There is plenty of political energy outside the main parties in this year’s election. Senior writer David Fisher spoke to the leaders of the so-called minor parties about why they are standing and what they hope to achieve.
Animal Justice Party Aotearoa New Zealand
Leaders: Rob McNeill and Anna Rippon
Formed: August 16, 2023
They say: Chartered accountant McNeill, 57, describes the party as an “uncompromising” voice for animals. It wants an independent commissioner for animals, an end to live animal exports, for New Zealand to move away from animal agriculture and to recognise the impact of dairy farming on climate change. It’s not left or right – “we like to think people of all stripes love animals”. He says it’s not “realistic” to expect to be an MP in the next term but they’re hopeful of topping the 5 per cent threshold two or three elections down the track. It is fielding 17 electorate candidates, mainly in urban areas. McNeill grew up milking cows in Bay of Plenty and went to Canada as a young man to visit for three months. He ended up staying 30 years and, before leaving, shared an apartment with his “companion animal” (not “pet”), a pig. Its litter box was a disused roasting pan. When looking at animal politics across the world, McNeill can point to countries with what he considers progressive policies and processes on animal rights – and political success for those championing animals. Australia, for example, now has MPs in various legislatures elected on an Animal Rights Party ticket.
Quoted: McNeill – “We are at our core vegans and vegetarians but we’re not here to tell people what to eat.”
Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party
Leaders: Michael Appleby and Maki Herbert
Formed: May 30, 1996
They say: Northlander Herbert, 64, proudly points to what she considers the result of the party’s 27-year involvement in politics: medicinal cannabis on prescription, a booming hemp industry and last election’s referendum on the legalisation of cannabis. It might not have won a seat, she says, but look how much it has helped shift the dial through its single-issue focus on the law around a plant used at one stage or another by 80 per cent of New Zealanders. The party wants cannabis legalised, with controls around availability and sale. “Nobody should go to jail for smoking cannabis.” Last election’s close-run referendum failed by only a few per cent and still stings, she says, and she’s critical of high-profile politicians such as Jacinda Ardern who didn’t come out publicly to swing support. “She let us down.” The party has 14 electorate candidates and two on the list. “If you don’t stand up, you’ll never be heard.” While seeking to change and influence the system, Herbert also just gets on with it as a “green fairy” who sells therapeutic cannabis products in markets across Northland.
Quoted: Herbert – “I’ve been smoking weed since I was 15 and I’m still functioning.”
Democracy NZ
Leader: Matt King
Formed: October 12, 2022
He says: Matt King is a one-term National MP who lost his Northland seat in the 2020 “red wave” and whose future with the party was then compromised when he wouldn’t bend on contrary beliefs around Covid-19 mitigation strategies. “Here I was wrongly thinking they would respect me for taking a principled position. They just cast me out.” King’s a former police officer and now a farmer whose pitch to the public is family, freedom and farming. He is critical of approaches to climate change and makes arguments contrary to almost globally accepted science. “That blows the whole climate change theory out the window. It’s all true – you can do the research yourself.” King says if dairy or beef farmers in New Zealand drive down numbers of animals to meet emission targets, those in other countries without regulations will seize the opportunity. If elected, he sees his role as a possible coalition partner in which he – and others on his coat tails – acts as a political safety valve to keep the Beehive on track. “I don’t want a slush fund. I want stable government.” Freedom is giving greater power to the Bill of Rights and “family” – among other things – is about transwomen in women’s bathrooms and changing rooms. “I would have no objection to a transman coming into a men’s bathroom but we need to protect our women.”
Quoted: On his time at the protest outside Parliament in 2022 – “I felt like I was with my brothers and sisters and they could never have been my brothers and sisters [before] because they were people I’d be chasing down the street when I was a policeman.”
