Former gun lobbyist Nicole McKee named as ACT Party deputy leader to replace Brooke van Velden
Sunday, 28 June 2026
ACT has named Nicole McKee as its new deputy leader at its annual general meeting and rally in Auckland, replacing Brooke van Velden.
McKee, who is Minister for Courts and the Associate Minister of Justice in the coalition government, first came to public attention as a lobbyist for the Council of Licensed Firearms Owners criticising the Jacinda Ardern-led Government’s tightening of firearms laws in the aftermath of the March 15, 2019, mosque attacks in Christchurch.
She entered Parliament as a list MP in 2020, and has led the coalition government’s firearms reforms, including securing a boost in spending in the otherwise parsimonious Budget 2026 to implement the reforms, and set up a new firearms regulator.
“I joined ACT because it is the party prepared to be the voice for New Zealanders who work hard and follow the rules, and to respect our freedoms,” she said at Sunday’s AGM.
“ACT has stood up on issues where other parties haven’t had the courage, because it was the right thing to do. We are working for a country where effort is rewarded, taxpayers are respected, and public services actually deliver,” she said.
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She used her acceptance speech to hit ACT’s key talking points for the coming general election in November, in which cost of living is voters’ main concern.
“Families, workers, and small businesses have carried the cost of bad decisions, wasteful spending, and red tape that makes it harder to get ahead. I'll never forget that I'm in this role to be their advocate, fix what matters, and deliver better value for the people who pay the bills,” McKee said.
Seymour said McKee had proven herself as a minister, and referenced the firearms mission that prompted McKee to enter Parliament.
“Seven years ago, ACT alone opposed rushed firearms laws that scapegoated an entire community and did not make New Zealand safer,” he said.
“Nicole picked up that mantle and, under extreme scrutiny and determined campaigns to stop her, she delivered for a group of New Zealanders that every other political party had forgotten.”
Seymour described McKee as straight-talking, principled, practical, and a breath of fresh air in Parliament.
Seymour announced a refinement of its small government policy.
“New Zealand has 78 ministerial portfolios, 28 ministers, and 43 departments. Norway has a similar population and runs with 20 ministers across 17 ministries. New Zealand’s oversized Government isn’t intentional, it’s like a hedge that stopped being trimmed years ago,” he told the rally.
“The result is a Government that is too tangled to act. Housing, infrastructure, welfare dependency, crime, and health all cut across multiple agencies. When seven departments share a problem, it can stop being anyone’s job to solve it. Kiwis are left frustrated, bouncing between departments or denied straight answers.”
ACT wanted to follow the example of Norway, and consolidate the existing 43 departments into 19 “coherent” departments, controlled by just 18 ministers - down from the current 28 ministerial portfolios.
The ACT rally was styled on the high-energy rallies in Canada held by Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Canadian opposition.
It made use of classic US rock music, coordinated cheering (“Lock Labour Out!”) and a giant New Zealand flag. Even the set-up was influenced by US rallies with ranks of seating occupied by party supporters with placards placed behind the party speakers so they would appear on TV coverage.
However, even the coordinated cheering — practised while the crowd waited for Seymour — couldn’t drown out a protester with a loudhailer outside Shed 10 on Auckland’s port. Protesters also blasted a siren through part of the rally.
Van Velden, who is pregnant with her first baby, said goodbye to the party at the rally. The current MP for Tāmaki announced in March that she wouldn’t contest November’s election saying that 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 will be remembered as a Minister of Internal Affairs and for Workplace Relations and Safety who led employment law changes in the current coalition government, and for announcing a minimum wage rise last year by less than the rate of inflation.
She was the Government’s lead in repealling pay equity laws, extending 90-day work trials, and overhauling holidays laws, all of which led to claims she was anti-worker.
Unions also protested a highly-controversial law change which made it easier for workers to be classified as contractors, which the Government passed following a Supreme Court case which classified Uber drivers as employees, not contractors.
Van Velden has also been accused of putting workers at risk through workplace health and safety law reforms that critics, including New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, say will lead to deaths.
However, she was also one of the ministers involved in the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care, oversaw improvements in the efficient of the passport system, and announced the extension of the Royal Commission into Covid-19 Lessons.
ACT has 11 MPs including leader David Seymour.