Outdoor Recreation New Zealand (sometimes abbreviated as ORNZ) is a small political party 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...

. It is primarily based around the hunting

Hunting

Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...

 and fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

 lobbies, but also includes other people who participate in other outdoor sports. The party states its goal as being to fight "the rapid erosion of sporting rights, resources and opportunities for outdoor sportspeople", claiming that current environmental policies impose unreasonable restrictions.

The party was first proposed in October 2001. Shortly afterwards, a meeting near Nelson

Nelson, New Zealand

Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island....

 agreed to establish a political party. The founders of the party say that "lobbying government has never been effective", and that establishing a political party was the only way to achieve their goals. On 8 March 2002, the party successfully registered with the Electoral Commission, having obtained the necessary five hundred members. This entitled it to seek and gain list votes under the MMP system. The party also gained government funding for broadcasting.

Outdoor Recreation New Zealand had its first test in the 2002 elections

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...

, and although it did not win any seats, it performed better than many had anticipated. It won 25,985 votes, around 1.28% of the total.

In 2003, the party announced that it would be seeking an agreement with the larger United Future New Zealand party, which was already in parliament. This agreement, further elaborated on in 2004, saw Outdoor Recreation "become affiliated" to United Future - Outdoor Recreation retained its separate identity, but contested the 2005 elections

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...

under the United Future banner. It did not, however, gain any seats.

In March 2006 the party split with United Future due to a dissatisfaction with the Christian evangelism within the party. ORNZ acting chairman Phil Hoare stating that: "We strongly believe in the traditional bedrock values of our nation's heritage but we also affirm the separation of church and state."

In 2007, the party requested and received deregistration.