Democratic Alliance
Leaders: Jaap Knegtmans and Joseph Blessing
Formed: August 28, 2023
They say: It’s not usual to find a political movement that has effectively closed for business before election day but that’s the position this would-be umbrella party finds itself in. Co-leader Knegtmans says: “We have stepped out of the race for this election to preserve the party and the framework as a mechanism that exists.” And so, rather than this election, it is focused on 2026. The party was formed late in the election period in an attempt to resolve the issue of the crowded field of minor parties. Those parties not involved in the other umbrella movement, Freedoms NZ, were found by the Democratic Alliance to have 95 per cent policy alignment, says Knegtmans, but “that’s when we found out there were more issues”. Those policies it believed lined up were around “one person, one vote, regardless of race”, free speech, “freedom” from government involvement in people’s lives, “no hidden globalist agendas”, upholding human rights and the Bill of Rights (a catch cry among the “freedom” movement”) and strengthening the role of family. “There are about 11 parties across the spectrum all going for the same type of policies.” The difficulty in getting the Democratic Alliance to work was specific party ideologies or individuals, he says. “When it comes down to it, they don’t want to unite because they feel they are letting go of too much of their party to form an alliance.” It’s frustrating, he says, but “I’m as much a realist as an idealist”.
Quoted: Knegtmans – “I’d like to think people could agree like they did at Camp Freedom [the protest at Parliament].”
Freedoms NZ
Leaders: Brian Tamaki and Sue Grey
Formed: February 16, 2023
They say: Brian Tamaki describes himself as a reluctant leader of this “umbrella” party, which is composed of the NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party (lawyer Sue Grey), Rock the Vote and Vision New Zealand (led by his wife, Hannah). The plan is to harvest party list votes with Freedoms NZ while the constituent parties chase the electorates. It is standing 35 candidates, of which four are list candidates. Tamaki, 65, is the well-known leader of Destiny Church and was energised towards politics after the upset and division that came with the pandemic. He wants to see an overhaul of the political system in a way that would end party politics and for the Bill of Rights to be given a “supreme status”. ”You have to have something that protects the people when politicians go rogue.” He and co-leader Grey disagree on a range of issues, such as abortion (he’s completely opposed), but he says they have found concentrating on what they agree on charts a path both can follow. For years Tamaki avoided the political world. Now it’s different. “I can’t change a world I’m not in.”
Quoted: It was wife Hannah who convinced him to be leader. “She said, ‘We have a lot of career politicians and university graduates. You’ve been 35 years in the people industry.’”
Leighton Baker Party
Formed: August 16, 2023
They say: When Baker, 56, appeared at 3.9 per cent in the preferred prime minister polls, that settled the name of the new political movement he would be fronting. “It’s just marketing, really,” he says, having done the maths of building name recognition. “It’s about $1m a per cent,” he reckons. This is the fifth election he has contested, having previously represented the Conservative Party and New Conservatives. The party lists three candidates on its website, including Baker, which was a step towards the umbrella party concept he hoped to get off the ground. It intended to give people a single place to cast a party vote while allowing its candidates total independence. It’s a reflection of Baker’s prized political aim of “pure democracy” in which the public are consulted on all legislation being passed and can vote to veto it within 100 days. Baker – father of alt-broadcaster Chantelle Baker – is passionate about democracy but is not expecting to reap its benefits this election. “Being brutally honest, at this stage there’s no indicators showing I’m going to be working in Wellington next year.”
Quoted: You’ll find Baker on a building site. “Building is much easier but I feel an obligation to people.”
New Conservatives
Leader: Helen Houghton
Formed: October 6, 2011
They say: Houghton left school at 14, smoked cannabis when young, has been homeless, has relied on social welfare support and raised two sons as a solo mum. It’s a very different background to those who previously led the New Conservatives, whose roots go back to Colin Craig’s Conservative Party that launched 12 years ago. This election it has put forward 12 candidates, of which nine are standing in electorates. Former teacher Houghton, 56, describes the News Conservatives as a “values-based party”. “We’re not a Christian party.” She says the framework of values it espouses can be found across a range of faiths. At the heart of those values is family – “you don’t hear MPs talking about family” – and policies intended to support family. By family, Houghton means a man and a woman raising a child together. It’s somewhat confounding considering her background, although Houghton is quick to praise single parents who, like her, raised their children alone. New Conservatives policies include tax credits of $5000 a child, tax splitting (lowering liability by sharing income across partners) and supporting stay-at-home parents with the early childhood education funding their child would receive were they at a registered provider. Asked if she expects to be an MP on October 15, Houghton responds: “Look, miracles do happen.” But she sees success in the party’s campaigning already with issues it believes are important picked up by others, specifically naming its policies on banning transwomen from female changing rooms and toilets (police have received no complaints of issues arising).
Quoted: “We want to help make New Zealanders smile again.”
