Christopher Luxon says referendum on four-year political term could be at next election

National Party leader Christopher Luxon and his wife Amanda cast their early votes at the 2023 election. Photo / Dean Purcell

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says the Government may put a four-year political term to a referendum at the next election.

Speaking during a question-and-answer session at a Bloomberg event in Auckland today, Luxon was asked if the Government could take the matter to the public at the next poll.

“Yeah, I think that is very much our focus. That is in our commitments to each other, in our coalition agreements, is to actually have a proposal on the table we can take to the New Zealand people at the next election.”

National’s coalition agreements with both Act and NZ First include provisions to introduce legislation extending the political term, but neither provide an exact timeline for when a referendum should be held on the matter.

The agreement with Act states that legislation should be passed through its first reading in the first 15 months of the term. That would be by early next year. The NZ First deal agrees to support legislation to a Select Committee enacting a binding referendum on a four-year term.

Luxon on Friday said the Government hadn’t “kicked off that piece of work” yet as it was focused on other priorities.

“But that will come onto our radar, I imagine, fairly shortly. But again, across the Parliament, there is quite broad commitment, I think, from pre-election comments from all political parties for a four-year term.”

He said a three-year term “can lead to some short-term decisions” and “you are just often getting going and then you are into an election year again”.

The Prime Minister said there needed to be longer-term, bipartisan decisions.

Currently, elections are held every three years, but some politicians have expressed support for extending it to four years. Holding a referendum on the question was a recommendation of an independent panel which reviewed New Zealand’s electoral system last year.

However, previous referendums on a four-year term haven’t seen the public give the thumbs up. In 1967, 68% of people supported keeping a three-year term, while in 1990, 69% wanted to keep the term at three years.

The Electoral Review Panel last year said public feedback was mixed, with some respondents feeling four years would give governments and political parties more time to produce and implement policy. Others believed it meant less accountability.

Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub Press Gallery office.