Christian politics in New Zealand
Encyclopedia
This article discusses Christian politics in New Zealand, particularly socially conservative and evangelical Christian politics. Although slightly over half of New Zealand's population belong, at least nominally, to Christian
denominations,
debate can take place over the extent to which Christianity affects New Zealand politics.
At one end of the spectrum many dismiss the effects of Christianity, saying that New Zealand society has always had a largely secular character. At the other end of the spectrum, however, many evangelicals, fundamentalists and conservative Catholics see Christianity as underlying New Zealand's entire political system. During the nineteenth century, many church-oriented bodies sponsored and fostered several of the original European settlement-ventures in the period 1840–1850, notably the settlements of Otago (1848, Free Church of Scotland) and Canterbury (1850, Church of England
). On the other hand, a notable politician of the late 19th century, Sir Robert Stout
, had a considerable reputation as a freethinker
.
Christianity has had a role in the major political parties
, although it has never (unlike in some European countries) formed an explicit part of them. Religious elements in these parties have taken varying forms, and cannot easily be classified as a single movement. One can much more readily examine the Christian conservative strand that arose in the 1970s and 1980s, mostly in reaction to a perceived decline of social standards. This movement contributed to the founding of Christian political parties such as Christian Heritage
, the Christian Democrats
, the Christian Coalition
and Destiny New Zealand
. The political aspect of Māori Christianity, such as the Ratana
movement, also merits attention.
or fundamentalist Christianity
had had little specific effect on mainstream New Zealand politics in society. While the Baptist Union
endeavoured to get alcohol-prohibition
policies passed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the Catholic Church urged its members to vote against such laws, concerned that the measures would outlaw eucharist
wine, which symbolised the blood of Christ during that particular key church sacrament
. A referendum on prohibition took place in 1919, but the return of demobilised New Zealand soldiers from World War I
defeated the measure. Evangelical and Catholic
New Zealanders did not respond as corporate institutions to the debates on capital punishment in New Zealand
in the thirties, forties and fifties, but individual laypeople and clergy did make their opposition heard. The Anglican Church of New Zealand became more forthright in its opposition to the death penalty, and as the largest Christian denomination
in New Zealand, it made its presence felt.
nor the National Party
, the two traditional dominant mainstream political parties in New Zealand since the 1930s, represent explicitly religious traditions. Nevertheless, both parties have occasionally contained people who saw their political mission in religious terms. A number of early politicians, both in Labour and in National, saw their respective political ideologies as an extension of "Christian values
".
In the early Labour Party a significant sub-set of the party promoted what one might call "Christian socialism
", claiming that "Christian kindness and charity
" fitted socialism better than it did conservatism. New Zealand's first Labour Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage
is said to have personified Labour's "Applied Christianity." Labour won an overwhelming victory by presenting itself as the party of practical Christian compassion, in contrast to the "anti-family" depression-era coalition government. It was in this context that Savage - who would later return to his Roman Catholic roots - described Labour’s Social Security Act (1938), intended to afford security for all New Zealanders 'from cradle to grave', as ‘applied Christianity’. A number of early Labour politicians had Christian backgrounds.
One of the first leaders of the Labour Party, HE Holland (1919-1933), had been a street preacher with the Salvation Army in Australia prior to his migration to New Zealand. Savage's successor, Peter Fraser
(1940-49), reflected in his personal life on the lasting impact of his Scottish Presbyterian upbringing, and the next leader,[Walter Nash]], was "an avowed Christian strongly committed to the Anglican Church." Subsequent Labour Party leaders also had church backgrounds. Arnold Nordmeyer, the leader of the Labour Party in opposition from 1963 to 1965, was an ordained Presbyterian minister. David Lange, (Prime Minister 1984-1989) was methodist , while Norman Kirk (Prime Minister 1972-74) was raised by devout members of the Salvation Army.
Such church connections are also present in the National Party. For example, Keith Holyoake (Prime Minister 1957, 1960-72), was "brought up in a strict Open Brethren environment", and in later years was an irregular attender of the Presbyterian church. John Marshall (deputy Prime Minister 1957, 1960-72; Prime Minister 1972) was active in the Presbyterian church, , while RD Muldoon (Prime Minister 1975-84) was raised as a Baptist and continued as a church member until he married and became an Anglican like his wife Thea
In , however, religion has not usually formed a major component of either Labour or National platforms. The leaders of both major traditional parties would qualify as agnostic
by most definitions, although the deputy leader of the National Party Bill English
openly practises Roman Catholicism.
