New Zealand First
Encyclopedia
New Zealand First is a political party
in New Zealand
that was founded in 1993, following party founder Winston Peters
' resignation from the National Party
in 1992. It had members in the New Zealand House of Representatives
for over fifteen years, from 1993 when Winston Peters, its leader, won the Tauranga electorate
seat.
In the 2008 general election
the party won no electorate seats and just 4.07% of the total vote, failing to pass the 5% threshold required for party list representation under the Mixed Member Proportional electoral system of proportional representation
. In the 2011 general election
, New Zealand First received 6.8% of the total vote, passing the 5% threshold, and ensuring that it will have at least eight members of Parliament, with the special votes still to be tallied.
New Zealand First is best known for its policies regarding the welfare of the elderly and its strong anti-immigration policies, which has caused media controversy in the past. The Party also espouses a mixture of economic
policies. It opposes the privatisation of state assets (particularly to overseas buyers), which aligned it with views generally found on the left of New Zealand politics. On the other hand, it favours reducing taxation and reducing the size of government (policies typical of the New Zealand right) and espouses quite conservative views on social issues. Rather than defining the party's precise position on the left-right spectrum, some commentators simply labelled NZ First as "populist
" — in line with its emphasis on direct democracy
and on popular referendum
s.
In 2011, it was announced at the New Zealand First annual convention that if elected to parliament in the 2011 General Election
the party would repeal the controversial Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Act 2007 (widely known as the Anti-Smacking Legislation), which a vast majority of New Zealanders rejected in a 2009 citizen-initiated referendum. The Party also announced that it would introduce a new government scheme to tackle the ongoing problem of student debt in New Zealand where the government makes a matching dollar-for-dollar payment on student debt for students staying and working in New Zealand.
, 2005
, or 2008 general election
s.
. Peters, the MP
for Tauranga and a former Minister of Māori Affairs, had left the National Party
after disputes with its leadership. He had been told he would not be allowed to run under National's banner in the 1993 election. However, Peters stole a march on National when he resigned shortly before the writs were issued
for the general election. Tauranga voters had re-elected him in a special by-election
as an independent.
In the following general election Peters held onto Tauranga. Tau Henare
, another New Zealand First candidate, won the Northern Māori seat, giving the party a total of two MPs. This did much to counter the perception of New Zealand First as merely a personality-driven vehicle for Peters.
, smaller parties could gain a share of seats proportional to their share of the vote. This enabled New Zealand First to win 13% of the vote and 17 seats, including all five Māori seats
. New Zealand First's five Māori MPs — Henare (the party's deputy leader), Tuku Morgan
, Rana Waitai
, Tu Wyllie
and Tuariki Delamere
— became known as the "Tight Five
". The election result put New Zealand First in a powerful position just three years after its formation. Neither of the two traditional major parties (National and Labour
) had enough seats to govern alone, and only New Zealand First had enough seats to become a realistic coalition partner for either. This placed the relatively new party in a position where it could effectively choose the next prime minister
.
New Zealand First entered into negotiations with both major parties. Before the election, most people (including many New Zealand First voters) had expected Peters to enter into coalition with Labour. In fact, he harshly attacked his former National colleagues during the campaign, and appeared to promise that he would not even consider going into coalition with them.
. The most common explanation for this decision involved National's willingness to accept New Zealand First's demands (and/or Labour's refusal to do so). However, Michael Laws
(a former National Party MP who served as a New Zealand First campaign-manager) claims that Peters had secretly decided to go with National significantly before this time, and that he merely used negotiations with Labour to encourage more concessions from National.
Whatever the case, New Zealand First exacted a high price from incumbent Prime Minister Jim Bolger
in return for allowing him to stay in power. Winston Peters would serve as Deputy Prime Minister
, and would also hold the specially-created office of Treasurer (senior to the Minister of Finance
). The National Party also made considerable concessions on policy.
Initially, New Zealand First had a relatively smooth coalition relationship with National. Despite early concerns about the ability of Peters to work with Bolger, who had sacked Peters from a former National cabinet, the two, who had signed off on a detailed coalition agreement, did not have major problems.
New Zealand First had graver concerns about the behaviour of some of its MPs, whom opponents accused of incompetence and extravagant spending. Many people came to the conclusion that the party's minor MPs had come into parliament merely to provide votes for Peters, and would not make any real contributions themselves. A particularly damaging scandal involved Morgan.
