ACT deputy leader Brooke van Velden not standing for re-election
Tuesday, 24 March 2026
ACT Party deputy leader Brooke van Velden has announced she will not stand for re-election.
The 33-year-old Cabinet Minister and MP for Tāmaki said after two terms as ACT deputy leader in Parliament and three years working in Parliament as a staffer she “wanted to do more with life”.
Van Velden is currently the Workplace Relations and Internal Affairs Minister.
“This hasn't come as an easy decision for me, but ultimately, I've made the decision because at the time of the election, I will have done nine years of public service, three years helping David Seymour with the End of Life Choice act, and six years as ACT deputy leader. And I simply want to do more with life.”
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Van Velden said she made the decision before Christmas and shared it with party leadership, who asked her to reconsider over the break. The caucus was not told until Tuesday morning.
The Post understands the Parliamentary party was blindsided by the announcement as van Velden had been telling people in recent weeks she was committed to running.
Van Velden said she could see a path back to Parliament after some time in the private sector.
“For me, it's been an absolute privilege to do this job and serve my country. I believe I could continue doing it. But I also ultimately want to make what are good life decisions for me long term, which is, I believe, building up private sector experience as well, and then at some point and for the future, coming back.”
Van Velden appeared with the entire ACT caucus on Tuesday morning, other than Mark Cameron who is unwell.
She said she did not have regrets about the big calls she had made as minister - including pay equity changes.
“Ultimately, I saved the Budget.”
Van Velden said she was confident that whoever was selected to run for Tāmaki - a big prize for ACT at the last election - would be able to retain the seat.
“The people of Tāmaki are smart people. They understand having choice and having options, but ultimately, based on the options that were in front of them, they decided to choose ACT, and they decided to choose me - something completely new. I have complete faith that this time around, the voters also will be able to make up their own minds based on the options in front of them.”
ACT leader David Seymour said the caucus would select a new deputy leader at the party’s annual general meeting on June 21, and while the party constitution allowed for that person to be outside of caucus, he expected that the new deputy would come from within caucus.
“Brooke will continue as a minister. She's got very important work to do, especially around the Holidays Act, which may be her greatest gift to small business in New Zealand,” Seymour said.
Van Velden said that Seymour had attempted to get her to change her mind.
“David has had many phone calls with me trying to convince me to continue on, but ultimately, I've made up my mind.”
Seymour said he held van Velden in very high regard but respected that she was “human”.
“I think she's had a political career as near to perfect as humanly possible. She's risen to the top at a very young age. She's won an electorate no one thought they could win. She's been involved in historic changes of law. She's been a very effective and exceptionally young cabinet minister. Now she's going out on her own terms.“
Van Velden was one of New Zealand’s youngest Cabinet ministers ever, entering the ministry at age 31.
Labour’s Phil Goff was sworn in at 31 too in 1984 - but was eight days younger than van Velden.