The National Party, the ostensibly more socially conservative of the two "major" traditional parties, apparently received increasing proportional support from religiously-identifiable voters between 2002 and 2005.
Also, one should not underestimate the influence of the Ratana
movement (see Māori Christianity, below).
by New Zealand evangelical and conservative Catholic-based organisations occurred. Much of this opposed reforms undertaken by governments. In the 1970s and 1980s, two significant campaigns opposed the liberalisation of abortion
-rules and the legalisation of homosexual acts
. Perhaps surprisingly, members of the generally-conservative National Party (George Gair
and Venn Young
, respectively) championed each of these legislative measures. Organizations such as the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child (SPUC
- now Voice for Life
) and the Society for the Promotion of Community Standards
(SPCS) served as a focus for Christian conservatism. Eventually, the conservatives won their initial battles against homosexual law reform, but lost their ongoing battle over abortion during the late seventies and early eighties. For more about the history of the New Zealand abortion-debate, see abortion in New Zealand
.
of New Zealand. Shortly afterward, many of the same liberal Christians participated in the peace movement
of the 1980s, which resulted in New Zealand becoming a declared nuclear free zone in 1987. During the New Zealand National Party
governments of the 1990s, these liberal Christians became involved in organising against New Right
cutbacks to social-welfare benefits (cutbacks supported by the New Zealand Business Roundtable
, ACT New Zealand and similar organisations).
introduced a new homosexual law reform bill, a resurgence of Christian-based political activism occurred. Two National MP
s, Graeme Lee
and Norman Jones
, organised a petition
against the bill; and Labour MP Geoff Braybrooke
joined them in their campaign. A number of activists from the United States provided advice. At about the same time, the Coalition of Concerned Citizens
(CCC) formed, using the motto "For God, Family and Country", while many liberal Anglicans and Methodists formed a "Christians for Homosexual Law Reform" network to counter their efforts.
The campaign against homosexual law reform eventually failed, however, and the bill became law in 1986.
Increased evangelical political activism did, however, set the stage for the emergence of several evangelical Christian political parties during the next twenty-five years (see below).
Each had its origins in the increased political activism of the 1970s and 1980s. In 2003, controversial Māori Pentecostal minister and televangelist Brian Tamaki
founded his own political vehicle, Destiny New Zealand. In May 2007, this became rebranded as the Family Party, still with significant input from Destiny Church
and another New Zealand Pentecostal religious organisation, City Impact Church
.
(founded 1987) as its model, another strand to its origins may also exist. Many members of the Reformed Churches of New Zealand
became involved in founding the new party, and a model had existed in the Netherlands since 1922, the Political Reformed Party or SGP (Dutch). As Dirk Vanderpyl noted in his denominational history of the Reformed Churches, Trust and Obey (1994), the SGP, ChristenUnie and other Reformed fundamentalist-based political parties were involved in "testimonial party
" politics within the Dutch Parliament, based more on principle than concrete political objectives.
The Christian Heritage Party formed in 1989. The driving force behind its creation, Bill van Rij, had had previous involvement in the Coalition of Concerned Citizens
. Van Rij took direct inspiration from the Christian Heritage Party of Canada
, and believed that a similar party could have success in New Zealand. In January 1988, van Rij and several friends established a steering committee for a new political party based on the Canadian model. In February, a meeting in Christchurch
confirmed the plan, and John Allen, a former National Party candidate, became de facto interim leader. By 20 July 1989, a sufficient number of people had gathered for the party to launch officially. The party took a strict biblical
line, and strongly condemned things such as abortion
, pornography
, and the perceived erosion of marriage
and the family
. Shortly after the party's official launch, the Reverend Graham Capill
gained appointment as leader
, a position he would hold for the next fourteen years.
