New Conservative is a
political party in New Zealand
New Zealand national politics have featured a pervasive party system since the early 20th century. Usually, all members of Parliament's unicameral House of Representatives belong to a political party. Independent MPs do not occur often.
While ...
. Observers have described the party's policies as
far-right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
, though the party now states it has moved to a more centrist position under new leadership. It advocates for lower taxation,
anti-abortion
Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...
measures and
austerity cuts.
It was founded as the Conservative Party in August 2011 by businessman and political activist
Colin Craig
Colin Craig (born 8 January 1968) is a New Zealand businessman and perennial candidate who was the founding leader of the Conservative Party of New Zealand.
Craig is a millionaire who owns companies that manage high-rise buildings. His current ...
, who led the party from its foundation until his resignation in June 2015. The party had two members on the
Upper Harbour Local Board
The Upper Harbour Local Board is one of the 21 local boards of the Auckland Council, and is one of the two boards overseen by the council's Albany Ward (local government), Albany Ward councillors.
The board is named for the upper reaches of ...
in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
from 2013 to 2016. The party has contested the four
general elections
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
from
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
through
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
without winning any seats. At the 2020 general election, they gained 1.5% of the vote.
The party changed to its current name in November 2017.
Ideology and policies
The New Conservative party's policies include, or have included:
* Protection of
free speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been ...
.
* A focus on rehabilitation in prison.
* Binding citizens-initiated
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
s.
* Linking adjustment to
MPs' salaries to changes in the average wage in New Zealand.
* Increasing investment into pollution research and public/private
research & development
Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...
partnerships.
* Protecting schools, marketplaces, and
groups fundraising "from unnecessary bureaucracy".
* Increasing housing access and affordability.
* Criminalising
euthanasia
Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering.
Different countries have different eut ...
and
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
.
* Defining marriages "as between one biological man and one biological woman, with all other legal arrangements categorised as civil unions."
Co-leader Ted Johnston described the party in November 2021 as centrist and centre right. He also said that the party does not advocate removing
Māori seats, easing of gun laws, or introducing forced prison labour.
Leaders and high profile members
Other past and present high profile members include:
*
Larry Baldock
Larry David Baldock (born 1954) is a New Zealand politician. Before entering national politics, he was involved with Youth With A Mission and spent 15 years living in the Philippines. After returning to New Zealand in 1996, he joined Future Ne ...
, politician and former MP. Baldock joined in 2011 through an alliance with
The Kiwi Party
The Kiwi Party was a political party operating in New Zealand between 2007 and 2011. Briefly known as Future New Zealand, it was a breakaway from the United Future New Zealand party and sought to carry on the tradition of Future New Zealand. The ...
. He Left in 2014, as his party membership was suspended while he faced disciplinary action.
*
Christine Rankin
Christine Kathryn Rankin (born Greymouth c. 1954) is a New Zealand politician and former civil servant who served as head of the Ministry of Social Development.
Civil-service career
Rankin originally joined the Department of Social Welfare ( ...
, former CEO of
Work and Income New Zealand
The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) (Māori: ''Te Manatū Whakahiato Ora'') is the public service department of New Zealand charged with advising the government on social policy, and providing social services.
MSD is the largest public servi ...
. Member from 2012 to 2015.
*
Garth McVicar
Garth Neil McVicar (born ) is a New Zealand political lobbyist who founded the Sensible Sentencing Trust (SST) law-and-order advocacy group in 2001. In August 2014, he stood down from SST to focus on a campaign for election to Parliament. McVica ...
, lobbyist and founder of
Sensible Sentencing Trust
The Sensible Sentencing Trust is a political advocacy group based in Napier, New Zealand. The Trust's stated goal is "to educate both the public and victims of serious violent and/or sexual crime and homicide" It focuses on advocating for the ri ...
. Member in 2014, leaving the party after the
2014 general election.
*
David Moffett
David Moffett (born 17 April 1947) is a businessman who has been the head of Sport England, New Zealand Rugby, Australia's National Rugby League, and the Welsh Rugby Union. Moffett has been involved in New Zealand politics, serving briefly on ...
, former CEO of
Sport England
Sport England is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Its role is to build the foundations of a community sport system by working with national governing bodies of sport, and other funded par ...
,
NZ Rugby,
NRL
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
and
Welsh Rugby Union
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby.
The WRU is responsible for the running ...
. Joined the Board in January 2019, but as of September 2019 was not listed as a board member on the party's website.
*
Gordon Copeland
Gordon Frank Copeland (19 August 1943 – 24 November 2018) was a New Zealand politician who served as a Member of Parliament from 2002 to 2008. He entered the House of Representatives as a list MP for the United Future New Zealand Party from 20 ...
, politician and former MP.
History
Colin Craig era, 2011–2016
Formation
The Conservative Party was founded by Colin Craig, a businessman who had organised a protest march in 2009
and who had stood in the
2010 Auckland mayoral election
The 2010 Auckland mayoral election, was part of the 2010 New Zealand local elections. It was the first election of a mayor for the enlarged Auckland Council, informally known as the "super-city". The election was won by sitting mayor of Manukau ...