Gradually, however, the coalition tensions became more significant than problems of party discipline. This became increasingly the case after Transport Minister Jenny Shipley
gained enough support within the National caucus to force Bolger's resignation and become Prime Minister (8 December 1997). The tensions between the two parties also rose as New Zealand First adopted a more aggressive approach to promoting its policies (including those that National would not implement). This new attitude probably fed off New Zealand First's poor performance in opinion polls, which (to Peters) indicated that the party's success rested on its confrontational style. Many commentators believe that Peters performs better in opposition than in Government.
Peters immediately broke off the coalition with National. However, several other MPs, unwilling to follow Peters out of government, tried to replace Peters with Henare. This caucus-room coup failed, and most of these MPs joined Henare in forming a new party, Mauri Pacific
, while others established themselves as independents. Many of these MPs had previously come under public scrutiny for their behaviour. Until 1999, however, they provided National with enough support to continue on without the rump New Zealand First.
the voters gave New Zealand First a severe mauling. Some voters had apparently not forgiven Peters for going into coalition with National after being led to believe that a vote for him would help get rid of National. The party gained only 4% of the vote, and would not have received any seats in Parliament had Peters not held onto his electorate seat of Tauranga. (Under New Zealand's MMP rules, a party must either win an electorate seat or 5% of the vote to qualify for representation.) Peters held his Tauranga seat by a mere 63 votes, and New Zealand First received (by proportionality) only five seats in total.
, however, the party had rebuilt much of its support. This occurred largely due to Peters' three-point campaign against immigration, Treaty costs, and crime. The party won 10% of the vote - a considerable improvement on its previous performance (although still not as good as its performance in 1996), and New Zealand First won thirteen seats in parliament. Winston Peters' campaign phrase "can we fix it? yes we can" gained much media attention, as the same line appears in theme music for the children's television programme Bob The Builder
.
It appears that New Zealand First had hoped to play in 2002 a similar role to the one it had in 1996, where it found itself able to give power to either Labour or National depending on which offered the best deal. However, National's vote had collapsed to the extent that it could not form a government even with New Zealand First's support, depriving the party of its negotiating advantage. In the end, however, this proved irrelevant, as Labour refused to consider an alliance with New Zealand First in any case. Instead, Labour relied on support from the newly-significant United Future Party.
After the 2002 election New Zealand First continued to promote its policies strongly. In light of National's decreased strength, New Zealand First attempted to gain more prominence in Opposition, frequently attacking the Labour Coalition government on a wide range of issues. Speculation has occurred on efforts to create a more united front linking New Zealand First, National, and ACT, but Peters has rejected this scenario, saying that the New Zealand voters will decide what alliances are necessary (even though New Zealand never votes directly on preferred coalitions). Unlike ACT, which portrays itself as a natural coalition partner for National, New Zealand First welcomes coalition with any major party, regardless of the political spectrum.
For a period in early 2004 New Zealand First experienced a brief decline in the polls after Don Brash
became leader of the National Party, a change which hugely revived National's previously fallen fortunes. The votes that had apparently previously switched to New Zealand First from National seemed to return to support Brash, and many commentators predicted that New Zealand First would lose a number of its seats in the next election. By 2005 however the proportions had changed again, and as the campaign for the September 2005 election got under way, New Zealand First had again reached the 10% mark in political polling.
Pre-election polls put New Zealand First ahead of the other minor parties. Some thought it likely that in the event of a National minority, unless ACT's fortunes could dramatically improve; Brash would have to form a second coalition or seek a support agreement with New Zealand First to be able to form a Government. Peters announced (in his "Rotorua
speech") that he would support the party that won the most seats, or at least abstain in no-confidence motions
against it. However, he also said he would not support any government that included the Greens
within the Cabinet.
, however, the smaller political parties (including New Zealand First) suffered a severe mauling. Though it remained the third-largest party in the House, New Zealand First took only 5.72 percent of the vote, a considerable loss from 2002, and just barely enough to cross the MMP proportionality quota of 5%. In addition, Peters narrowly lost his previously safe constituency seat
of Tauranga
by 730 votes to National's Bob Clarkson
, and became a list MP.
New Zealand First had seven MPs, all elected on the party list: Peters, Peter Brown, Dail Jones
, Ron Mark
, Doug Woolerton
, Barbara Stewart
and Pita Paraone
.
Following the 2005 election, New Zealand First agreed to a supply-and-confidence
agreement with the Labour Party (along with United Future) in return for policy concessions and the post of Foreign Minister
(outside Cabinet
) for Peters. Some reaction
to Peters' becoming Minister of Foreign Affairs detected a change in his attitude since the "Rotorua speech",
which had spoken of sitting on the cross-benches (and thus staying out of government) and eschewing "the baubles of office".