New Nation Party
Leader: Michael Jacomb
Formed: April 12, 2023
He says: High-energy Jacomb tried to engage with politics through meetings with National’s Judith Collins and NZ First’s Winston Peters but the experience left him flat. So the seriously wealthy Jacomb, 73, put aside $1 million of his hard-earned wealth and put a call out on a Facebook site he started seeking donations towards a new political movement, saying he would match their efforts dollar for dollar. He’s still got $800,000 in reserve but what was raised was enough to create the New Nation Party. Jacomb’s vision of New Zealand is one of a wealthy country with a nationalist approach in which its resources are fully utilised and key infrastructure is locally owned. Jacomb says that includes getting Marsden Point up and running again with expanded gas and oil exploration. Mineral resources under conservation land is another resource he wants explored, with land restored and forest replanted if need be. “I’m a capitalist. I’m an environmentalist too.” He says New Zealand should pull out of the United Nations as it doesn’t get anything out of it as a First World country. “We want to be in control of our own destiny.” The New Nation Party lists three candidates on its website.
Quoted: Jacomb on the economy – “I hate to tell you, the till is empty. There’s no money. We’re going backward.”
NewZeal
Leader: Alfred Ngaro
Formed: July 9, 2020
He says: Former National Party MP Ngaro spent nine years in the House of Representatives and isn’t so sure who was being represented. He’s clear of whose voice he wants heard – those of Pasifika whose Christianity is core to their being and whose faith-based values he believes aren’t being championed in Parliament. There are hundreds of thousands who don’t vote – predominantly Māori communities such as Moerewa in Northland, Murapara in the Bay of Plenty and Wairoa in Hawke’s Bay, where he says people feel they don’t have a voice. “You stand for what you believe in and represent the values that are part of your community.” Having said that, he adds: “We are a political party, not a Christian party.” Ngaro doesn’t stop there when talking about the communities he seeks to represent, having a long-standing relationship with the rural Groundswell movement. The traditional family is central to the party’s pledges, he says, pointing to the ability of those aged 12 or over to consent to the Covid vaccination without parental involvement. Other touchstones include concerns over how sexuality and transgender issues are taught to children at schools. On trans issues, Ngaro says the constituency he represents has concerns that are not being heard. “Middle New Zealand is tolerant and respectful of other people and views and values but in the last five years, instead of black and white, we have 50 shades of grey.” Its website shows 11 candidates, with six of those running on the list and five in electorates.
Quoted: Ngaro – “When you vote for what you believe in, it’s never a wasted vote.”
New Zealand Loyal
Leader: Liz Gunn
Formed: August 28, 2023
She says: Nothing. Gunn would not be interviewed. She said she would provide comment to written questions but only if the NZ Herald pledged to print the entirety of her response without her saying how long that might be. She said the NZ Herald was “absolutely sold out to the Government and therefore the globalist agenda and narrative” and described the journalist who approached her as the NZ Herald’s “most willing and complicit Chief Executioner and Character Assassinator”. The party is fielding only two candidates after its last-minute registration bungled the complicated Electoral Commission process for registering those standing for office and most were disqualified. Its policies are to end New Zealand’s participation in international groups such as the United Nations, end “race-based policies”, remove fluoride from schools, simplify the tax system with a 1% transaction tax, remove regulations around farming, stop use of glyphosate sprays and to “investigate who has benefited by selling this country out to the ‘Green Agenda’”.
Quoted: “Conspiracy theorist is now regarded as a compliment for endlessly brave Kiwis who’ve withstood lies, job losses, social ostracism and media brutality, and yet have stayed true to their high IQ critical thinking and to their inner moral code.”
NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party
Leaders: Sue Grey and Donna Pokere-Phillips
Formed: August 11, 2017
They say: Grey has become a familiar face in three years of pandemic disruption. She has represented in court those caught between pandemic laws and a determination to chart their own course, whether it be challenging mandates or championing parents not wanting blood from a donor vaccinated against Covid-19. She says she wants to “get power back to local people rather than centralised decisions”. As one of the parties under the umbrella of Freedoms NZ, she’s campaigning for the electorate vote across the vast West Coast. With 12 hours’ driving from one end to the other, it’s a tough exercise. The party lists five electorate candidates on its website who all hold positions on the Freedoms NZ list. Her big issue is free speech, although she decries racism and hate speech. Grey is critical of Labour and National, saying “they have both forgotten what democracy is about”. She holds the media accountable for the status quo, although says she sees signs of change with Counterspin, Reality Check Radio and The Spinoff. It’s not her first time standing. “Even if it was just me, one person, it’s standing up and asking hard questions.” She says the support she’s received has given her high hopes that she will be an MP.