, polling third with 8.7% of the vote. Craig announced the formation of the Conservative Party on 3 August 2011
[
] at a media event in Newmarket, Auckland. It gained the 500 members required for registration within a month of its founding,
and the Electoral Commission registered it on 6 October 2011.
2011 election
The Conservatives contested the
2011 general election. In October 2011 they announced electoral alliances with
The Kiwi Party
The Kiwi Party was a political party operating in New Zealand between 2007 and 2011. Briefly known as Future New Zealand, it was a breakaway from the United Future New Zealand party and sought to carry on the tradition of Future New Zealand. The ...
and
New Citizen Party
The New Citizen Party was a political party in New Zealand that aimed to represent Chinese New Zealanders and had a focus on economic and law-and-order issues.
Auckland businessman Paul Young, former New Zealand Labour Party list-candidate Steph ...
, in which their candidates stood instead as Conservatives. The party ran a list of 52 candidates, including Kiwi Party leader
Larry Baldock
Larry David Baldock (born 1954) is a New Zealand politician. Before entering national politics, he was involved with Youth With A Mission and spent 15 years living in the Philippines. After returning to New Zealand in 1996, he joined Future Ne ...
and former New Citizen
Botany
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
candidate Paul Young.
Craig stood in the
Rodney electorate. The party spent NZ$1.88 million on its campaign, the second-highest of any party,
with most of the money coming from Craig himself.
During the campaign the party portrayed itself as able to work with either of the two main parties,
National
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
and
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
.
It highlighted its socially conservative policies of raising the
drinking age
The legal drinking age is the minimum age at which a person can legally consume alcoholic beverages. The minimum age alcohol can be legally consumed can be different from the age when it can be purchased in some countries. These laws vary between ...
to 21, parental notification for abortions, and repeal of the
"anti-smacking" law.
[ It announced its opposition to National's policy of selling state assets.][
The party gained 2.65% of the ]party vote
Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a mixed electoral system in which votes cast are considered in local elections and also to determine overall party vote tallies, which are used to allocate additional members to produce ...
(59,237 votes), but failed to win any seats in Parliament. Craig came second in Rodney, gaining 8,031 votes – 12,222 votes behind first-time National Party candidate Mark Mitchell.
Following the election, Conservative candidates Larry Baldock and Peter Redman were referred to police for filing false expenses returns and for exceeding the $25,000 cap on election expenses. Colin Craig stated that if the police found any impropriety neither Larry Baldock nor Peter Redman would be allowed to stand as Conservative candidates. The police subsequently declined to lay charges in the matter.
2011 to 2014 (election to Upper Harbour Local Board)
In May 2013, the party appointed Christine Rankin
Christine Kathryn Rankin (born Greymouth c. 1954) is a New Zealand politician and former civil servant who served as head of the Ministry of Social Development.
Civil-service career
Rankin originally joined the Department of Social Welfare ( ...
, a high-profile former Work and Income New Zealand
The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) (Māori: ''Te Manatū Whakahiato Ora'') is the public service department of New Zealand charged with advising the government on social policy, and providing social services.
MSD is the largest public servi ...
chief executive, as its own chief executive.
The party contested the 2013 Christchurch East by-election
A by-election was held in the New Zealand electorate of Christchurch East on 30 November 2013. The seat was vacated following the resignation of Lianne Dalziel of the Labour Party from parliament, who contested and won the Christchurch mayoral ...
; candidate Leighton Baker polled 494 votes (or 3.6%). The party also contested the 2013 local elections, fielding 27 candidates in Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
. The party gained 50,218 votes overall, and two candidates (Christine Rankin and Callum Blair) were elected to the Upper Harbour Local Board
The Upper Harbour Local Board is one of the 21 local boards of the Auckland Council, and is one of the two boards overseen by the council's Albany Ward (local government), Albany Ward councillors.
The board is named for the upper reaches of ...
.
In February 2014, the then-Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
co-leader Russel Norman
Russel William Norman (born 2 June 1967) is a New Zealand politician and environmentalist. He was a Member of Parliament and co-leader of the Green Party. Norman resigned as an MP in October 2015 to work as Executive Director of Greenpeace Aote ...
spoke at the Big Gay Out
Big Gay Out is an LGBT, LGBTQ festival in New Zealand, Aotearoa/New Zealand. It has been running in Auckland, New Zealand since 2000. The event was founded by the Hero Festival, but is now organised by the Burnett Foundation Aotearoa.
During th ...
event in Auckland and alleged that Colin Craig held misogynistic and homophobic attitudes. In response, Craig filed a defamation suit and demanded that Norman issue an apology. Norman and the Green Party announced that they would contest the lawsuit. On 10 October 2014, the parties settled the lawsuit out of court and agreed to bear their own legal expenses.
2014 election
In November 2013 speculation arose in New Zealand news media about a possible accommodation between the Conservatives and the National Party for the 2014 general election. Comments by Prime Minister and National Party leader John Key
Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th prime minister of New Zealand, Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2006 to ...
led to speculation of a coalition in which the National Party would not run a candidate in an electorate on Auckland's North Shore, such as Rodney, East Coast Bays
East Coast Bays is a string of small suburbs that form the northernmost part of the North Shore, part of the contiguous Auckland metropolitan area in New Zealand. The suburbs line the north-east coast of the city along the shore of the Haurak ...
