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Destiny New Zealand was a
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
centred on the charismatic/
pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement
Destiny Church. The party described itself as "centre-right". It placed a strong focus on socially conservative values and argued that the breakdown of the traditional family was a primary cause of many of New Zealand's problems. It announced its de-registration as a political party on 18 September 2007, and was removed from the register a month later. It did not hold any seats in
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
.


History

Destiny New Zealand formed early in 2003. By June 2004 the party claimed to have around three thousand members, and indicated an intent to stand candidates in all electorates. The party took a strongly
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
stance in most policy-areas. It repeatedly criticised what it saw as the
permissive {{about, , the 1970 British film, Permissive (film), the grammatical mode, Permissive mood, the flavor of software license, permissive free software licence A permissive cell or host is one that allows a virus to circumvent its defenses and replica ...
nature of modern society, with
Brian Tamaki Brian Raymond Tamaki (born 2 February 1958), is a New Zealand fundamentalist Christian religious leader and far-right political activist. A Tainui man from the Ngati Ngawaero and Ngati Maniapoto tribes, he is the leader of Destiny Church, a ...
saying that New Zealand "has moved so far away from God that anything goes now". The party's political leader,
Richard Lewis Richard, Rich, Richie, Rick, Ricky or Dick Lewis may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Richard Field Lewis Jr. (1907–1957), American radio network owner * Dick "Rocko" Lewis (Richard Henry Lewis III, 1908–1966), American entertainer * Rich ...
, spoke out strongly against the former
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 ...
- Progressive administration of 2002-2008, saying that the nation "simply cannot afford to spend another term under the dictates of an anti-marriage, anti-family and anti-Christian government". Destiny New Zealand also condemned the existence of "fatherless families", saying that lack of male
leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...
contributed to social ills. In 2000 Tamaki reportedly stated that having female political
leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...
s (as New Zealand had at the time) formed part of the "Devil's strategy", although Tamaki says that reports have taken his remarks out of context.


2005 general election

In 2004, Tamaki predicted that Destiny Church would rule New Zealand by 2008. However, in the 2005 elections, Destiny New Zealand received just over 14,000 votes (out of over two million nationwide) or 0.62% of the vote—well short of 5% threshold required to enter Parliament without winning an electorate. This was the highest vote of any party not to make it into Parliament. Polling before the election consistently showed the party was well short of the threshold. None of its electorate candidates proved a serious factor in their respective races (Lewis had the best showing, gaining 1,111 votes for a distant third placing in Manukau East).


Links with Destiny Church

Some confusion exists as to how closely the Destiny New Zealand party overlapped with the Destiny Church. According to both Brian Tamaki (leader of the church) and Richard Lewis (leader of the party), the two remained quite separate, with the teachings of the church merely having inspired the party. Tamaki described the situation by saying: "the way I preach has stirred something in their hearts and they've decided to do something", and described himself merely as "a spiritual adviser". Lewis similarly denied that the church controlled the party. Others, including several former church members, see this paradigm as just an illusion, and say that Lewis actually just served as a "frontman" for Tamaki. Groups such as Cultwatch, a multi-denominational Christian group that targets what it perceives as
cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
s, have attacked the party and the church. The church and the party dismissed these criticisms as merely attempts to undermine the movement.


Deregistration, stalled merger, and successors

On 18 September 2007, Brian Tamaki announced that Destiny New Zealand would be deregistered as a political party. In its place, a new Christian political party would be formed, with Richard Lewis as the co-leader. The second co-leader was not announced. However, then-MP for
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 ...
Gordon Copeland announced that he was the other co-leader of the party. On 20 September Copeland announced that he "could not work" with Richard Lewis, and would remain an independent MP. In October, it was announced that Destiny New Zealand would put its support behind
The Family Party The Family Party was a political party in New Zealand. It described itself as a Christian party.Paul Adams. The Family Party contested the 2008 election without success and was disbanded in 2010. In 2019, Hannah and Brian Tamaki announced a new party, initially called Coalition New Zealand then renamed as
Vision NZ Vision NZ is a nationalist political party in New Zealand led by Hannah Tamaki, the co-leader of the fundamentalist Christian movement Destiny Church. The party was announced in May 2019. It contested the 2020 New Zealand general election both ...
.


Electoral results


See also

*
Christian politics in New Zealand This article discusses Christian politics in New Zealand. The monarch of New Zealand, who is New Zealand's head of state, is also the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. But the country itself, unlike the United Kingdom, has no official or ...
*
Vision NZ Vision NZ is a nationalist political party in New Zealand led by Hannah Tamaki, the co-leader of the fundamentalist Christian movement Destiny Church. The party was announced in May 2019. It contested the 2020 New Zealand general election both ...


References


External links


Destiny New Zealand
– official website

– (from Rick Ross)
New Zealand Cult List
– report on Destiny Church
Destiny New Zealand's successor, The Family Party
{{Authority control Political parties established in 2003
Destiny Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...
Political parties disestablished in 2007 Defunct Christian political parties Christian political parties in New Zealand