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New Conservatives is a conservative
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 New Zealand House of Representatives, House of Representatives belong to a political party. Indep ...
. Some opponents and 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 Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the l ...
" 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 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 2014 election it received 3.97% of the vote. At the 2020 general election, they gained 1.5% of the vote. The party changed its name to New Conservative in November 2017, and then to New Conservatives in 2023.


Ideology and policies

The New Conservatives 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 and 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. * Recriminalising
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 ...
. * creating new laws to inhibit the rights and protections of LGBT+ or 'Rainbow' New Zealand citizens (specifically targetting the transgender community). Co-leader Ted Johnston described the party in November 2021 as "centrist to centre right". He also said that the party no longer advocates removing
Māori seats Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
, easing of
gun laws Gun laws and policies, collectively referred to as firearms regulation or gun control, regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, and use of small arms by civilians. Laws of some countries may afford civilians a right to ...
, 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. 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, 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 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

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 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 spoke at the Big Gay Out 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 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 Threshold may refer to: Architecture * Threshold (door), the sill of a door Media * ''Threshold'' (1981 film) * ''Threshold'' (TV series), an American science fiction drama series produced during 2005-2006 * "Threshold" (''Stargate SG-1''), ...
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, 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 and United Future 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 on the debut episode of '' Newsworthy''), 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 Bob McCoskrie is the National Director of the New Zealand conservative Christian non-profit NGO Family First New Zealand. McCoskrie has a Masters of Commerce with Honours from the University of Auckland a Diploma of Teaching from the Auckland Coll ...
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 criticised 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.


Legal strife and Colin Craig's resignation, 2016

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 The Auckland High Court, also known as the Tāmaki Makaurau High Court, is a Gothic Revival courthouse in the Auckland city centre, New Zealand. The Court is one of three locations used by the High Court of New Zealand across New Zealand. It ...
began hearing Jordan Williams' defamation lawsuit against Craig, expected to last five weeks. On 7 September, the former party chief executive and Epsom 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 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 co ...
'', 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 Bob McCoskrie is the National Director of the New Zealand conservative Christian non-profit NGO Family First New Zealand. McCoskrie has a Masters of Commerce with Honours from the University of Auckland a Diploma of Teaching from the Auckland Coll ...
. 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 This national electoral calendar for 2017 lists the national/federal elections held in 2017 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 November  ...
.


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 The Electoral Commission ( mi, Te Kaitiaki Take Kōwhiri) is an independent Crown entity set up by the New Zealand Parliament. It is responsible for the administration of parliamentary elections and referendums, promoting compliance with elect ...
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 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. 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 Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
for posting "'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 us ...
surgeries and the elimination of " gender ideology" from education programs. While the party condemned the Christchurch mosque shootings, it opposed the Labour-led coalition government's
Arms (Prohibited Firearms, Magazines, and Parts) Amendment Act 2019 The Arms (Prohibited Firearms, Magazines, and Parts) Amendment Act 2019 is a New Zealand bill that amends the Arms Act 1983 to ban semi-automatic firearms, magazines, and parts that can be used to assemble prohibited firearms. It was introduced ...
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 United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 was adopted on 23 December 2016. It concerns the Israeli settlements in " Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem". The resolution passed in a 14–0 vote by member ...
, 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 allies in condemning the Hong Kong national security law.


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 Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal ble ...
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 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 2021–2023

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 candidate. Johnston is from Auckland and of European and Samoan descent. He is also a criminal lawyer, a former The Opportunities Party candidate, and a mayoral candidate during the
2019 Auckland mayoral election The 2019 Auckland mayoral election was held on 12 October 2019 to determine who would serve as Mayor of Auckland for the next three years. Nominations opened on 19 July 2019 and closed on 16 August 2019. Incumbent Mayor Phil Goff won the elect ...
. 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 to stand a single candidate: Rudi du Plooy, a New Conservative Party member. Du Plooy gained 118 votes in that contest, which meant that he came seventh overall.


2023 general election

As of September 2023, Ted Johnston had left the New Conservatives to form the Unity Party, which allied with the Democratic Alliance for the . In August 2023, the New Conservative's leader Helen Houghton released the party's Family Builder policy, which was costed at NZ$9.1 billion in its first year. Key provisions included allowing workers to keep the first $20,000 they earned, child tax credits, allowing couples to split their income, and shifting funding from early childhood centres to parents with the goal of encouraging at least one parent to work from home. Houghton said that the Family Builder policy was intended to encourage parents not to split up and to protect the family unit.
Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...
economist Max Rashbrooke questioned the effectiveness of the party's Family Builder policy and said that reducing funding for solo parent households could harm vulnerable families. The party received 0.15% of the party vote and won no electorates. This was the party's worst result in any general election.


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'' 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. However, by the New Zealand general election 2023, the New Conservative Party could only field ten candidates on its party list and came fourteenth in terms of total voter share


Youth wing

The New Conservative Party 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 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 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 Local Elections 2022 Progress Report: http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/elections/elections-2022-results/results/local-elections-2022-progress-results-combined.pdf


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 Conservative parties in New Zealand 2011 establishments in New Zealand Anti-abortion organisations in New Zealand