, or the newly formed . This would have assisted the Conservative Party in meeting the threshold for entering parliament. Ultimately, National ran candidates in all these electorates. After some indecision, Craig elected to stand in the East Coast Bays electorate. John Key announced on 28 July 2014 that the National party candidate for East Coast Bays, Murray McCully
Murray Stuart McCully (born 19 February 1953) is a former New Zealand politician. He is a member of the National Party, and served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2017.
Early life
Born in Whangārei, McCully was educated at Arap ...
, would not step aside to assist the Conservatives into parliament, nor would National urge its members to vote for Craig.
Among its candidates, the Conservative Party selected its chief executive Christine Rankin
Christine Kathryn Rankin (born Greymouth c. 1954) is a New Zealand politician and former civil servant who served as head of the Ministry of Social Development.
Civil-service career
Rankin originally joined the Department of Social Welfare ( ...
to stand in the Epsom electorate and Sensible Sentencing Trust
The Sensible Sentencing Trust is a political advocacy group based in Napier, New Zealand. The Trust's stated goal is "to educate both the public and victims of serious violent and/or sexual crime and homicide" It focuses on advocating for the ri ...
founder Garth McVicar
Garth Neil McVicar (born ) is a New Zealand political lobbyist who founded the Sensible Sentencing Trust (SST) law-and-order advocacy group in 2001. In August 2014, he stood down from SST to focus on a campaign for election to Parliament. McVica ...
for the Napier electorate. The Electoral Commission awarded the Conservatives $60,000 in advertising funding for the 2014 general election, three times the $20,800 allocation it made to the Conservatives in 2011. On 1 August 2014 Colin Craig revealed that China-based firm Shanghai Pengxin was purchasing Lochinver Station, a large dairy farm, and said that the Conservatives were opposed to the deal.
The party reached 4.6% in a 3 News Reid Research poll released in late August 2014, suggesting that it might break the 5% threshold. On 13 September a TVNZ Colmar Brunton Poll showed McVicar polling 22% in the Napier electorate, behind both the Labour and National candidates.
The party was to be excluded from a televised debate of minor party leaders, while lower-polling parties such as ACT New Zealand
ACT New Zealand, known simply as ACT (), is a right-wing, classical-liberal political party in New Zealand. According to former party leader Rodney Hide, ACT's values are "individual freedom, personal responsibility, doing the best for our natur ...
and United Future
United Future New Zealand, usually known as United Future, was a centrist political party in New Zealand. The party was in government between 2005 and 2017, first alongside Labour (2005–2008) and then supporting National (2008–2017).
Uni ...
would have been included. Craig won a High Court injunction on 8 August 2014 to prevent this exclusion, and ultimately appeared in the debate. Shortly before the general election, the party's press secretary Rachel MacGregor resigned, citing Colin Craig's alleged manipulative behaviour.
The Conservative Party received 3.97% of the party vote and won no electorate seats, meaning that it did not meet the threshold to enter Parliament.
2015 resignations of leader and board members
On 19 June 2015, Colin Craig resigned as leader of the Conservative Party's leader. Board members had scheduled a meeting for that day to discuss the leadership as it was felt that Craig's recent participation in a television interview (with David Farrier
David Farrier (born 25 December 1982) is a New Zealand journalist and actor. He has worked in news and documentary, including features on New Zealand television and co-directing the internationally distributed documentary film ''Tickled'' (2016 ...
on the debut episode of ''Newsworthy
News values are "criteria that influence the selection and presentation of events as published news." These values help explain what makes something "newsworthy."
News values are not universal and can vary between different cultures. Among the m ...
''), conducted in a sauna, had reflected badly on the party. Dissatisfaction had also been expressed over Craig's demeanour toward the party's former press secretary Rachel MacGregor, who had resigned just before the 2014 general election. Dissatisfaction increased when Craig pre-emptively and perhaps unconstitutionally postponed the meeting for a week in order to announce his resignation. On 21 June, ''The New Zealand Herald
''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...
'' reported that Craig had settled the dispute with MacGregor for around NZ$16,000 to NZ$17,000 eight weeks earlier. One News also reported that there was a disagreement between Craig and several of the party's board members. One member, John Stringer, accused Craig of not following the party's constitution. Craig denied the allegation and threatened to take action against Stringer. The Chairman of the Board stated that Stringer's views did not reflect the view of the Conservative Party and that his comments were only his opinion. That same day, Craig said that he would consider contesting the party's leadership if he had enough support.
In a media conference on 22 June 2015, Craig admitted that he had "acted inappropriately" toward his press secretary Rachel MacGregor but denied any charge of sexual harassment. In response, MacGregor said that by making the admission, Craig had breached a confidentiality agreement the pair had reached under Human Rights Commission mediation and she disputed his account of the events. Craig's wife Helen Craig said that she was standing by her husband and characterized the charges against him as "false allegations." According to the ''Herald'', several board members of the party including Stringer, Christine Rankin
Christine Kathryn Rankin (born Greymouth c. 1954) is a New Zealand politician and former civil servant who served as head of the Ministry of Social Development.