Soon after the 2005 election Peters launched a legal challenge against Bob Clarkson. The case alleged that Clarkson had spent more than the legal limit allowed for campaign budgets during elections in New Zealand. This legal bid ultimately failed, with a majority of the judges in the case declaring that Clarkson had not overspent.
In the 2005 election funding controversy
, the Auditor-General
found that all the parties in parliament except the Progressive Party
had misspent parliamentary funding. New Zealand First was the only party that did not repay the misspent funding.
, New Zealand First became embroiled in a dispute over donations to the party from Owen Glenn
, the Vela family and Bob Jones
. This resulted in an investigation into party finances by the Serious Fraud Office on 28 August 2008 and an investigation into Peters by the Privileges Committee. On 29 August 2008 Peters stood down from his ministerial roles while the investigations were ongoing. Although the Serious Fraud Office and the police both found that Peters was not guilty of any wrongdoing, the episode harmed Peters and the party in the lead-up to the election.
On election night it was clear that Peters had not regained Tauranga and that the party had not met the 5% threshold needed for parties to be elected without an electorate seat. In what some journalists described as a 'gracious' concession speech, Peters said that 'its not over yet. We'll reorganise ourselves in the next few months. And we'll see what 2011 might hold for all us.'
At a post-election meeting held to discuss the party's future in February 2009, Deputy Leader Peter Brown stepped down.
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
that was founded in 1993, following party founder Winston Peters
Winston Peters
Winston Raymond Peters is a New Zealand politician and leader of New Zealand First, a political party he founded in 1993. Peters has had a turbulent political career since entering Parliament in 1978. He served as Minister of Maori Affairs in the Bolger National Party Government before being...
' resignation from the National Party
New Zealand National Party
The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...
in 1992. It had members in the New Zealand House of Representatives
New Zealand House of Representatives
The New Zealand House of Representatives is the sole chamber of the legislature of New Zealand. The House and the Queen of New Zealand form the New Zealand Parliament....
for over fifteen years, from 1993 when Winston Peters, its leader, won the Tauranga electorate
Tauranga (New Zealand electorate)
Tauranga is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The current MP for Tauranga is Simon Bridges of the National Party, who won the seat in the 2008 New Zealand general election, after the previous MP, Bob Clarkson of...
seat.
In the 2008 general election
New Zealand general election, 2008
The 2008 New Zealand general election was held on 8 November 2008 to determine the composition of the 49th New Zealand parliament. The conservative National Party, headed by its Parliamentary leader John Key, won a plurality of votes and seats, ending 9 years of government dominated by the social...
the party won no electorate seats and just 4.07% of the total vote, failing to pass the 5% threshold required for party list representation under the Mixed Member Proportional electoral system of proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
. In the 2011 general election
New Zealand general election, 2011
The 2011 New Zealand general election on Saturday 26 November 2011 determined the membership of the 50th New Zealand Parliament.One hundred and twenty-one MPs were elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives, 70 from single-member electorates, including one overhang seat, and 51 from party...
, New Zealand First received 6.8% of the total vote, passing the 5% threshold, and ensuring that it will have at least eight members of Parliament, with the special votes still to be tallied.
Policies
At the core of New Zealand First's policies are its "Fifteen Fundamental Principles"; the first of which being "To put New Zealand and New Zealanders First".New Zealand First is best known for its policies regarding the welfare of the elderly and its strong anti-immigration policies, which has caused media controversy in the past. The Party also espouses a mixture of economic
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
policies. It opposes the privatisation of state assets (particularly to overseas buyers), which aligned it with views generally found on the left of New Zealand politics. On the other hand, it favours reducing taxation and reducing the size of government (policies typical of the New Zealand right) and espouses quite conservative views on social issues. Rather than defining the party's precise position on the left-right spectrum, some commentators simply labelled NZ First as "populist
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
" — in line with its emphasis on direct democracy
Direct democracy
Direct democracy is a form of government in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives. Direct democracy is classically termed "pure democracy"...
and on popular referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
s.
In 2011, it was announced at the New Zealand First annual convention that if elected to parliament in the 2011 General Election
New Zealand general election, 2011
The 2011 New Zealand general election on Saturday 26 November 2011 determined the membership of the 50th New Zealand Parliament.One hundred and twenty-one MPs were elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives, 70 from single-member electorates, including one overhang seat, and 51 from party...
the party would repeal the controversial Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Act 2007 (widely known as the Anti-Smacking Legislation), which a vast majority of New Zealanders rejected in a 2009 citizen-initiated referendum. The Party also announced that it would introduce a new government scheme to tackle the ongoing problem of student debt in New Zealand where the government makes a matching dollar-for-dollar payment on student debt for students staying and working in New Zealand.