Religious conservatives gave a mixed reaction to the formation of the Christian Heritage Party. Some groups, such as SPUC
, welcomed the party. Others, however, believed that an independent Christian conservative party would not succeed, or worse, would split the conservative vote. Graeme Lee
, a National MP
who had fought against homosexual law-reform, did not support the new party, seeing fighting for Christian values within the National Party as more effective. Critics also noted that the party (like its Canadian counterpart) drew heavily on the Reformed Churches of New Zealand
— two thirds of the delegates at its first convention came from this denomination, with the remainder mostly unaffiliated. Yet another criticism saw the party as too extreme.
One controversial issue associated with the Christian Heritage Party centred on the party's rigidly "confessional
" nature. Under this policy, all members of the party had to declare themselves as Christians. The Christian Heritage Party saw this requirement as only natural, and as a guarantee of the party's ideological purity. Other Christian activists, however, particularly those with more moderate views, believed that confessionalism unnecessarily restricted the support base of the party. Instead, they advocated a party "based on Christian values", rather than a "Christians Only" party. The non-confessionalists claimed that anyone, even if not actually followers of the Christian religion, could see the benefits of Christian values to society.
As for the Christian Democrats, they had a relatively broader base. In New Zealand, Christchurch's New Life Churches
(then known as "New Life Centres") had a history of recent anti-abortion, anti-feminist and anti-gay activism, from the mid-seventies onward. Like Lee, many had joined the National Party, only to become disillusioned as it rejected social conservatism in favour of a more pluralist model as it sought to reach out to urban liberals. Brett Knowles chronicled the New Life Churches and their denominational history in 1999.
Graeme Lee, the National MP, opposed confessionalism
, believing that a party which followed this doctrine would never gain sufficient support. For this reason, among others, Lee, when invited, refused to join the new Christian Heritage Party. Lee had initially disliked the idea of having a separate Christian or Christian-based party at all, believing that remaining with National could prove more effective. In 1993, however, Lee had fallen out with the National Party's leadership
, mainly due to losing his ministerial role in a Cabinet
reshuffle. Lee's demotion, combined with his belief that National had started to become gradually more and more liberal
, had prompted him to plan a departure. At this point Christian Heritage contacted Lee and invited him to join the party. According to some accounts, Lee actually received an offer of leadership.
The negotiations between Lee and Christian Heritage eventually broke down, however. The issue of confessionalism, which Lee continued to oppose, remained a major sticking-point. Lee eventually pulled out of the talks, and in 1994, established his own group, known as the United Progressive Party. The prospect of two competing Christian parties alarmed many Christian conservative activists, and repeated attempts took place to get the two sides talking once again, but the issue of confessionalism (as well as several other policy differences that had emerged) made this difficult. In November, however, talks re-opened, partly at the urging of Bill van Rij.
It seemed obvious to both sides that co-operation would bring mutual benefits — Lee had the advantage of a current Parliamentary seat, while the Christian Heritage Party had the advantage of superior organisation and a "grass-roots" network. Policy-issues once again proved difficult, but on 20 December 1994 a proposed agreement finally emerged. The proposal, which needed ratification by both Christian Heritage and the United Progressives, would have seen both parties dissolved, with a new united, non-confessional party set up in their place. Lee reportedly endorsed the plan, and believed that it would succeed. Graham Capill, of Christian Heritage, showed less enthusiasm. Later, a Christian Heritage Party convention rejected the proposal, although it did offer an alliance which would have seen the parties contest the election together. Lee, deeply disappointed at the rejection, refused the alliance. Van Rij also expressed disappointment with the decision.
On 17 May 1995, Lee re-launched his party, calling it the Christian Democrat Party
. (The Christian Heritage Party complained to the Electoral Commission
that the name too closely resembled their own, but the commission rejected this complaint). The launch of the party went well and generated considerable attention in the media. Lee also received considerable publicity for his attacks on the "Death with Dignity" bill, an attempt by dissident National MP Michael Laws
to legalise euthanasia
.
, an Executive Member with Christian Democrats, more talks took place, and eventually decided an alliance possible, with everything split exactly equally between the two parties. The joint party list would alternate between the Christian Democrats and Christian Heritage, beginning with Lee (as a sitting MP) in first place and Capill in second. While the two parties would campaign together, they would function separately in Parliament.
