Paul Henry quits TVNZ board, reveals he's standing for ACT Party

ACT expects high-profile broadcaster Paul Henry to be an MP within months, announcing he will stand for the party at November's election after quitting the TVNZ board.

Polarising broadcaster Paul Henry confirms ACT candidacy for upcoming election - Watch on TVNZ+

Party leader David Seymour revealed the high-profile candidate selection this morning in what was billed to the media as a "major election-related announcement".

Seymour said he expected Henry would receive an "electable" position on ACT's list.

Henry, one of the country's most recognisable but controversial media figures, said his decision was driven by concern for future generations.

"My wife and I have ten grandchildren between us. Like every grandparent, I want them to grow up in a country that rewards success, values freedom, and gives people every opportunity to build a better life through their own efforts."

A former TVNZ host, Henry said he had spent decades speaking with New Zealanders and watching governments come and go.

"Over that time, our country has become weighed down by bigger government, more debt, more bureaucracy, and lower expectations."

He most recently hosted the New Zealand versions of The Traitors and The Chase.

Seymour said he expected the party's board to send him on his way to Parliament.

"I expect that the board will put Paul in an electable and respectable position," he said.

"We expect to see him in Parliament in about 116 days. He's not only going to give ACT a real boost in getting there. He's going to ensure we keep winning the argument with his communication skills and his infectious enthusiasm."

In a statement to 1News, former prime minister Sir John Key reacted to the news.

"He’s itching to get involved and at least he will be witty and brave," he said.

"I reckon he will be great."

'Yes, I want to be a minister' - ex-broadcaster

Henry told reporters he would stand on the list only, not in an electorate — and made no secret of his ambitions, though he said he didn't want to be broadcasting minister.

"I'm painfully honest. Yes, I want to be a minister," he said.

"I'm 65 years old. I'm not doing this to waste my time or anyone else's ... I want the opportunity to make as much of a difference personally as I can."

He said a recent poll suggesting Labour could form the next government had been a catalyst for his decision, made while travelling in the United States last month.

He was also blunt about ACT's senior coalition partner, saying he was "enormously disappointed" with National, describing it as "a little bit populist" — a party so keen to appeal to everyone it risked "doing nothing that encourages anyone to vote for you".

In a statement, Seymour said Henry would bring "wit, intelligence, and a powerful voice".

"Paul is not entering politics because he needs another career. He is standing because he refuses to sit back while New Zealand becomes poorer, less ambitious, and divided by race," he said

"He is sharp, fearless, and an exceptional communicator. More importantly, he has a genuine love for New Zealand and a deep frustration at the opportunities we are wasting."

Pitch for a world-class cancer hospital

Asked if he had ideas he wanted to explore as an MP, Henry said: "The answer is yes, but I mean, now's not the time to talk about those things, but yeah, that's a great question."

He then floated an ambition to build a "world-class" cancer hospital in New Zealand, an idea he acknowledged was "top of the head stuff".

"I would love to do this, David. You've not heard this before," he said.

"One of the things I'd love to do is build a world-class cancer hospital. It'll cost multiple billions of dollars. I think you could easily get a group of wealthy New Zealanders to stump up with about $10 billion easily.

"The rest of it we would borrow, but that would be an investment in New Zealand's future."

Seymour said he liked Henry's ambition to "be the best in the world", pointing to the Government's push for an extra $604 million in cancer treatment funding.

Henry quits TVNZ board

Henry took aim at the previous Labour government, saying six years of Labour, "helped along by NZ First and the Greens", had left the country deep in debt.

Since 2023, he said, things had been "nudged in the right direction, but nowhere near hard or fast enough".

Henry told reporters he resigned from the TVNZ board this morning. He was only appointed in June last year by Media Minister Paul Goldsmith.

The presenter's appointment to the broadcaster's board raised eyebrows at the time, given his acrimonious 2010 departure from the company.

Goldsmith said: “I was told by Mr Seymour just before the announcement.

"I have confirmed this with the chair, who received Mr Henry’s verbal resignation around the same time."

TVNZ chairperson Andrew Barclay told 1News this afternoon he accepted Henry's resignation this morning.

"On behalf of the board, I want to thank Paul for the significant contribution he has made during his time as a TVNZ director.

"His unique insights and deep experience across the media industry have been of great value to us, and we wish him all the very best for the future," he said in a statement.

Henry had previously spoken at ACT Party events.

A long and often divisive career

Henry, 65, has been one of the most polarising figures in New Zealand broadcasting for decades. He rose to national prominence co-hosting TVNZ's Breakfast from 2004, where his provocative style drew both a devoted audience and a stream of complaints.

His career as a news broadcaster for TVNZ ended in 2010, when he quit amid a furore over his mockery of Indian politician Sheila Dikshit's name and his suggestion that then-governor-general Sir Anand Satyanand did not look or sound "like a New Zealander".

The comments drew a diplomatic protest from India and criticism from then-prime minister Key. Henry later fronted multiple programmes for TV3, including a self-titled breakfast show in 2015 and a series over the first Covid-19 lockdown.

His flirtation with politics was also long-running.

Henry was the National Party's candidate for the Wairarapa electorate in 1999, losing to Labour's Georgina Beyer, who became New Zealand's first transgender MP.

Asked what had changed since that campaign, Henry said, in many ways, New Zealand was better 30 years ago".

"In many ways, when I stood last time, there was more opportunity. Why is it that people's expectations in this country are so low? ... there is no reason at all why this country shouldn't be the most envied place on Earth to live.

"No reason at all, but it isn't."