Māori vote
The New Zealand First Party has a part-Māori leader, once held all the then available Māori electorates, and continues to receive significant support from voters registered in Māori electorates. But as a party, New Zealand First does not support the retention of the Māori electorates and has declared that it will not stand candidates in the Māori electorates in the future. It did not stand candidates in the Māori electorates in the 2002New Zealand general election, 2002
The 2002 New Zealand general election was held on 27 July 2002 to determine the composition of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the reelection of Helen Clark's Labour Party government, as well as the worst-ever performance by the opposition National Party.Arguably the most controversial...
, 2005
New Zealand general election, 2005
The 2005 New Zealand general election held on 17 September 2005 determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. No party won a majority in the unicameral House of Representatives, but the Labour Party of Prime Minister Helen Clark secured two more seats than nearest rival, the...
, or 2008 general election
New Zealand general election, 2008
The 2008 New Zealand general election was held on 8 November 2008 to determine the composition of the 49th New Zealand parliament. The conservative National Party, headed by its Parliamentary leader John Key, won a plurality of votes and seats, ending 9 years of government dominated by the social...
s.
1993 general election
New Zealand First emerged as a political grouping on 18 July 1993, shortly before the that year's general electionNew Zealand general election, 1993
The 1993 New Zealand general election was held on 6 November 1993 to determine the composition of the 44th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the governing National Party, led by Jim Bolger, win a second term in office, despite a major swing back towards the Labour Party. The new Alliance and New...
. Peters, the MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Tauranga and a former Minister of Māori Affairs, had left the National Party
New Zealand National Party
The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...
after disputes with its leadership. He had been told he would not be allowed to run under National's banner in the 1993 election. However, Peters stole a march on National when he resigned shortly before the writs were issued
Dropping the writ
Dropping the writ is the informal term for a procedure in some parliamentary government systems, where the head of government goes to the head of state and formally advises him or her to dissolve parliament...
for the general election. Tauranga voters had re-elected him in a special by-election
Tauranga by-election 1993
The Tauranga by-election was a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Tauranga, a city in New Zealand's North Island. It took place on 17 April 1993, and was precipitated by the resignation from parliament of sitting MP Winston Peters. Peters, who had been increasingly at odds with his...
as an independent.
In the following general election Peters held onto Tauranga. Tau Henare
Tau Henare
Tau Henare is a New Zealand Māori parliamentarian. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1993 to 1999 and returned to Parliament in 2005. He has been involved with four political parties: Mana Motuhake, New Zealand First, Mauri Pacific and the National Party - representing three in...
, another New Zealand First candidate, won the Northern Māori seat, giving the party a total of two MPs. This did much to counter the perception of New Zealand First as merely a personality-driven vehicle for Peters.
1996 general election
With the switch to the MMP electoral system for the 1996 electionsNew Zealand general election, 1996
The 1996 New Zealand general election was held on 12 October 1996 to determine the composition of the 45th New Zealand Parliament. It was notable for being the first election to be held under the new Mixed Member Proportional electoral system, and produced a parliament considerably more diverse...
, smaller parties could gain a share of seats proportional to their share of the vote. This enabled New Zealand First to win 13% of the vote and 17 seats, including all five Māori seats
Maori seats
In New Zealand politics, Māori electorates, colloquially also called Māori seats, are a special category of electorate that gives reserved positions to representatives of Māori in the New Zealand Parliament...
. New Zealand First's five Māori MPs — Henare (the party's deputy leader), Tuku Morgan
Tuku Morgan
Tukoroirangi Morgan is a New Zealand Māori politician. He was chair of Te Arataura, the Waikato-Tainui committee or tribal parliament, but his status and membership within that body remain undecided...
, Rana Waitai
Rana Waitai
Rana Donald Waitai is a former politician. He was an MP from 1996 to 1999.-Early years:His father was Te Rangi Koroingo Te Oreore Waitai born and died in Lower Hutt...
, Tu Wyllie
Tu Wyllie
Tutekawa Wyllie , generally called Tu Wyllie, is a former New Zealand politician and rugby union player, who represented his country.-Early years:...
and Tuariki Delamere
Tuariki Delamere
Tuariki John Delamere is a former New Zealand politician. He served as an MP from 1996 to 1999, and was a member of Cabinet for the duration of his term.-Before politics:...
— became known as the "Tight Five
Tight Five
-Parliamentary terms:-History:The Tight Five was a nickname given to the five Māori elected to the New Zealand Parliament in 1996 from the centrist/nationalist New Zealand First party....
". The election result put New Zealand First in a powerful position just three years after its formation. Neither of the two traditional major parties (National and Labour
New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....