Civil-service career
Rankin originally joined the Department of Social Welfare ( ...
, and Laurence Day indicated support for a change of leadership. A board meeting was scheduled for 27 June 2015 and Day called for Craig to be expelled from the party. Rankin, Garth McVicar, and Bob McCoskrie all ruled out contesting the leadership.
In the week after Craig's resignation, all remaining members of the board apart from Stringer resigned. On 27 June 2015, at the scheduled board meeting, Stringer appointed a new board consisting of himself as chairman and four new members. This board voted to suspend Craig's membership in the party. Stringer said that a final decision about Craig's membership and the appointment of a new leader would be made at a later date. According to One News, Craig later challenged the legality of Stringer's and the board's actions, claiming that Stringer had been suspended from the party. He did not rule out contesting the leadership. Craig's remarks were dismissed by Stringer, who became the party's interim leader.
On 5 July 2015, Stringer resigned as chairman and as a board member, following statements that he had been suspended from the party and was therefore not entitled to hold them. According to the ''New Zealand Herald'', a statement had been made by former chairman Brian Dobbs that Stringer had been suspended, and this meant that the decision by the interim board to suspend Craig's membership was invalid. On 7 July, Craig sent a personal letter to Conservative Party members to apologise for his behaviour and to gauge whether he had sufficient support to return to the party's leadership. On 26 July 2015, a 3News-Reid Research poll reported that support for the party was 0.7 per cent, the lowest it had polled since just before the 2011 general election.
On 29 July 2015, Craig started a lawsuit against several opponents including the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union
The New Zealand Taxpayers' Union is a self-described taxpayer pressure group founded in 2013 to scrutinise government spending, publicise government waste, and promote an efficient tax system. It claims to be politically independent and not align ...
's executive director Jordan Williams, fellow party member John Stringer, and the right wing blogger Cameron Slater
Cameron Slater is a right-wing New Zealand-based blogger, best known for his role in ''Dirty Politics'' and publishing the ''Whale Oil Beef Hooked'' blog, which operated from 2005 until it closed in 2019. He edited the tabloid newspaper ''New Ze ...
for alleged defamation. Craig also circulated a booklet, titled ''Dirty Politics and Hidden Agendas'', in which he outlined a "campaign of defamatory lies" against him. On 10 August 2015, Stringer responded by lodging a complaint against Craig with the New Zealand Police
The New Zealand Police ( mi, Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa) is the national police service and principal law enforcement agency of New Zealand, responsible for preventing crime, enhancing public safety, bringing offenders to justice, and maintai ...
, alleging that Craig had exceeded his allocated election fund legal limit by NZ$2,000 when contesting the East Coast Bays electorate in 2014. In addition, Stringer criticized Craig's management of the Conservative Party's 2014 election campaign. The following day, Stringer submitted a dossier of documents to both the police and the Electoral Commission
An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
. On 14 August 2015, Jordan Williams launched a counter-suit against Craig and several Conservative Party officials in response to Craig's statements at the July press conference and in the circular ''Dirty Politics and Hidden Agendas''. On 11 September 2015, Craig filed a retaliatory defamation suit against the party's former chairman, John Stringer. Stringer indicated that he would contest the charges in court.
On 16 November 2015, Craig announced that he would not be contesting the Conservative Party leadership in light of a police investigation against him over his party's spending during the 2014 general election. Craig also cited the ongoing lawsuits involving him, Cameron Slater, and Stringer as other reasons for his decision not to contest the party leadership. In addition, the newly elected Conservative Party board chair Leighton Baker indicated that the party was "in no hurry" to appoint a new leadership until it had rebuilt its membership base. Ultimately, the police investigation cleared Craig of any wrongdoing.
2016 – Legal strife and Colin Craig's resignation
On 19 January 2016, Colin Craig donated NZ$36,000 to the Conservative Party. Despite his lack of involvement with the leadership, he stated that he and his wife still wanted to support the party financially. On 2 February 2016, the party's board validated the decision of the previous board to suspend John Stringer's membership. The suspension was part of an ongoing internal conflict within the party between Stringer and former party leader Craig. On 1 March 2016, it was reported that Stringer had dropped his defamation suit against Craig and was seeking legal advice to ensure that his statement of defence complied with court rules for defamation cases. However, Craig's lawsuit against Stringer and Jordan Williams' lawsuit against Craig remained ongoing.
In September 2016, the Auckland High Court began hearing Jordan Williams' defamation lawsuit against Craig, expected to last five weeks. On 7 September, the former party chief executive and Epsom
Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...
candidate Christine Rankin
Christine Kathryn Rankin (born Greymouth c. 1954) is a New Zealand politician and former civil servant who served as head of the Ministry of Social Development.
Civil-service career
Rankin originally joined the Department of Social Welfare ( ...
testified that revelations about Craig's alleged romantic impropriety with his press secretary Rachel MacGregor had led her to doubt his suitability to lead the Party.