The new Christian Coalition
launched on 29 March 1996. It received considerable public attention, and prospered in opinion-poll
s. The Coalition issued its manifesto in September, though — due to an inability to resolve certain differences between the two parties — the manifesto lacked a degree of detail. The Christian Heritage Party expressed a certain amount of dissatisfaction over the manifesto, which it considered "too moderate". Lee and the Christian Democrats, however, strongly believed moderation crucial to electoral success, and that Christian Heritage's more extreme policies would alienate many voters. Even with Lee's attempt at moderation, however, the party's more controversial views tended to receive the most media attention, and many criticised the Coalition as "extremist".
In the 1996 election
itself, the Christian Coalition gained 4.33% of the vote. This fell short of the 5% necessary for proportional representation
under MMP, and none of the party's electorate candidates won a seat. As many polls had once shown the Coalition as passing the 5% threshold, this result led to disappointment in some circles. Considerable acrimony ensued between Christian Heritage and the Christian Democrats, with both believing that the other had caused the loss. Christian Heritage generally believed that the Christian Democrats had "watered down" the Coalition's message in the name of political pragmatism, surrendering the moral high ground
and giving up the party's clear focus. The Christian Democrats, on the other hand, said that Christian Heritage's extremism and unwillingness to compromise had led to the defeat. Each side essentially blamed the other for dragging the Coalition down.
In May 1997, the Christian Coalition dissolved, and its constituent parties went their separate ways. Shortly afterwards, Bill van Rij left Christian Heritage and joined the Christian Democrats, blaming Capill for the collapse of the Coalition. A number of other senior Christian Heritage members, led by a former Deputy Leader, Geoff Hounsell, also resigned; and the party expelled others. Ex-members joined the Christian Democrats following an unsuccessful attempt to have Christian Heritage agree to a merger with Christian Democrats.
Christian Heritage stood Ewen McQueen
as its candidate in the 1998 Taranaki-King Country byelection. McQueen out-polled candidates for the larger New Zealand First and Green parties.
Six months before the 1999 general election
, Frank Grover
, leader of the Liberal Party, a component of the Alliance, defected to Christian Heritage, giving it one seat in Parliament. Grover had won election as an Alliance list MP in 1996. High-profile broadcaster Philip Sherry also joined the party in 1999 and stood in the number 2 position on the party list. Christian Heritage gained 2.4% of the vote in the 1999 election, well short of the threshold for entering Parliament, although enough to make it easily the largest party outside parliament.
In the New Zealand general election, 2002
, Australian political consultant David Elliot, a prominent campaigner against republicanism in Australia
, became the campaign manager for Christian Heritage. A strategy developed of focusing on a single electorate, Wairarapa
, whereby Christian Heritage could gain entry to parliament and bypass the 5% requirement. However, the result proved disappointing – the party itself gained only 1.4% of the vote, and its Wairarapa candidate, deputy leader Merepeka Raukawa-Tait
, came third. Christian Heritage's support defected to United Future New Zealand, a merger of Future New Zealand (a successor to the Christian Democrats) and Peter Dunne's United New Zealand, which had occurred in 2000.
In 2003, Capill stepped down as party leader and Ewen McQueen succeeded him. The party renamed itself simply Christian Heritage New Zealand (CHNZ).
In 2005 a court convicted former leader Capill for the repeated rape and sexual violation of a girl aged eight, and jailed him for nine years.
The new Christian Heritage leadership condemned Capill's conduct.
On 3 October 2006, ex-CHNZ Leader Ewen McQueen announced that Christian Heritage would disband
to allow "new things to arise in Christian politics in New Zealand". This may result in some of its members merging with Destiny New Zealand, whose leader, Richard Lewis, expressed interest in such a possibility. Former Christian Heritage Leader, Ewen McQueen announced that the hypothetical new party would "make a strong and clear stand for the importance of family life, the primacy of marriage and the sanctity of human life."
debate continued over whether Christian Heritage ever amounted to anything more than a "testimonial party
". As noted above, this model of politics refers to a particular model of partisan 'politics of principle' that eschews pragmatic political objectives. If this is the case, then there are certain implications. As the Netherlands has a demographically based electoral system, this means that the testimonial party model could rely on Reformed fundamentalist constituencies in Zeeland
, Veluwe
and parts of Overijssel
, the Dutch "Bible Belt
." However, New Zealand's Mixed Member Proportional electoral system imposes a five percent threshold before a party that has no constituency seat representation can be represented within the New Zealand Parliament, as does its own German model. As CHNZ never cleared that threshold, it may therefore be seen as an imported 'testimonial party' model that did not work in a foreign political context or electoral system.