) had enough seats to govern alone, and only New Zealand First had enough seats to become a realistic coalition partner for either. This placed the relatively new party in a position where it could effectively choose the next prime minister
Prime Minister of New Zealand
The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...
.
New Zealand First entered into negotiations with both major parties. Before the election, most people (including many New Zealand First voters) had expected Peters to enter into coalition with Labour. In fact, he harshly attacked his former National colleagues during the campaign, and appeared to promise that he would not even consider going into coalition with them.
Coalition with National, 1996–1998
However, to the surprise of the electorate, which had apparently voted for New Zealand First in order to get rid of National, Peters decided to enter a coalition with National, enabling and becoming part of the third term of the fourth National governmentFourth National Government of New Zealand
The Fourth National Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 2 November 1990 to 27 November 1999. Following in the footsteps of the previous Labour government, the fourth National government embarked on an extensive programme of spending cuts...
. The most common explanation for this decision involved National's willingness to accept New Zealand First's demands (and/or Labour's refusal to do so). However, Michael Laws
Michael Laws
Michael Laws is a New Zealand politician, broadcaster and writer/columnist. He served two terms as a Member of the New Zealand Parliament, representing the National Party and New Zealand First . He was elected as Mayor of Wanganui in 2004, was re-elected in 2007 but announced his retirement from...
(a former National Party MP who served as a New Zealand First campaign-manager) claims that Peters had secretly decided to go with National significantly before this time, and that he merely used negotiations with Labour to encourage more concessions from National.
Whatever the case, New Zealand First exacted a high price from incumbent Prime Minister Jim Bolger
Jim Bolger
James Brendan "Jim" Bolger, ONZ was the 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was elected on the promise of delivering a "Decent Society" following the previous Labour government's economic reforms, known as Rogernomics...
in return for allowing him to stay in power. Winston Peters would serve as Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand
The Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand is second most senior officer in the Government of New Zealand, although this seniority does not necessarily translate into power....
, and would also hold the specially-created office of Treasurer (senior to the Minister of Finance
Minister of Finance (New Zealand)
The Minister of Finance is a senior figure within the government of New Zealand. The position is often considered to be the most important Cabinet role after that of the Prime Minister....
). The National Party also made considerable concessions on policy.
Initially, New Zealand First had a relatively smooth coalition relationship with National. Despite early concerns about the ability of Peters to work with Bolger, who had sacked Peters from a former National cabinet, the two, who had signed off on a detailed coalition agreement, did not have major problems.
New Zealand First had graver concerns about the behaviour of some of its MPs, whom opponents accused of incompetence and extravagant spending. Many people came to the conclusion that the party's minor MPs had come into parliament merely to provide votes for Peters, and would not make any real contributions themselves. A particularly damaging scandal involved Morgan.
Gradually, however, the coalition tensions became more significant than problems of party discipline. This became increasingly the case after Transport Minister Jenny Shipley
Jenny Shipley
Dame Jenny Shipley, DNZM , served as the 36th Prime Minister of New Zealand from December 1997 to December 1999, the first woman to hold this office and the first, and to date only, woman to serve as parliamentary leader of the National Party of New Zealand.-Early life:Shipley was born as Jennifer...
gained enough support within the National caucus to force Bolger's resignation and become Prime Minister (8 December 1997). The tensions between the two parties also rose as New Zealand First adopted a more aggressive approach to promoting its policies (including those that National would not implement). This new attitude probably fed off New Zealand First's poor performance in opinion polls, which (to Peters) indicated that the party's success rested on its confrontational style. Many commentators believe that Peters performs better in opposition than in Government.
Return to opposition, 1998
On 14 August 1998, Shipley sacked Peters from Cabinet. This occurred after an ongoing dispute about the sale of the government's stake in Wellington International Airport. The issue itself appeared merely the outward manifestation of much deeper disagreement.Peters immediately broke off the coalition with National. However, several other MPs, unwilling to follow Peters out of government, tried to replace Peters with Henare. This caucus-room coup failed, and most of these MPs joined Henare in forming a new party, Mauri Pacific
Mauri Pacific
Mauri Pacific was a short-lived political party in New Zealand. It was formed in 1998 by five former members of the New Zealand First party. It has often been described as a Māori party. Officially, Mauri Pacific was a multiculturalist party, welcoming anyone who supported racial and cultural...
, while others established themselves as independents. Many of these MPs had previously come under public scrutiny for their behaviour. Until 1999, however, they provided National with enough support to continue on without the rump New Zealand First.
