ACT campaigning to halve number of Government departments, and limit Jobseekers’ spending

Sunday, 28 June 2026

David Seymour returned to well trodden campaign grounds for his ACT Party, focusing on cutting Wellington’s bureaucracy and limiting what beneficiaries can spend money on.

Seymour outlined two campaign pledges at the party’s election-year conference at Shed 10 on Auckland’s waterfront.

The rally started with confirmation that Nicole McKee would take over as ACT deputy leader, after Brooke van Velden earlier announced her plan to leave Parliament at November’s election.

ACT plan to merge, or close, more than half of Government departments

Seymour has a long-standing position that there were too many Government departments and ministers, but hasn’t recently said which ones he would get rid off.

On Sunday, he told supporters there should be just 19 departments - down from the current 43. and he said there should only be 18 ministers, down from 28.

And in this coalition, there are 112 ministerial titles. That includes about a dozen titles responsible for the primary industries.

Seymour said the proposal was aimed at simplifying the structure of government and reducing bureaucracy.

“New Zealand needs a smaller, more efficient government if we are going to balance the books, lift wages, restore trust in democracy, and unlock New Zealand’s potential,” Seymour said.

Each department would report to a single minister responsible for its budget and outcomes, replacing the current system where some departments report to multiple ministers.

ACT’s proposal would remove the Public Service Commission and instead allow ministers to appoint departmental chief executives on fixed-term contracts.

Chief executives could be removed for specified reasons, including non-performance or policy misalignment, while retaining public service employment protections and the right to return to a lower-classified role.

The proposal says agencies that require operational independence, including Police, the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service and the New Zealand Defence Force, would continue to have those protections provided by law.

Seymour said New Zealand’s current structure had become overly complex.

“New Zealand has 78 ministerial portfolios, 28 ministers, and 43 departments. Norway has a similar population and runs with 20 ministers across 17 ministries.”

He argued that overlapping ministerial responsibilities and departments made government less accountable and more costly.

The proposal forms part of ACT’s election platform ahead of the general election and would need to be negotiated as part of any future coalition agreement.

ACT wants more limits on what Jobskeers can buy

Seymour also pledged to install more controls on how Jobseekers could spend their money.

He said anyone who stayed on the Jobsekeer work ready benefit for more than four months should have their benefit paid onto a Government-run money managemnet card, which would limit how they could spend their income.

If you are on a work-ready benefit for more than four months, you get your rent or mortgage paid and a plastic card that only works on staple items.

Those cards could not be used to withdraw cash or buy alcohol.

He also said that everyone on a health-related benefit should be seen by an MSD-approved doctor for assessment.

“Health-related welfare is one of the fastest-growing pressure points in the system. ⁠In ten years the number of New Zealanders on a health or disability Jobseeker benefit has nearly doubled, to 96,852. Another 96,000 are on the Supported Living Payment. Most of the growth is from new claims for psychological or psychiatric conditions,” he said.

He questioned why there had been such an increase.

“Nobody should be denied support when they genuinely cannot work. But the public deserves confidence that the system is not being gamed, and that people are not being written off when work or greater independence is possible,” he said.

ACT had campaigned on many of these policies in 2023. Since coming to Government, Seymour said some work had already been doing towards streamlining the public service and changing how benefits were managed - but he said that work was “half done”.