On 12 September, the party's former board member John Stringer alleged that Craig had acted inappropriately toward other women and said that there had been so much concern about his relationship with MacGregor that the party had arranged a chaperone to accompany them whenever they were together. Stringer claimed in his testimony that Craig had dismissed concerns about his alleged sexual impropriety raised by the party's board. He also alleged that Craig had created a "cult-like" atmosphere within the Conservative Party and that Craig had disciplined, harassed, and denigrated members who had disagreed with him. Stringer denied Craig's assertions that there was a "Dirty Politics" strategy within the party to unseat him and claimed that the party had lost confidence in their leader. On 14 and 15 September, MacGregor testified that Craig's alleged harassment during the three years of her employment had contributed to her decision to resign two days prior to the 2014 general election. In her testimony, she cited a pay dispute as the final straw in her decision to resign.
On 16 September, Colin Craig took the stand to testify in his defence. While denying that he sexually harassed MacGregor, Craig likened their relationship to that of siblings. He also admitted kissing her but insisted it was consensual. In his defence, Craig claimed that MacGregor had resigned primarily because he had rejected her marriage proposal on the grounds that he was already married. On 20 September, Craig's wife Helen Craig testified that MacGregor had privately contacted her to confess to having an emotional relationship with Craig and kissing Craig on the night of the 2011 general election. Helen also confirmed that she had forgiven her husband. While Craig had admitted kissing McGregor, he denied undressing or having sexual intercourse with her.
On 21 September, the investigative journalist Nicky Hager
Nicky Hager (born 1958) is a New Zealand investigative journalist. He has produced seven books since 1996, covering topics such as intelligence networks, environmental issues and politics. He is one of two New Zealand members of the Internationa ...
testified as an expert witness. In his testimony, he alleged that the information that had been released about Colin Craig on blogs like Cameron Slater's Whale Oil matched the patterns he had documented in his book ''Dirty Politics
''Dirty Politics: How attack politics is poisoning New Zealand’s political environment'' is a book by Nicky Hager published in August 2014.
The book is based on emails hacked from Cameron Slater's Gmail account and on Facebook chats. These c ...
'', which had inspired Craig's pamphlet "Dirty Politics and Hidden Agendas". Brian Dobbs, the former chairman of the Conservative Party, also testified that he and several other board members had expressed their dissatisfaction with Craig's and MacGregor's relationship. He criticised Craig for proceeding with the 2015 sauna interview without consulting him first. Dobbs disclosed that Williams had showed him a collection of love letters, poems, emails, and other correspondence between Craig and MacGregor in June 2015 in an alleged attempt to turn him against Craig. Dobbs also criticised MacGregor's resignation for contributing to the party's disappointing performance in the 2011 general election.
On 22 September, former Conservative Party board member Laurence Day disputed MacGregor's claim that Colin Craig had sexually harassed her, on the grounds that Williams had failed to present the incriminating alleged "sext" text message. He also alleged that Williams was trying to use the sexual harassment allegations to turn the party board members against Craig; a position that was echoed by another witness, Family First director Bob McCoskrie. Day and McCoskrie supported Craig's assertion that his relationship with MacGregor had been inappropriate but consensual. McCoskrie defended Craig's pamphlet as a response to the alleged "organized campaign" against Craig.
On 23 September, several Conservative Party staff members including Bev Adair-Beets, Angela Storr, and Kevin Stitt disputed MacGregor's sexual harassment allegations against Craig and vouched for the accuracy of Craig's allegations in his "Dirty Politics" pamphlet. While on the stand, the plaintiff Jordan Williams denied using MacGregor for political gain. On 28 September, lawyers representing both parties entered closing arguments. While Jordan Williams' lawyer Peter Knight cited the letters and poems as evidence of Craig's alleged sexual harassment against MacGregor, Craig's lawyer Stephen Mills QC asserted that Craig had the right to defend himself through his "Dirty Politics" pamphlet. Mills also contended that Williams had broken MacGregor's trust by passing information on her relationship with Craig to other Conservative Party officials and Cameron Slater
Cameron Slater is a right-wing New Zealand-based blogger, best known for his role in ''Dirty Politics'' and publishing the ''Whale Oil Beef Hooked'' blog, which operated from 2005 until it closed in 2019. He edited the tabloid newspaper ''New Ze ...
's blog Whale Oil.
On 30 September, the eleven-member jury unanimously ruled against Craig in Jordan Williams' favour. Craig was ordered to pay $1.3 million in compensation and punitive damages to Williams. While Williams and his supporters welcomed the decision, Craig's lawyers announced that they would appeal both the verdict and the amount of damages. Despite the unanimous jury verdict and the level of damages, Craig told Radio NZ in an interview the evening of the verdict that he did not regret publicizing the pamphlet and that he 'stood by' the allegations. On 12 April 2017, a High Court judge dismissed the awarding of $1.27 million to Jordan Williams, saying that the amount was too high and a "miscarriage of justice" had occurred.