1999 general election
In the 1999 electionsNew Zealand general election, 1999
The 1999 New Zealand general election was held on 27 November 1999 to determine the composition of the 46th New Zealand Parliament. The governing National Party, led by Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, was defeated, being replaced by a coalition of Helen Clark's Labour Party and the smaller Alliance...
the voters gave New Zealand First a severe mauling. Some voters had apparently not forgiven Peters for going into coalition with National after being led to believe that a vote for him would help get rid of National. The party gained only 4% of the vote, and would not have received any seats in Parliament had Peters not held onto his electorate seat of Tauranga. (Under New Zealand's MMP rules, a party must either win an electorate seat or 5% of the vote to qualify for representation.) Peters held his Tauranga seat by a mere 63 votes, and New Zealand First received (by proportionality) only five seats in total.
2002 general election
By the election of 2002New Zealand general election, 2002
The 2002 New Zealand general election was held on 27 July 2002 to determine the composition of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the reelection of Helen Clark's Labour Party government, as well as the worst-ever performance by the opposition National Party.Arguably the most controversial...
, however, the party had rebuilt much of its support. This occurred largely due to Peters' three-point campaign against immigration, Treaty costs, and crime. The party won 10% of the vote - a considerable improvement on its previous performance (although still not as good as its performance in 1996), and New Zealand First won thirteen seats in parliament. Winston Peters' campaign phrase "can we fix it? yes we can" gained much media attention, as the same line appears in theme music for the children's television programme Bob The Builder
Bob the Builder
Bob the Builder is a British children's animated television show created by Keith Chapman. In the original series Bob appears as a building contractor specialising in masonry in a stop motion animated programme with his colleague Wendy, various neighbours and friends, and their gang of...
.
It appears that New Zealand First had hoped to play in 2002 a similar role to the one it had in 1996, where it found itself able to give power to either Labour or National depending on which offered the best deal. However, National's vote had collapsed to the extent that it could not form a government even with New Zealand First's support, depriving the party of its negotiating advantage. In the end, however, this proved irrelevant, as Labour refused to consider an alliance with New Zealand First in any case. Instead, Labour relied on support from the newly-significant United Future Party.
After the 2002 election New Zealand First continued to promote its policies strongly. In light of National's decreased strength, New Zealand First attempted to gain more prominence in Opposition, frequently attacking the Labour Coalition government on a wide range of issues. Speculation has occurred on efforts to create a more united front linking New Zealand First, National, and ACT, but Peters has rejected this scenario, saying that the New Zealand voters will decide what alliances are necessary (even though New Zealand never votes directly on preferred coalitions). Unlike ACT, which portrays itself as a natural coalition partner for National, New Zealand First welcomes coalition with any major party, regardless of the political spectrum.
For a period in early 2004 New Zealand First experienced a brief decline in the polls after Don Brash
Don Brash
Donald "Don" Thomas Brash , a New Zealand politician, was Leader of the Opposition, parliamentary leader of the National Party from 28 October 2003 to 27 November 2006 and the leader of the ACT Party for 28th April 2011 - 26 November 2011...
became leader of the National Party, a change which hugely revived National's previously fallen fortunes. The votes that had apparently previously switched to New Zealand First from National seemed to return to support Brash, and many commentators predicted that New Zealand First would lose a number of its seats in the next election. By 2005 however the proportions had changed again, and as the campaign for the September 2005 election got under way, New Zealand First had again reached the 10% mark in political polling.
Pre-election polls put New Zealand First ahead of the other minor parties. Some thought it likely that in the event of a National minority, unless ACT's fortunes could dramatically improve; Brash would have to form a second coalition or seek a support agreement with New Zealand First to be able to form a Government. Peters announced (in his "Rotorua
Rotorua
Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
speech") that he would support the party that won the most seats, or at least abstain in no-confidence motions
Motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
against it. However, he also said he would not support any government that included the Greens
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is a political party that has seats in the New Zealand parliament. It focuses firstly on environmentalism, arguing that all other aspects of humanity will cease to be of concern if there is no environment to sustain it...
within the Cabinet.
2005 general election
In the 2005 electionsNew Zealand general election, 2005
The 2005 New Zealand general election held on 17 September 2005 determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. No party won a majority in the unicameral House of Representatives, but the Labour Party of Prime Minister Helen Clark secured two more seats than nearest rival, the...
