Nicole McKee Named Deputy Leader of ACT Party

Nicole McKee has been chosen as Deputy Leader of the ACT Party. The party announced the decision on 28 June 2026.

McKee is a List MP — meaning she entered Parliament through the party list rather than winning an electorate seat — and currently serves as Minister for Courts in the coalition government. She was born in Lower Hutt, raised in Rotorua, and later moved to Wellington. Her background is in law.

ACT Leader David Seymour said McKee had earned the respect and confidence of her colleagues. This suggests the party's MPs chose her rather than putting it to a member vote, which aligns with how ACT has made leadership decisions in recent years.

The appointment formalises McKee as the second-ranking figure in a party that helps prop up the National-led government. As Minister for Courts, she already oversees judicial appointments, court funding, and efforts to ease the workload on the district courts. The deputy leadership adds weight to her position at the Cabinet table.

The broader context here is that ACT has real influence in this Parliament. Seymour has been the public face of the party since its recovery in 2020, and historically the deputy role in smaller parties gets less daylight than it does in the major ones. McKee's legal training and her responsibilities as a minister mean she carries more clout in the job than the role has sometimes held in the past.