Quoted: Grey is standing for a place in a system she has said doesn’t work. “It does help to have people inside the system and that’s the way to change it.”
TOP (The Opportunities Party)
Leader: Raf Manji
Formed: March 6, 2017
He says: Manji comes to national politics after two terms as a Christchurch city councillor (2013-19) and with a serious background in finance, governance and support of the volunteer sector. He is contesting the Ilam seat in Christchurch, where he stood previously (2017) as an independent and hopes success there will win the party a place in Parliament, giving it a seat at the negotiating table to form the next government. “We’re in the centre – we can work with both [the left and right].” That’s the electoral power – but he says there is also persuasive power in having its policies put to the public and effecting change through shifting thinking or seeing other parties take its ideas on. The party was founded by philanthropist millionaire Gareth Morgan in 2017 and is known for policies outside the usual political mould. Manji’s favourite political pledge this election is the “Teal Card”, which is like a Gold Card for young (under 30) New Zealanders. It allows access to fully funded health care (including glasses and mental health care), public transport and would contribute $5000 in savings for those who take part in a new National Civic Service Programme before the age of 23. The programme would have young people complete a five-day residential course where they would learn civics, finance, first aid, take driving lessons and “become more resilient” humans. “The civic service model can be used to engage young people all over the country.” If he wins Ilam, Top could dramatically affect the balance of power. Beyond Iam, Top has 12 other candidates standing in electorates.
Quoted: “I still see a really positive future for New Zealand but we have to change some of our settings. It feels to me like this country is stuck.”
Vision NZ
Leader: Hannah Tamaki
Formed: December 4, 2019
She says: After years of building Destiny Church with husband Brian, Hannah Tamaki took a leap into politics last election. “To get your views out, you have to stand so people will take you seriously and hear your message. I learned to love it. I absolutely love all the people. I’ve just realised people are my drug.” This election, Vision NZ is one of the member parties in Freedoms NZ. As such, it is contesting 25 electorates and asking people to cast their party vote for Freedoms NZ, the umbrella party. Tamaki has a faith-led approach to politics that she says is grounded in the work Destiny does in struggling communities. Parental rights and family are central to Vision NZ’s approach – giving parents direct power to “decide what happens to their children” in areas like sex education. She also wants bathrooms and changing rooms off-limits to transwomen who have not had gender reassignment surgery. “If he’s had it cut off, fair enough.” Slashing the refugee intake and immigration is also important, she says, so New Zealand solves its own problems before importing others. Tamaki is not concerned with polling. “Looking at the polls is like chasing a chicken.”
Quoted: Tamaki stands at 1.6 metres (5ft 3in) but says she is “probably about 12ft in my spirit person and persona”.
Women’s Rights Party
Leader: Jill Ovens
Formed: August 28, 2023
She says: Ovens says there has been a dialling down of women’s voices and the space women occupy in our society. It was this that led to the recent registration of the Women’s Rights Party, which has 12 candidates standing in electorates. It’s a strong list of women known for their work expanding that space in society: celebrated academic Prue Hyman is among that number, as is midwifery champion Karen Guilliland. Ovens describes the movement as one going through a period of “grief”, with many members who have come from the Green Party and Labour Party as their approach to language that included transpeople was seen as diminishing that of women. “Really the intention wasn’t the 5 per cent [threshold]. It was to give women the option on the ballot in every polling booth in the country.” She says the stronger the vote, the more the main political parties will realise the strength of feeling that exists. Ovens speaks of genderless language entering health when gender precision is important. “If you don’t use clear language in health, you will confuse people.” Chestfeeding as opposed to breastfeeding is an example of this. The party is also keen to have the minimum age for gender reassignment surgery increased to 18. For Ovens and others, the clarity they are seeking on transwomen is different from other parties who are relative newcomers to the issue – they have been on the frontline of the war for women’s rights for decades.
Quoted: On losing their natural political home on the left – “We’re in grief.”