, however, the smaller political parties (including New Zealand First) suffered a severe mauling. Though it remained the third-largest party in the House, New Zealand First took only 5.72 percent of the vote, a considerable loss from 2002, and just barely enough to cross the MMP proportionality quota of 5%. In addition, Peters narrowly lost his previously safe constituency seat
Safe seat
A safe seat is a seat in a legislative body which is regarded as fully secured, either by a certain political party, the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both...
of Tauranga
Tauranga (New Zealand electorate)
Tauranga is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The current MP for Tauranga is Simon Bridges of the National Party, who won the seat in the 2008 New Zealand general election, after the previous MP, Bob Clarkson of...
by 730 votes to National's Bob Clarkson
Bob Clarkson
Bob Clarkson, CNZM was National Party MP for Tauranga in the 48th Parliament of New Zealand.-Biography:In 1958 Clarkson qualified as a fitter and turner in Gisborne. He then moved to the Waikato and worked on the Kaimai Tunnel...
, and became a list MP.
New Zealand First had seven MPs, all elected on the party list: Peters, Peter Brown, Dail Jones
Dail Jones
Dail Michael John Jones QSO is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the New Zealand First party, and was formerly in the National Party.-Early life:Jones was born in Karachi, Pakistan, and attended Karachi Grammar School...
, Ron Mark
Ron Mark
Major Ron Stanley Mark is a New Zealand politician, and is the current mayor of Carterton, Wairarapa, New Zealand.-Early years:...
, Doug Woolerton
Doug Woolerton
Doug Woolerton is a New Zealand politician.-Early years:He was educated at Hamilton Boys' High School, and has a background in agriculture, having been a farmer for twenty-one years and director of a milk company for nine....
, Barbara Stewart
Barbara Stewart
Barbara Stewart is a New Zealand politician. She is a member of the New Zealand First party.-Early life:Stewart was born in Wairoa in 1952. She obtained a BEd and a Postgraduate Diploma in Management Studies, both from the University of Waikato...
and Pita Paraone
Pita Paraone
Pita Paraone, MNZM, is a New Zealand politician, Chairman of the Waitangi Trust Board. He is a member of the New Zealand First party.-Member of Parliamnet:...
.
Following the 2005 election, New Zealand First agreed to a supply-and-confidence
Confidence and supply
In a parliamentary democracy confidence and supply are required for a government to hold power. A confidence and supply agreement is an agreement that a minor party or independent member of parliament will support the government in motions of confidence and appropriation votes by voting in favour...
agreement with the Labour Party (along with United Future) in return for policy concessions and the post of Foreign Minister
Minister of Foreign Affairs (New Zealand)
The Minister of Foreign Affairs is a major ministerial portfolio in the government of New Zealand.The current Minister of Foreign Affairs is Murray McCully, who was National Party Spokeperson of Foreign Affairs and Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs. There are also Associate Minister roles...
(outside Cabinet
New Zealand Cabinet
The Cabinet of New Zealand functions as the policy and decision-making body of the executive branch within the New Zealand government system...
) for Peters. Some reaction
to Peters' becoming Minister of Foreign Affairs detected a change in his attitude since the "Rotorua speech",
which had spoken of sitting on the cross-benches (and thus staying out of government) and eschewing "the baubles of office".
Soon after the 2005 election Peters launched a legal challenge against Bob Clarkson. The case alleged that Clarkson had spent more than the legal limit allowed for campaign budgets during elections in New Zealand. This legal bid ultimately failed, with a majority of the judges in the case declaring that Clarkson had not overspent.
In the 2005 election funding controversy
2005 New Zealand election funding controversy
The 2005 New Zealand election funding controversy occurred in the aftermath of the 2005 New Zealand general election.Under New Zealand's political system, parties may only spend, during the 90 days before the election, up to a certain amount on campaigning . They must raise that money from their...
, the Auditor-General
Office of the Controller and Auditor-General
The Controller and Auditor-General is an Officer of the Parliament of New Zealand responsible for auditing public bodies. The Controller and Auditor-General is Lyn Provost. The Deputy Controller and Auditor-General is Phillippa Smith. Their mandate and responsibilities are set out in the Public...
found that all the parties in parliament except the Progressive Party
New Zealand Progressive Party
Jim Anderton's Progressive Party , is a New Zealand political party generally somewhat to the left of its ally, the Labour Party....
had misspent parliamentary funding. New Zealand First was the only party that did not repay the misspent funding.
2008 general election
In the months before the 2008 general electionNew Zealand general election, 2008
The 2008 New Zealand general election was held on 8 November 2008 to determine the composition of the 49th New Zealand parliament. The conservative National Party, headed by its Parliamentary leader John Key, won a plurality of votes and seats, ending 9 years of government dominated by the social...
, New Zealand First became embroiled in a dispute over donations to the party from Owen Glenn
Owen Glenn
Owen G Glenn ONZM is an expatriate New Zealand businessman and philanthropist, who supports hundreds of humanitarian causes worldwide through his family charity.Owen Glenn did his secondary schooling at Mount Roskill Grammar School, in Auckland....
