The New Zealand TEA Party (Taxpayers and Entrepreneurs Alliance) was a registered political party 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 ...

. The party was led by John Hong. The party contested the 2020 general election, but did not win any seats.

Policies

The party defined itself as anti-racist, socially democratic, and fiscally conservative. It supported reform of the

Family Court of New Zealand The Family Court of New Zealand ( mi, Te Kōti ā-Whānau Aotearoa) is a court that specifically exists to assist New Zealanders with family issues. There are 58 Family Courts throughout New Zealand. Although the Family Court is technically a d ...

. Party policies included support for business, opposition to capital gains taxes, embracing migration and multiculturalism, and opposition to legalisation of recreational cannabis consumption. It had no connection to the American

Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2009. Members of the movement called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget defic ...

History

Foundation

The party was founded by two former Auckland mayoral candidates, John Hong and Susanna Kruger, and it included a third; John Palino, who ran his electorate campaign from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, where he was living during the COVID-19 pandemic. At its creation, the party was co-led by Hong and Kruger. The party's website described

Roger Douglas Sir Roger Owen Douglas (born 5 December 1937) is a retired New Zealand politician who served as a minister in two Labour governments. He became arguably best known for his prominent role in New Zealand's radical economic restructuring in the 198 ...

as its patron.

2020 general election

The party did not apply for a broadcasting allocation for the 2020 general election. In July 2020, the TEA Party applied to 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 ...

to be a registered party and it was registered on 6 August 2020. In September 2020, the TEA Party announced their candidate list for the 2020 election. Youth wing president, Dominic Hoffman Dervan was also a TEA Party list candidate and stood for the Auckland Central electorate contesting in the 2020 general election. The party received 2,415 of the party vote, or 0.1%, in the 2020 election, and won no electorate seats, so did not enter Parliament.

Present status

The party's registration was cancelled at its request on 14 September 2022. It did not field candidates in the 2023 general election.

References

2020 establishments in New Zealand Political parties established in 2020 {{NewZealand-party-stub