David Seymour sworn in as NZ’s Deputy Prime Minister

David Seymour, leader of the ACT Party, has been appointed as Deputy Prime Minister during a ceremony at Government House in his Epsom electorate.

The transition is part of the coalition agreement formed after the 2023 general election, where Seymour and New Zealand First leader Vaovasamanaia Winston Peters agreed to share the role.

Peters will serve the first 18 months, with Seymour taking over for the remainder of the term.

From solo MP to Deputy Prime Minister

Seymour's political journey began in 2014 when he was elected to Parliament as the ACT Party’s only MP for the Epsom electorate.

Seymour led the party to its best performance in the most recent elections, securing 11 MPs in Parliament, including two from electorate seats.

After a coalition agreement with the National Party and NZ First, five ACT MPs, including Seymour, hold ministerial portfolios, with three serving in the Cabinet.

In addition to his new role as Deputy Prime Minister, Seymour serves as the Minister for Regulation and holds associate ministerial positions in education, finance, health, and justice.

In an interview on Pacific Mornings, Seymour reflects on his decade-long political journey, saying,

“It shows that someone like me, who has come into politics with no support, just one of me, barely won my electorate the first time.

The official paperwork making David Seymour the new deputy prime minister. Photo: Supplied/Felix Walton / RNZ

“But over time, I've worked, I've gained people's support, and I've got to this position. I'm really proud of that, and I think it shows that in this country, you can get somewhere.”

Seymour acknowledged his challenges: “It hasn't been an easy 10 years, a lot of people attack me and all the rest, but I'm proud of where I've got to.”

A controversial figure

Seymour has been a vocal critic of co-governance arrangements with Māori and has proposed several contentious laws, including the Treaty Principles Bill, which aimed to redefine the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

The bill sparked significant controversy and was ultimately voted down in April.

Seymour questioned the value of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples and other cultural portfolios and suggested that they should be eliminated.

“If you're Pacific, what matters is whether the Health Minister ensures you can see your doctor, or whether your kids get a good education,” Seymour says.

Listen to Seymour's most recent interview on Pacific Mornings

"We have a minister for Pacific peoples... but none of these portfolios deliver services. They're created to show voters a government cares, not to actually fix things."

However, from the outset, Seymour and his party supported the Citizenship (Western Samoa) (Restoration) Amendment Bill, describing the 1982 law that stripped thousands of Samoans of New Zealand citizenship as “wrong” and overdue for redress.

Seymour told Pacific Mornings that ACT’s support of the bill is “about doing the right thing for people who were unfairly excluded,” a stance that, together with backing from Labour, the Greens and NZ First, virtually guaranteed the legislation’s passage. National was the only party to vote against the bill at it’s first reading.

The bill became law in November 2024, after it passed its third and final reading unanimously.

David Seymour tells Pacific Mornings ACT likely to support Sāmoan bill right through

Seymour has also criticised the Government structure, which comprises 82 ministerial portfolios and 41 departments, describing it as bloated and symbolic. He supports significantly reducing these numbers to improve accountability and efficiency.

“We have, for example, a minister for child poverty reduction. We all want to reduce child poverty, but having a minister with that title hasn't achieved it.

“There is no child poverty reduction department. There is no child poverty reduction budget. It's just a title that Labour created.”