On 4 October 2016, Conservative Party chairman Leighton Baker confirmed that Craig had resigned his membership of the party and was not considering any leadership position within the party. Baker also confirmed that the negative publicity had also affected the party's support base and expressed doubts that the party would contest the 2017 general election.
2016 local board elections
At the 2016 Auckland local board elections
The 2016 Auckland local board elections were held as part of the 2016 New Zealand local elections;
145 members were elected to local boards.
Summary of Results
Excludes the Wairoa subdivision of Franklin
References
Auckland
Auckla ...
, the Conservative Party lost its two seats. Rankin did not stand again. Blair did stand again, though was not affiliated with Conservative; he narrowly missed a seat, receiving 4,535 votes to the last successful candidate's 4,577.
Leighton Baker era, 2017–2020
2017 election
In January 2017, the party announced that Leighton Baker
Leighton James Baker is a New Zealand political candidate and businessman. He was leader of the New Conservative Party from 2017 to 2020, and has contested every general election since 2008, initially for the Kiwi Party, without success.
Baker ...
was its new leader.
In March 2017, the Conservative Party protested its exclusion from a political debate being hosted by the University of Auckland
, mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work
, established = 1883; years ago
, endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021)
, budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021)
, chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant
, vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...
Debating Society. The Party had been invited in November 2016, but the Debating Society later decided to limit participation to parties which were or had been represented in the New Zealand Parliament due to the number of participants. The party issued a press statement accusing the Debating Society of trying to stifle diverse views.
On 26 May 2017 the New Zealand Electoral Commission awarded the Conservative Party an allocation of $51,848 for use in the 2017 election. The party campaigned using the slogan "hit the reset button".
The Conservative Party announced a party list of 12 candidates. Electoral candidates included leader Leighton Baker in Epsom
Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...
and deputy leader Elliot Ikilei
Elliot Ewen Pasione Ikilei (born 25 June 1977) is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the New Conservative Party and has contested two general elections without success. He was the New Conservative Party's deputy leader from 2017 to 202 ...
in Manurewa
Manurewa is a major suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand. It was part of Manukau City before the creation of the Auckland super city in 2010. It is located south of the Manukau, Manukau City Centre, and southeast of Auckland CBD. The subur ...
.
The Conservatives gained only 0.2% of the party vote (6,253) during the 2017 general election and failed to win a seat in parliament.
Re-branding, November 2017 – October 2020
Following the 2017 general election, Conservative party members voted to change the party's name in November 2017. It was subsequently renamed the "New Conservative Party". As of mid-2019, the party's two key bases were in Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
and the Auckland Region
Auckland () is one of the sixteen regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland Metropolitan Area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. Containing ...
, where leader Baker and deputy leader Ikilei are based. Since its revamp, the party has campaigned on free speech issues and conservative family values, and opposed the United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
' Global Compact for Migration
The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) is an intergovernmentally negotiated agreement, prepared under the auspices of the United Nations, that describes itself as covering "all dimensions of international migration
Int ...
and the decriminalisation
Decriminalization or decriminalisation is the reclassification in law relating to certain acts or aspects of such to the effect that they are no longer considered a crime, including the removal of criminal penalties in relation to them. This refor ...
of abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
and euthanasia
Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering.
Different countries have different eut ...
.
In late April 2019, Deputy Leader Ikilei was temporarily suspended from Twitter for tweeting "'Trans women' are men with dysphoria/disorder, to be treated with compassion and tolerance"; a remark which many regarded as transphobic
Transphobia is a collection of ideas and phenomena that encompass a range of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender people or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger tow ...
. While supporting counselling for people with gender dysphoria
Gender dysphoria (GD) is the distress a person experiences due to a mismatch between their gender identitytheir personal sense of their own genderand their sex assigned at birth. The diagnostic label gender identity disorder (GID) was used until ...
, the party said that it "recognises that there are two biological genders" and supported the withdrawing of funding from gender reassignment
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
surgeries and the elimination of "gender ideology
The anti-gender movement is an international movement which opposes what it refers to as "gender ideology", " gender theory" or "genderism". The concepts cover a variety of issues and have no coherent definition. Members of the anti-gender mov ...
" from education programs.
While the party condemned the Christchurch mosque shootings
On 15 March 2019, two consecutive mass shootings occurred in a terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The attacks, carried out by a lone gunman who entered both mosques during Friday prayer, began at the Al Noor Mosque ...
, it opposed the Labour-led coalition government's Arms (Prohibited Firearms, Magazines, and Parts) Amendment Act 2019 and gun registration. The party also supported stronger relations with Israel including establishing an embassy in Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, apologising for United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, and recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights
The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...
. The New Conservatives also called on the New Zealand Government to join its Five Eyes
The Five Eyes (FVEY) is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These countries are parties to the multilateral UKUSA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperation in sign ...
allies in condemning the Hong Kong national security law
The Hong Kong national security law, officially the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a piece of national security legislation concerning Hong Kong. It ...
.
2020 general election
During the lead-up to the 2020 New Zealand general election
The 2020 New Zealand general election was held on Saturday 17 October 2020 to determine the composition of the 53rd parliament. Voters elected 120 members to the House of Representatives, 72 from single-member electorates and 48 from closed ...
