall diversity of Parliament reached a peak after the 2023 elections.
Another key cleavage has pertained to socio-economic inequalities- the right to adequate housing and healthcare in particular. Emergency housing has become a prolonged arrangement for many, with the tightening of access policies leading to increasing instances of homelessness. Marginalized groups and minorities, including persons with disabilities, Māori and Pacific Islander communities, and low-income families, among others, have also struggled to access healthcare. In the Māori case, this was further complicated by the disestablishment of the Māori Health Authority - which in conjunction with a controversialproposed reinterpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi, drew significant public criticism and revealed deep fractures in the democratic consensus on Indigenous rights. Evidence also suggests that racism, discrimination and Islamophobia had become increasingly apparent in the years before the Christchurch terror attack in 2019.
Whilst New Zealand performs in the high-ranges on Gender Equality, progress on the indicator continues to be undermined by high rates of sexual and family violence in comparison with other wealthy and high-performing democracies. While the LGBTQIA+ community benefits from strong legal protections, challenges around higher rates of crime victimization and mental health disparities still persist.
Looking ahead, it will be important to watch Rights, in light of the seeming policy turn towards the gradual reinterpretation of indigenous rights. Relatedly, climate change, including sea-level rise and coastal erosion will have a disproportionate impact on the livelihoods of the Māori community in light of their dependency on primary industries. Meanwhile, false information online, a growing distrust in news, and a shrinking media industry may have implications for Media Integrity and Freedom of Expression in the long term.
Last Updated: June 2025
https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/
December 2025
Electoral reforms remove prison voting and same-day registration
New Zealand’s parliament passed the Electoral Amendment Act on 16 December, removing the possibility for same-day voter registration and voting from prison, as well as increasing the maximum allowed anonymous political donation from NZD 5,000 to NZD 6,000. Voters must now register at least 13 days before election day. The Act also removes a requirement that the Electoral Commission contact voters only by post, bans the free distribution of food and provision of entertainment within 100 meters of a voting place, and allows for the automatic adjustment of limits on campaign spending for inflation. The government justified the restrictions on registration as necessary to speed up the vote-counting process. Civil servants at the Ministry of Justice did not support the removal of same-day voting. New Zealand’s Attorney-General agreed, and added that the ban on prisoner voting might violate the country’s Bill of Rights. The act received Royal Assent and came into force on 20 December.
Sources: Radio New Zealand, New Zealand Legislation
November 2025
Regulatory Standards Act passes amid strong criticism
The Regulatory Standards Act was passed in parliament on 13 November and received royal assent on 18 November. The Act sets out a number of principles which lawmakers and civil servants will have to respect. Deviations from the principles will have to be publicly explained. The opposition, constitutional law scholars, civil society and the general public have reacted negatively to the Act, criticizing the formulation of principles – which include restrictions on taxation, taking of property, and a focus on individual liberties over common welfare - as vague, in conflict with existing constitutional provisions, or overly ideological. The principles are not enforceable in court but are expected to impact governance in the future should the opposition fail in its promise to repeal the Act if elected. Ninety-eight per cent of public comments on the bill were negative, with experts referring to it as ‘a dogmatic project designed to politically skew the process of lawmaking’ and ‘demonstrably antithetical to many core values underpinning modern welfare states.’ Specifically, its critics say adherence to the Act’s principles could undermine public health, social equality and environmental protections through a narrow conception of individual rights and private property.
Sources: Radio New Zealand, Radio New Zealand, Public Health Communication Centre, New Zealand Parliamentary Counsel Office
October 2025
New Zealand workers hold largest strike in four decades
More than 100,000 public employees, including teachers, doctors and nurses went on a one-day strike on 23 October, protesting low salaries, poor working conditions and underinvestment in public services. The strike was the largest since New Zealand’s only general strike in 1979, which included nearly 300,000 workers, and caps a year of growing labour activism in the country. While the country’s workforce was almost entirely unionized during the 1979 general strike, unionization is below 20 per cent today. Sectoral unions cited additional grounds for the strike, ranging from concerns over curriculum and exam procedures for teachers’ unions to short-staffing and a lack of support for training for doctors’ unions. Government representatives called the strike ’politically motivated’ and criticized the effect it had on schools’ and hospitals’ operations, which labour leaders and the political opposition rejected.
Sources: Reuters, Labor Notes, Radio New Zealand
May 2025
Parliament amends Pay Equity Act
Parliament passed on 7 May the Pay Equity Amendment Bill, which significantly narrows the scope for pay equity claims under the 2020 Pay Equity Act. The old Act allowed for legal challenges to rectify historical gender-based pay disparities within or between comparable occupations. The new rules restrict the occupations that can bring cases by requiring a higher proportion of those employed in a profession to be women, prioritizes comparisons within rather than between professions, and places additional burdens of evidence on claimants. The effects of these measures will become clearer in practice. The new law dismissed all claims currently under consideration, negatively impacting women who have launched legal action alleging discrimination. The bill was condemned by gender equity advocates, the opposition, and unions as making equity claims between professions de facto impossible. Business groups supported the changes but criticized the process as undermining public trust.
Sources: Radio New Zealand, DLA Piper, New Zealand Herald
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