Early years, 2008–2014 Upston unsuccessfully sought a National Party candidacy in 2005. Upston entered parliament at the beginning of the
Fifth National Government. In her first term, Upston was appointed to the local government and environment committee, the government administration committee, and the education and science committee. She gave her
maiden speech on 16 December 2008, where she stated her priorities were education and "making New Zealand safe again." She received attention in the media for her comments on harsher sentences and sloganised approach to crime: "The police are good. The criminals are bad. It's that simple." Eventually she would soften her views and state her support for investments in prisoner rehabilitation. During the
2011 New Zealand general election, Upston retained Taupō by a margin of 14,115 votes, defeating Labour candidate Frances Campbell. In her second term, Upston was appointed the government's junior
whip. Following the February 2013 Cabinet reshuffle, she became
chief whip. She was also a member of the Māori affairs committee and the local government and environment committee. Upston was promoted into the executive after the 2014 election, as minister outside of Cabinet. She was
Minister for Land Information,
Minister for Women, Associate Minister for Local Government, and Associate Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment from October 2014 until December 2016. At the same time, she was a member of the justice and electoral select committee. The following month, she attracted criticism for refusing to comment on women's rights in the workplace after it was revealed
Prime Minister John Key was forced to apologise to a Parnell cafe worker for repeatedly pulling her hair. She attracted further scrutiny in the portfolio for rejecting calls to remove GST on
menstrual products and for refusing to comment on an incident involving the mistreatment of a stripper by
Chiefs rugby players. As Minister for Land Information, Upston oversaw the correction of several Māori placenames, including
Whanganui and
Waiotahe. She also introduced replacement legislation for the
Land Transfer Act 1952. In the local government portfolio, she oversaw but later postponed a trial of online voting in the
2016 local elections. She was also involved in governance reviews and the appointment of commissioners at Kaipara District Council and Canterbury Regional Council. In the tertiary education, skills and employment portfolio, she had responsibility for industry training, private training establishments, and adult and community education. Upston was promoted into Cabinet by new prime minister
Bill English in December 2016. She became
Minister of Corrections and an associate minister for primary industries (with responsibility for forestry), education, and tertiary education, skills and employment. She held these positions until the government changed in October 2017. As corrections minister, Upston announced that all corrections officers would be required to carry
pepper spray, launched mental health pilot programmes for prisoners, and launched a new strategy to manage women offenders.
Opposition years, 2017–2023 National lost the 2017 and 2020 elections. Upston became a senior member in the successive National shadow cabinets, serving as social development spokesperson under each of
Bill English,
Simon Bridges,
Todd Muller,
Judith Collins, and
Christopher Luxon, and sitting on the social services and community committee. She was also spokesperson for land information, social investment and whānau ora (2020–2021), employment (2020–2023), regional economic development (2021), child poverty reduction (2021–2023), and family violence prevention (2023). In April 2019, Upston's
private member's bill, the Rights for Victims of Insane Offenders Bill, was drawn from the ballot and introduced to Parliament. Upston began working on the bill in 2010 after being contacted by a constituent whose brother was murdered and whose killer was found not guilty by reason of insanity. The bill proposed that, even if they unable to be found guilty of a crime, the court may find an offender has been proven to have acted grievously. Although the bill received unanimous support from all parties, it was sent back to the justice committee for further consideration after the
Chief Justice raised concerns. The concerns were ultimately addressed and the bill passed unanimously in December 2021. As social development spokesperson, Upston promoted National's policy of harsher penalties for unemployed people on the
jobseeker benefit including a mandatory reapplications every six months, increased use of stand-downs from receiving welfare, and greater direct management of beneficiaries' incomes by the
Ministry of Social Development. She claimed that the 2019 report of the Labour Government's Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) provided evidence that supported sanctions as being "effective in encouraging movement from benefits to work;" this was rejected by WEAG.
Minister in Sixth National Government, 2023–present During the
2023 election, Upston retained the Taupō electorate by a margin of 16,505 votes. In late November 2023, Upston was appointed as
Minister of Social Development and Employment,
Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, and
Minister for Child Poverty Reduction.