, the New Conservatives ruled out an alliance with both the Labour-led coalition and Billy Te Kahika
William Desmond Te Kahika Jr (born 18 July 1972), also known as Billy TK Jr, is a New Zealand Māori conspiracy theorist, blues musician and guitarist, businessman and former political candidate. During the 2020 New Zealand general election, T ...
's New Zealand Public Party
The New Zealand Public Party was a short-lived political party in New Zealand led by Billy Te Kahika. It was founded in June 2020, and two months later became a component party of registered party Advance New Zealand in order to contest the . Ad ...
. The party received a broadcasting allocation of $62,186 for the 2020 election. The party made headlines during the campaign following repeated vandalism of their advertising in multiple cities, for publishing a meme comparing a New Conservative candidate to Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...
and Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
, and when a candidate repeatedly and falsely claimed to be an ambassador for the Cancer Society charity.
On 6 October 2020, party leader Leighton Baker mounted a legal challenge at the Auckland High Court to protest the party's exclusion from public broadcaster TVNZ
, type = Crown entity
, industry = Broadcast television
, num_locations = New Zealand
, location = Auckland, New Zealand
, area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the So ...
's Minor Party debate scheduled for 8 October. TVNZ's inclusion criteria required a party to be in parliament or to have scored at least 3 percent in a 1 News
''1 News'' (stylised as ''1News'') is the news division of New Zealand television network TVNZ. The service is broadcast live from TVNZ Centre in Auckland. The flagship news bulletin is the nightly 6 pm news hour, but ''1 News'' also has ...
Colmar-Brunton Poll held during the last six months. The hearing was held on 7 October; The High Court dismissed the New Conservatives' bid, ruling in favor of TVNZ.
On 10 October 2020, it was reported that the New Conservatives' Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
page had been hacked the previous day with pro-LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
messages posted on their message feed. In addition, screenshots of the party's logo were shown in rainbow colors. The hack was condemned by party leader Baker and deputy party leader Ikilei, who accused their opponents of intolerance. According to NZME
New Zealand Media and Entertainment (abbreviated NZME) is a New Zealand newspaper, radio and digital media business. It was launched in 2014 as the formal merger of the New Zealand division of APN News & Media, APN New Zealand; The Radio Netw ...
journalist Ethan Griffiths, the hacker had temporarily gained access to the New Conservative Instagram account by posing as Ikilei on Instagram.
On 17 October 2020, the New Zealand general election was held. The New Conservative Party voter share increased from 2017, securing 42,615 party votes, or 1.5%. The election result was not enough to enter parliament. Despite the result, Baker said he was not deterred by defeat and stated that the party would stand for election again in 2023. Similar sentiments were expressed by Ikilei, who attributed the party's failure to enter parliament to insufficient media coverage of smaller parties and shortcomings in the New Conservative's campaign messaging including their Māori language
Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and ...
policies.
Elliot Ikilei era, November to December 2020
Following the 2020 election, the party's board replaced Baker as leader with his deputy, Elliot Ikilei
Elliot Ewen Pasione Ikilei (born 25 June 1977) is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the New Conservative Party and has contested two general elections without success. He was the New Conservative Party's deputy leader from 2017 to 202 ...
, on 19 November. The chair of the board, Simon Gutschlag, wrote in a newsletter to the party's followers that the board had conducted a review of the leadership and had decided "to look for a fresh approach," which meant "relieving" Baker of his role. Baker posted a statement on Twitter where he described his departure as "a tough day at the office," but wished the new leadership well. Victoria O'Brien, a gun advocate who had been third on the party's list at the 2020 election, succeeded Ikilei as deputy leader. Ikilei complimented his predecessor's devotion to the party and conservative politics while signalling that he would bring a "more aggressive and “confrontational” approach to presentation style."
Less than a week after the leadership change, on 25 November, O'Brien resigned the deputy leadership, saying in a social media post that her decision was "due to a growing divergence between the direction of the party and my beliefs and values.” She later said that she had left because of Leighton Baker's "ongoing involvement with the party." Her announcement occurred in the context of some discontent from party supporters at Baker's removal, which had taken many by surprise. The deputy leadership will be vacant until a process to fill the role is put in place in early 2021.
On 31 December 2020, Ikilei announced on his Twitter account that he was resigning as leader of the New Conservatives.
Helen Houghton and Ted Johnston era, October 2021–present
On 11 October 2021, the party's board announced Helen Houghton and Ted Johnston as interim co-leaders. Houghton is from Christchurch and of European descent. She has opposed gender diversity education in schools and stood as the party's Christchurch East
Christchurch East, originally called Christchurch City East, is a current New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was first created for the and was abolished for two period, from 1875–1905 and again from 1946–1996. It was last created for ...
candidate. Johnston is from Auckland and of European and Samoan descent. He is also a criminal lawyer, a former The Opportunities Party
The Opportunities Party (usually referred to as TOP) is a centrist political party based in New Zealand. It was founded in 2016 by economist and philanthropist Gareth Morgan and is today led by Raf Manji. The party is based upon an idea of "evid ...
candidate, and a mayoral candidate during the 2019 Auckland mayoral election. Houghton and Johnston have said that they are attempting to make the party more attractive to centrist New Zealanders.
