The Kiwi Party was a
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 ideological or p ...
operating 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 ...
between 2007 and 2011. Briefly known as Future New Zealand, it was a breakaway from the
United Future New Zealand
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).
U ...
party and sought to carry on the tradition of
Future New Zealand
The Christian Democrat Party of New Zealand was a Christian socially conservative political party established in 1995. It contested the 1996 general election as part of the Christian Coalition with the Christian Heritage Party.
It changed it ...
. The party was formed when MP
Gordon Copeland left United Future after a dispute over support for the
Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Act 2007
The Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Act 2007 (formerly the Crimes (Abolition of Force as a Justification for Child Discipline) Amendment Bill) is an amendment to New Zealand's Crimes Act 1961 which removed the legal defence of "reasona ...
. At the
2008 general election, the Kiwi Party was unsuccessful, and was not re-elected to Parliament. It did not contest the
2011 general election under its own banner, but the leaders and other members stood for the
Conservative Party.
The party advocated more
direct democracy through
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 and a return to the "Judeo-Christian ethic in democracy". On 8 February 2012, it requested that 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 ...
cancel its registration, which rendered it wholly subsumed into the Conservative Party. On its website, it announced that after holding an executive committee meeting in December 2011, the party had agreed to be 'wound up' and 'bring its existence to an end.'
Future New Zealand Party reformed
On 16 May 2007, list MP
Gordon Copeland resigned from the United Future party, citing differences with party leader
Peter Dunne
Peter Francis Dunne (born 17 March 1954) is a retired New Zealand politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ōhāriu. He held the seat and its predecessors from 1984 to 2017—representing the Labour Party in Parliament from 1984 ...
over the latter's support of the
child-discipline bill.
Copeland announced his intention to re-form an independent Future New Zealand party with former United Future list MP
Larry Baldock as co-leader.
Copeland and Baldock acknowledged that the new party would face difficulties over issues like legal ownership of the party name, but were hopeful that they would be able to attract United Future's former conservative Christian voters. An inaugural meeting was held in Baldock's city of residence,
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 ...
, and former United Future list MP
Bernie Ogilvy
Bernard James Ogilvy is a New Zealand educator and politician. He was a list member of Parliament (MP) for the United Future New Zealand party from 2002 to 2005. He left United Future with the breakaway Kiwi Party in 2007.
Early years
Before e ...
became party secretary. Meanwhile,
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 ...
and his
Destiny New Zealand
Destiny New Zealand was a Christian political party in New Zealand centred on the charismatic/pentecostal Destiny Church. The party described itself as "centre-right". It placed a strong focus on socially conservative values and argued that the ...
party announced that it would contest the New Zealand conservative Christian vote at the next New Zealand general election in 2008.
![Christian Politics NZ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Christian_Politics_NZ.svg)
On 14 June 2007 Copeland announced that Future New Zealand would "not work with, or be part of, a Labour-led government following the 2008 elections". Copeland also gave his proxy vote in Parliament to the National Party (except on matters of confidence and supply).
In June 2007, Copeland announced in his monthly "Copeland's Chronicle" newsletter that Future New Zealand had attracted the necessary five hundred members required for registration under the Electoral Act 1993. Baldock and Copeland were working on establishing a Board of Management and Board of Reference for their new party, still tentatively named "Future New Zealand." He also asserted his right to continue sitting in New Zealand's Parliament as a list MP.
Name change to the Kiwi Party
On 25 January 2008, it was announced that Future New Zealand was to be known as the Kiwi Party. Copeland stepped down as co-leader to focus on his Parliamentary responsibilities, leaving Baldock as the sole leader. The party applied to the Electoral Commission to register its new name, and was registered on 15 February 2008.
Policies
At the party's
South Island conference in
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...
the party outlined a number of policy ideas:
* people should be able to direct $100 of their
income tax
An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
to a charity of their choice each year
* lift the adult
minimum wage from the expected $12 an hour to $15 an hour
* provide employers with a 100% tax rebate to cover the minimum wage increase
* establish a
Royal Commission to investigate the causes of family breakdown, family violence and child abuse.
2008 election
Going into the 2008 elections, the party had only one list MP, and no electorate MPs, in Parliament, and did not register significant support in national polls. Acting secretary Bernie Ogilvy apologised for not applying for free election broadcasting in time; Larry Baldock said "This does make our task just that much harder." The party fielded 25 electorate candidates out of a possible 70.
The party won just 12,755 party votes, or 0.54% of the votes cast, well short of the 5% required to gain list-only representation without winning an electorate.
Baldock stood in
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 ...
, winning 1893 votes, well behind National's
Simon Bridges and his New Zealand First and Labour challengers. Copeland was similarly unsuccessful in
Rongotai
Rongotai is a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand, located southeast of the city centre. It is on the Rongotai isthmus, between the Miramar Peninsula and the suburbs of Kilbirnie and Lyall Bay. It is known mostly for being the location of the We ...
, winning just 515 votes. Despite this result, the party stated that they would contest the next general election, in 2011.
2008–2012
Gordon Copeland was elected as Party President in March 2009. The party contested the
2009 Mount Albert by-election, selecting Simmone Dyer as their candidate. Dyer came seventh with 91 votes. The party did not contest the subsequent
Mana
According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being ...
,
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 ...
or
Te Tai Tokerau
Te Tai Tokerau () is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate that was created out of the Northern Maori electorate ahead of the first Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) election in 1996. It was held first by Tau Henare representing New Ze ...
by-elections.
Larry Baldock was one of the chief protagonists behind the
2009 referendum which attempted to repeal the
Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Act 2007
The Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Act 2007 (formerly the Crimes (Abolition of Force as a Justification for Child Discipline) Amendment Bill) is an amendment to New Zealand's Crimes Act 1961 which removed the legal defence of "reasona ...
. The referendum passed with the support of 87.4% of voters,
but was non-binding, and the government responded by promising a review of the law. In response, Baldock circulated a second citizens initiated referendum, calling for binding citizens initiated referendums in future debates. The proposed referendum petition fell well short of the required number of signatures to trigger such a referendum and lapsed on 10 December 2010.
The demise of the
Family Party and
New Zealand Pacific Party in 2010 left the Kiwi Party as the only conservative Christian-based political party within New Zealand politics. This was changed by the arrival of
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 ...
's
Conservative Party of New Zealand
New Conservative is a List of political parties in New Zealand, political party in New Zealand. Observers have described the party's policies as far-right, though the party now states it has moved to a more centrist position under new leadersh ...
in August 2011.
On 14 October 2011 the Kiwi Party announced that it would not be standing any candidates in the election, and that several members had joined the Conservative Party and would be standing for it.
[ Party leader Baldock was number three on the Conservative Party list and stood again in ]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 ...
. Deputy leader Dyer was number 7 on the list and stood in East Coast Bays. Party president Copeland stood in Hutt South
Hutt South is a parliamentary electorate in the lower Hutt Valley of New Zealand. It is held by Ginny Andersen of the Labour Party following the 2020 election. It was previously held by Chris Bishop of the National Party Bishop's victory was t ...
. No candidate was successful. Other members also stood for the Conservatives on their party list.
The party was deregistered at its own request on 8 February 2012, which marks the cessation of its independent political existence. Its former website URL is now also inoperative.
Electoral results
See also
* Christian politics in New Zealand
*List of political parties 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.
Whil ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiwi Party
Defunct political parties in New Zealand
Political parties established in 2007
Political parties disestablished in 2011
Christian political parties in New Zealand
Defunct Christian political parties
2007 establishments in New Zealand
2011 disestablishments in New Zealand