Act is considering changing its name to the Liberal party, but claims the initiative is not in response to its performance in the last election.
Party president Catherine Judd has launched "the Liberal Project" and is consulting members about a possible name change as part of the initiative.
Ms Judd was unavailable yesterday, but a party spokesperson said a name change had been discussed before the July 27 election.
Act won 7 per cent of the vote at the election, giving it nine MPs - the same number it had in the previous Parliament, leaving some to wonder why it could not increase its share.
Any name change would reflect the party's direction over the past 12 months and where it should position itself in the future, the spokesperson said.
It had not yet been decided whether to change the name, but the matter would be resolved at Act's annual conference, to be held in Wellington in March.
The party is also considering a change to its logo as it tries to revamp its image.
In a speech to the party's Wellington regional conference yesterday, leader Richard Prebble described Act as a "classical liberal party".
Liberals believed it was the citizen who had rights and obligations, not the collective.
But the public perception was that Act was a more right-wing version of National.
Mr Prebble said National was a conservative party that supported the status quo, whereas Act promoted change.
- NZPA
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