Minister of Social Development In mid February 2024, Upston as Social Development Minister announced that the Government would ramp up benefit sanctions from June 2024 including "work check-ins" for jobseekers who have been on a benefit for at least six months. These check-ins would not apply to those on a sole parent or supported living benefits. Following a
Child Poverty Action Group report about high schoolers working long part-time jobs that affected their schooling, Upston attributed the problem to the high cost of living. While ruling out minimum wage increases and student allowances for high schoolers, Upston advocated tax cuts, rebates and helping their parents find work as a means of improving school attendance and educational performance. In early April 2024, Upston confirmed that the Government and the
University of Auckland were exploring options to continue funding the
Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal study. In mid-September 2024, Upston confirmed that the Government would be investing NZ$16.8 million into the longitudinal study over the next four years. On 24 July, Upston's absence from a Parliamentary sitting led to the withdrawal of the Government's Regulatory Systems (Social Security) Amendment Bill. The Bill was scheduled to have its first debate that morning. Assistant Speaker
Maureen Pugh withdrew the bill after
Melissa Lee, who was the duty minister in the House of Representatives, declined to speak and motion that the bill be read for the first time. Following the incident, Upston confirmed that the Regulatory Systems (Social Security) Amendment Bill would be taken back to the Business select committee and reintroduced at a later stage. On 12 August 2024, Upston confirmed the introduction of a traffic light system for the Jobseeker Support benefit, effective immediately, with legislation to expand the system to be introduced in November and expected to come into force in early 2025. Key changes have included extending the benefit sanctions period from one year to two years, requiring Jobseeker beneficiaries to apply every six months, requiring beneficiaries with work obligations to create a jobseeker profile, creating a special payment card for accessing a limited ranges of products and services and new community work sanctions. Upston also promised that the rule of preventing sanctions from cutting benefit pay by more than 50 per cent of job seekers who had children would remain in place. On 5 October 2025, Upston and Prime Minister
Christopher Luxon announced that the Government would tighten welfare eligibility criteria for 18 and 19-year old teenagers; with those having parents earning over NZ$65,000 being ineligible for Jobseeker and other emergency benefits from November 2026. 18 and 19 year olds, with dependent children, or who were estranged from their parents would still be eligible for welfare assistance. She confirmed that the Government would introduce a new means-tested Parental Assistance Test. Upston estimated that 4,300 young people would become ineligible for Jobseeker support in the 2027/28 financial year. Upston said: On 20 October 2025, Upston announced that Jobseeker beneficiaries failing an obligation for the first time would be required to undertake at least three job-search activities per week and undergo at least five hours of employment-related training per month. Despite the Government's efforts to reduce the number of beneficiaries,
Radio New Zealand reported in mid-March 2026 that the number of welfare recipients had reached a 12-year high of 427,236 in December 2025. The number of Jobseeker beneficiaries also increased by 18 percent from 190,000 in December 2023 to 223,500 in December 2025. In response, Upston attributed the rising beneficiary numbers to the "difficult economic conditions and a tough labour market" caused by the previous Labour government. She claimed that Labour's COVID-19 spending policies drove inflation and caused higher unemployment. As the minister responsible for a
Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care recommendation focusing on
Gloriavale Christian Community, Upston visited the isolated
West Coast commune on 30 January 2026 where she met with Overseeing Shepherd Stephen Steadfast, other community leaders and members. She later told Radio New Zealand that she did not see anything that caused concern about children's safety and said that government agencies monitoring the commune would report any problems. In response, the Gloriavale leavers' lawyer Dennis Gates alleged that Upston had been duped by Gloriavale's leadership and called on her to resign in early March 2026. In response to criticism, Upston defended visit and said that government agencies were working on a community safety plan for Gloriavale's children.
Minister for Disabled Issues On 24 April 2024, Upston assumed
Penny Simmonds' Disability Issues portfolio following a
cabinet reshuffle. The
Ministry for Disabled People falls under the oversight of the
Ministry of Social Development, which Upston heads. On 15 August 2024, Upston announced that
Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People would be restructured as a policy and advisory department and that its support service delivery functions would be assumed by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD). Disabled Persons Assembly chief executive and former
Green Party MP Mojo Mathers, disability advocate Blake Forbes-Gentle, CCS Disability Action national policy analyst Phoebe Eden-Mann and Green Party disability spokesperson
Kahurangi Carter criticised the government decision, saying that it would adversely affect the ability of disabled people to access support services due to MSD's poor track record of serving the disabled community. On 29 August, Upston announced that the Government would raise fines for people illegally parking in disabled car parks from NZ$150 to NZ$750 effective 1 October 2024. On 3 September 2025, Upston confirmed that the Government would roll out changes to the disability support system throughout 2026 with the goal of making it easier for disabled people and their carers to access support payments. Key changes include introducing assessments for new disability applicants from 1 February 2026; introducing a new budget for existing flexible funding users from 1 April 2026; and introducing a new reassessment system for disability applicants from 1 October 2026. On 12 March 2026, Upston confirmed that the Government would lift restrictions on support payments for disabled people and their carers from 1 April following a review into the funding system. She said that the changes reflected the recommendations of the 2024 independent review and feedback from the disabled community in 2025. The announcement was welcomed by several disability carers including Disability Support Service Transformation general manager Alastair Hill. Emily Writes, the former director of charity Awhi Nga Matua, criticised Upston for not issuing an apology for the harm caused to disabled carers by the 2024 cutbacks.
Minister for Tourism and Hospitality During a
cabinet reshuffle on 19 January 2025, Upston assumed the
tourism and hospitality ministerial portfolio. On 14 April, Upston announced that the New Zealand Government would invest NZ$13.5 million in state tourism agency
Tourism New Zealand to boost international tourism. Upston and Luxon made a renewed announcement about this funding injection on 9 June, saying that the NZ$13.5 million worth of funding would target the core markets of
Australia, the
United States and
China over the next few years. On 7 May, Upston and Prime Minister
Christopher Luxon announced that the Government would end the requirement for overseas visitors to provide certified translations of supporting documents in a bid to boost tourism.
Leader of the House On 2 April 2026, Upston assumed the role of
Leader of the House, succeeding
Chris Bishop, who had been in the position since the
2023 New Zealand general election. Upston had previously been the deputy leader of the House. ==Political and social views==