By contrast, United Future New Zealand worked that same electoral system well. However, Christian Heritage's constitution seemed to rule out Christian Heritage functioning as a purely "testimonial party". While it allowed as an objective of the party to "promote and uphold biblical principles", the constitution went on to state that the party had as a goal to "gain seats in parliament so that it can have a direct influence on legislation, policy, and the governing of New Zealand."
became its new leader. Under Walton, the Christian Democrats went even further down the non-confessional path, removing all explicit references to Christianity from their party platform. The party adopted the name "Future New Zealand
" (rejecting "Future Vision" as a proposed alternative), and positioned itself as a "values-based" rather than as a religion-based party.
Future New Zealand contested the 1999 General Election but gained only 1.1% of the party vote. The party considered becoming an apolitical lobby-group, but led by its General Secretary, Murray Smith
, who had instigated discussions with Peter Dunne
, the leader of United New Zealand
and the holder of a "safe" constituency seat, the party decided to explore a coalition with United New Zealand instead. Following further discussions with United, the two parties entered into a coalition to contest the 2002 General Election under the name United Future New Zealand. The group gained 6.7% of the party vote, giving it 8 seats. In 2003 the two parties formally merged. For a time there was debate as to whether to classify the resultant group as a Christian party, but the party's rejection of that label appears to have clarified matters. According to United Future, the party does indeed have a grounding in traditional values, but remains open to anyone who shares those values, not merely to Christians.
In the New Zealand general election, 2005
United Future saw its support slump to 2.67%, leaving it with only 3 MPs. The precise reasons for this remain difficult to identify, but it appears that many former Christian supporters of United Future cast their votes for the National Party in the 2005 election.
In 2006–2007, Peter Dunne decided to vote in favour of a bill banning parental corporal punishment
of children, while his surviving party caucus-members, Gordon Copeland
and Judy Turner
voted against it. As a result of Dunne's exercise of his right to a conscience vote
over this issue, Gordon Copeland seceded from the United Future caucus. Copeland and former UFNZ List MP Larry Baldock
announced their intention to re-form an independent Future New Zealand party (subsequently re-named as The Kiwi Party on 25 January 2008). Baldock has said that over one hundred former UFNZ board members and candidates joined them. However, UFNZ President Denise Krum contested Baldock's assertion over resignations. According to its website, Future New Zealand
succeeded in enrolling the five hundred party-members required for registration under the Electoral Act 1993. It remains unclear whether these figures represent former disgruntled FNZ members who had quit after the merger with United, or new supporters, possibly from the disintegrated Christian Heritage New Zealand
.
In the event, the New Zealand general election, 2008
proved a disappointment for the Kiwi Party. They polled 11,658 votes in total, only 0.54% of the total party votes cast for all New Zealand political parties, and far short of the five-percent threshold required for list-only electoral representation. It even polled behind the avowedly satirical Bill and Ben Party
.
, based around the evangelical Destiny Church
pastored by controversial figure Brian Tamaki
. Bishop Tamaki claimed that Destiny would rule New Zealand by 2008, but in the 2005 general election the party only polled 0.6%, far short of the support required to enter Parliament. This was also far short of the over 2% support managed by even the Christian Heritage Party in 1993 and 1999.
In April 2007, Brian Tamaki and Samoan-born evangelical Christian and independent former Labour Party
MP for Mangere
Taito Phillip Field
held talks about a possible rapprochement between Destiny New Zealand and Field's fledgling "Pacific Party".
However, Field was under police investigation for allegedly questionable financial dealings.