, the Vela family and Bob Jones
Bob Jones (New Zealand)
Sir Robert 'Bob' Jones is a property tycoon, author and former politician in New Zealand. Growing up in the City of Lower Hutt suburb of Naenae, he attended Naenae College and then Victoria University of Wellington...
. This resulted in an investigation into party finances by the Serious Fraud Office on 28 August 2008 and an investigation into Peters by the Privileges Committee. On 29 August 2008 Peters stood down from his ministerial roles while the investigations were ongoing. Although the Serious Fraud Office and the police both found that Peters was not guilty of any wrongdoing, the episode harmed Peters and the party in the lead-up to the election.
On election night it was clear that Peters had not regained Tauranga and that the party had not met the 5% threshold needed for parties to be elected without an electorate seat. In what some journalists described as a 'gracious' concession speech, Peters said that 'its not over yet. We'll reorganise ourselves in the next few months. And we'll see what 2011 might hold for all us.'
At a post-election meeting held to discuss the party's future in February 2009, Deputy Leader Peter Brown stepped down.
Electoral results (1993–2008)
| Election | # of candidates nominated (electorate/list) | # of seats won | # of party votes | % of popular vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 New Zealand general election, 1993 The 1993 New Zealand general election was held on 6 November 1993 to determine the composition of the 44th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the governing National Party, led by Jim Bolger, win a second term in office, despite a major swing back towards the Labour Party. The new Alliance and New... |
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| 1996 New Zealand general election, 1996 The 1996 New Zealand general election was held on 12 October 1996 to determine the composition of the 45th New Zealand Parliament. It was notable for being the first election to be held under the new Mixed Member Proportional electoral system, and produced a parliament considerably more diverse... |
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| 1999 New Zealand general election, 1999 The 1999 New Zealand general election was held on 27 November 1999 to determine the composition of the 46th New Zealand Parliament. The governing National Party, led by Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, was defeated, being replaced by a coalition of Helen Clark's Labour Party and the smaller Alliance... |
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| 2002 New Zealand general election, 2002 The 2002 New Zealand general election was held on 27 July 2002 to determine the composition of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the reelection of Helen Clark's Labour Party government, as well as the worst-ever performance by the opposition National Party.Arguably the most controversial... |
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| 2005 New Zealand general election, 2005 The 2005 New Zealand general election held on 17 September 2005 determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. No party won a majority in the unicameral House of Representatives, but the Labour Party of Prime Minister Helen Clark secured two more seats than nearest rival, the... |
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| 2008 New Zealand general election, 2008 The 2008 New Zealand general election was held on 8 November 2008 to determine the composition of the 49th New Zealand parliament. The conservative National Party, headed by its Parliamentary leader John Key, won a plurality of votes and seats, ending 9 years of government dominated by the social... |
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| 2011 New Zealand general election, 2011 The 2011 New Zealand general election on Saturday 26 November 2011 determined the membership of the 50th New Zealand Parliament.One hundred and twenty-one MPs were elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives, 70 from single-member electorates, including one overhang seat, and 51 from party... |
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Office-holders
- Leader:
- Winston PetersWinston PetersWinston Raymond Peters is a New Zealand politician and leader of New Zealand First, a political party he founded in 1993. Peters has had a turbulent political career since entering Parliament in 1978. He served as Minister of Maori Affairs in the Bolger National Party Government before being...
, 1993–
- Winston Peters
- Deputy leader:
- Tau HenareTau HenareTau Henare is a New Zealand Māori parliamentarian. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1993 to 1999 and returned to Parliament in 2005. He has been involved with four political parties: Mana Motuhake, New Zealand First, Mauri Pacific and the National Party - representing three in...
, 1993–1998 - Peter Brown, 1998–2009
- Tau Henare
- Party President:
- Doug WoolertonDoug WoolertonDoug Woolerton is a New Zealand politician.-Early years:He was educated at Hamilton Boys' High School, and has a background in agriculture, having been a farmer for twenty-one years and director of a milk company for nine....
, 1993–2005 - Dail JonesDail JonesDail Michael John Jones QSO is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the New Zealand First party, and was formerly in the National Party.-Early life:Jones was born in Karachi, Pakistan, and attended Karachi Grammar School...
, 2005–2006 - George GroombridgeGeorge GroombridgeGeorge Groombridge is the president of the New Zealand First party.He is a retired senior social worker from Masterton. He became vice-president of the party in 2004 and subsequently replaced Dail Jones as president.-References:...
, 2008–2010 - Kevin Gardner,2010-
- Doug Woolerton
See also
- NZ First Party's Caucus and NZ First MPs' responsibilities