Act leader David Seymour says Winston Peters’ promise to repeal the Regulatory Standards Act “sounds like he’s getting ready to go with Labour again”.
Peters has vowed to “get rid” of the legislation, which only gained its royal assent and became law two days ago, if elected at the 2026 general election.
The NZ First leader says the bill, which creates a Regulatory Standards Board to consider legislation against principles, was a degree of intervention “not fit for a modern democracy”.
“I’m making it very clear where we stand. We believe in the fundamental principles of democracy and the paramountcy of Parliament – not an unelected committee.”
The legislation was a coalition agreement between Act and National. The separate agreement between National and NZ First says the latter will also support initiatives in the Act deal.
Seymour, who shepherded the bill through Parliament, said Peters’ revolt against it indicated “he seems to be lining up for a different kind of coalition”.
“What’s clear is that this is a landmark piece of legislation that Act would never vote to get rid of,” Seymour said.
“So if he wants to do this, he’s got to go with Labour. If his goal is to get rid of the Regulatory Standards Act, he’s not going to get votes from us to do that so he’d have to go with Labour.”
Put to him that Seymour suggested it sounds like he was getting ready to try to form a coalition with Labour, Peters said: “Don’t make me laugh.”
He said Labour had “no position on anything basically”, despite it having a position to repeal the legislation.
Peters earlier told Waatea News’ Dale Husband his party was opposed to the bill from “the word go”.
“You’ve only got so many cards. We did our best to neutralise its adverse effects and we will campaign at the next election to repeal it.”
The act sets out “principles” for “good” regulation and would lead to the establishment of a Regulatory Standards Board, an entity to consider the consistency of legislation with the proposed principles.
Peters called the powers that would be given to the new board a “terrible overreach”.
“For example, Parliament and ministers and others are all working on projects and they come under the surveillance of one group of people not elected with a sort of Star Chamber quality about it,” he said.
“The next election we will be campaigning against it and we’ll get rid of it.”
Last week, during the third reading of the legislation, Casey Costello, an NZ First MP, said “we have no hesitation in commending this bill to the House”.
“We support this bill because, on the fundamentals, it promotes an open and accountable Government that legislates with key principles in mind”, such as the rule of law, efficiency and regulation, property rights, an independent judiciary, and the belief every New Zealander is equal before the law.
She told the Herald on Thursday that MPs had been “given clear instruction to support the bill through” and she didn’t hesitate because “we’ve made a commitment”.
Asked why Costello had said she had no hesitation commending the bill, Peters responded: “She hadn’t had a chance to speak to me at the time because I was too busy overseas.”
National’s Chris Bishop wouldn’t comment on whether his party may vote to repeal the legislation, saying, “you’ll see our policy going into the next election”.
Pressed on that, Bishop said: “I’m just saying we will have our own policies going into the election.
“It was not National Party policy to have a Regulatory Standards Act going into the 2023 election. We now have a Regulatory Standards Act as a result of the coalition.
“I think everyone knows that, as part of our MMP system, governments are formed and there are trade-offs made and compromises and agreements made and that is now the law and we will have our own policy going into 2026.
“Peters has set out his store. We will set out our store in due course.”
He said it may be an “overread of the situation” to suggest Peters was angling to go with Labour after the election.
One of the amendments made after the select committee process related to the Regulatory Standards Board.
The legislation’s steward, Seymour, told the Herald at the time the changes to the board were made at the request of NZ First to “increase its independence and effectiveness”.
Members of the board would previously have been appointed by the Regulation Minister, raising questions about the degree of independence the board would have.
To address this concern, the committee said the bill should include a clause stating “the board must act independently (and is not responsible to a minister) in relation to performing its functions”.
The Regulation Minister would also no longer make appointments, under the committee’s proposed change, with that power transferred to the Governor-General on the recommendation of the minister.
Seymour has said the legislation is about improving transparency. He said it ensures future bills are assessed against the proposed principles, but any findings about their consistency are non-binding.
But the legislation has been contentious for a list of reasons, including concerns that it prioritises private property rights, is unnecessary, and doesn’t properly account for Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
It is part of the National-Act coalition agreement, which says the parties commit to “legislate to improve the quality of regulation, ensuring that regulatory decisions are based on principles of good law-making and economic efficiency, by passing the Regulatory Standards Act as soon as practicable”.
The “principles” it sets out for regulation don’t have legal effect – meaning not following them isn’t unlawful – but are intended as a guide for lawmakers and officials as to what is considered responsible regulatory practice.
The principles found in the legislation include that it is important laws are “clear and accessible”, should “not unduly diminish a person’s liberty” and there should be reasonable consultation on bills.
Legislation would be assessed as to its consistency with the principles, though any findings would not be binding on Parliament.
Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.