For the 2022 Hamilton West by-election
The 2022 Hamilton West by-election was a List of New Zealand by-elections, by-election in New Zealand's electorate. The seat became vacant due to the resignation of former New Zealand Labour Party, Labour Party MP Gaurav Sharma (politician), Ga ...
, New Conservative announced that it joined with the One Party
The One Party (stylised as ONE Party) is a Christian fundamentalist political party in New Zealand, co-led by Ian Johnson, Allan Cawood and Kariana Black. The party has stated that New Zealand is a "Christian nation", and should be run as such. ...
to stand a single candidate: Rudi du Plooy, a New Conservative Party member.
Organisation
As of mid-2019, the New Conservative Party had 35 electorates across New Zealand covered by committees with teams of convenors and volunteer teams. The party's two main support bases at that time were around the Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
and Auckland Region
Auckland () is one of the sixteen regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland Metropolitan Area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. Containing ...
s, where party leader Baker and deputy leader Ikilei are based. According to ''The Spinoff
''The Spinoff'' is a New Zealand online magazine and news website that was founded in 2014. It is known for current affairs coverage, political and social analysis, and cultural commentary. It earns money through commercial sponsorship and su ...
'' journalist Alex Braae, the New Conservatives had rebuilt a sophisticated party organisation with active campaigning, handing out pamphlets, and drink bottles with the party's logo. Based on rough figures released by party secretary Kevin Stitt, Braae estimated that the party had around 1000–1500 members.
Youth wing
The New Conservative Party has had a youth wing called Young Conservative. The group's website described it as "a supporting youth membership of New Conservative" which "adhere to the principles and policies for which New Conservative stands", and it set out the youth wing's top three policies of "Democracy, Family, and Environment". However, this website is not operating. In an interview with ''The Wireless'' in 2018, Young Conservative opposed same-sex marriage, abortion reform, and affirmative action, and sought an eventual ban on pornography
Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults, .
Tauranga by-election: June 2022
Helen Houghton stood for the New Conservatives in the Tauranga
Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...
electorate, after former New Zealand National Party
The New Zealand National Party ( mi, Rōpū Nāhinara o Aotearoa), shortened to National () or the Nats, is a centre-right political party in New Zealand. It is one of two major parties that dominate contemporary New Zealand politics, alongside ...
leader Simon Bridges
Simon Joseph Bridges (born 12 October 1976) is a former New Zealand politician and lawyer. He served as Leader of the National Party and Leader of the Opposition between 2018 and 2020, and as the Member of Parliament for Tauranga from the to ...
stepped down from Parliament. She won 103 votes in all, placing eighth out of a field of twelve candidates and outpolled by the rival conservative Christian ONE Party
The One Party (stylised as ONE Party) is a Christian fundamentalist political party in New Zealand, co-led by Ian Johnson, Allan Cawood and Kariana Black. The party has stated that New Zealand is a "Christian nation", and should be run as such. ...
candidate as well as the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party
Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party (ALCP), also known as the Cannabis Party, is a political party in New Zealand. It is dedicated to removing or reducing restrictions on the use of cannabis and similar substances.
Party history
Cannabis in New ...
candidate
Auckland mayoral election: October 2022
Ted Johnston stood for the October 2022 Auckland mayoral election
The 2022 Auckland mayoral election will be held on 8 October 2022 to determine the Mayor of Auckland, as part of the 2022 New Zealand local elections. The incumbent mayor since 2016, Phil Goff, has announced he will not seek re-election. Campaig ...
in October 2022. He gained 3761 votes in all, or 1.22 percent of the total voter turnout and came ninth out of a field of twenty-three candidates
Hamilton West By-Election: December 2022
Rudi du Plooy stood for the New Conservative Party at the 2022 Hamilton West by-election
The 2022 Hamilton West by-election was a List of New Zealand by-elections, by-election in New Zealand's electorate. The seat became vacant due to the resignation of former New Zealand Labour Party, Labour Party MP Gaurav Sharma (politician), Ga ...
caused by the resignation of former New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party ( mi, Rōpū Reipa o Aotearoa), or simply Labour (), is a centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers descr ...
MP Gaurav Sharma. Du Plooy gained 117 votes in that contest, which meant that he came seventh overall [ http://www.electionresults.org.nz/2022_hamilton_west_byelection_preliminary ]
Election results
House of Representatives
Auckland local boards
See also
*New Zealand political parties
New Zealand national politics have featured a pervasive party system since the early 20th century. Usually, all members of Parliament's unicameral New Zealand House of Representatives, House of Representatives belong to a political party. Indep ...
References
External links
New Conservative Party homepage
{{New Zealand political parties
Monarchist parties
Political parties established in 2011
Political parties in New Zealand
Conservatism in New Zealand
Conservative parties in New Zealand
2011 establishments in New Zealand
Anti-abortion organisations in New Zealand