On 18 September 2007, Destiny New Zealand announced that it would de-register itself under the terms of the Electoral Act 1993 to allow the formation of a new composite evangelical/fundamentalist political party. This would have become an amalgam of Destiny New Zealand, Future New Zealand
and Taito Phillip Field, if the latter survived the criminal investigations. Richard Lewis and Gordon Copeland
would have become joint leaders of the new fundamentalist party. However, reports subsequently emerged that Copeland and Future New Zealand had refused to work alongside Lewis, and had sought to marginalise Brian Tamaki's influence in the proposed new party. This led to recriminations from the National Advisory Committee established to advance this process, including former UFNZ MP Paul Adams
and a representative of Field.
Subsequently, Richard Lewis and Paul Adams became co-leaders of the Family Party, which hoped to harness Pacific Island immigrant evangelical
s in Mangere, South Auckland
, who traditionally vote for the Labour Party. Jerry Filipaina stood as their Mangere candidate in the 2008 general election
, running against Taito Phillip Field who had formed the New Zealand Pacific Party
. The Family Party's hopes proved futile, winning 999 votes in Mangere and coming fourth. Labour's Su'a William Sio
retook the seat for his party from Taito Phillip Field by 7126 votes. Altogether, the Family Party accumulated only 8176 (0.35%) of total party votes cast in New Zealand.
The New Zealand Pacific Party
polled only 8640 (0.37 percent) of the total party votes cast, and did not win another anchoring constituency seat, it lacked representation in the 49th New Zealand Parliament. Taito Philip Field was subsequently found guilty of bribery and corruption charges and sentenced to imprisonment.
movement. The Ratana Church, established by Māori spiritual leader Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana
in 1925, gained particularly strong support from Māori of lower socio-economic status. The Ratana movement actively participated in the world of politics, and the first Ratana Member of Parliament gained election in a 1932 by-election
.
In Parliament, the Ratana movement co-operated closely with the Labour Party
, the rising force in New Zealand politics in the 1930s. In the 1935 elections
, Ratana won two of the four of the Māori seats, and shortly afterwards, allied itself with the Labour Party, which had won the election. The Labour Party and the Ratana movement have remained closely allied since this point, although the alliance has grown strained at times, and both National and the Maori Party also vie for their support.
In years at least one independent attempt has occurred to bring the Ratana religion to politics — the Piri Wiri Tua
party, although not part of the Ratana Church, has strong roots in Ratanadom.
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
denominations,
debate can take place over the extent to which Christianity affects New Zealand politics.
At one end of the spectrum many dismiss the effects of Christianity, saying that New Zealand society has always had a largely secular character. At the other end of the spectrum, however, many evangelicals, fundamentalists and conservative Catholics see Christianity as underlying New Zealand's entire political system. During the nineteenth century, many church-oriented bodies sponsored and fostered several of the original European settlement-ventures in the period 1840–1850, notably the settlements of Otago (1848, Free Church of Scotland) and Canterbury (1850, Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
). On the other hand, a notable politician of the late 19th century, Sir Robert Stout
Robert Stout
Sir Robert Stout, KCMG was the 13th Premier of New Zealand on two occasions in the late 19th century, and later Chief Justice of New Zealand. He was the only person to hold both these offices...
, had a considerable reputation as a freethinker
Freethought
Freethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that opinions should be formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason, and should not be influenced by authority, tradition, or other dogmas...
.
Christianity has had a role in the major political parties
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...
, although it has never (unlike in some European countries) formed an explicit part of them. Religious elements in these parties have taken varying forms, and cannot easily be classified as a single movement. One can much more readily examine the Christian conservative strand that arose in the 1970s and 1980s, mostly in reaction to a perceived decline of social standards. This movement contributed to the founding of Christian political parties such as Christian Heritage
Christian Heritage New Zealand
The Christian Heritage Party of New Zealand was a New Zealand political party espousing Christian values...
, the Christian Democrats
Christian Democrat Party (New Zealand)
The Christian Democrat Party of New Zealand was a Christian political party established in 1995. It contested the 1996 general election as part of the Christian Coalition with the Christian Heritage Party....
, the Christian Coalition
Christian Coalition (New Zealand)
The Christian Coalition was an Evangelical Christian political party operating in New Zealand. It was an alliance of the now-defunct Christian Heritage Party and the Christian Democrats, New Zealand's two fundamentalist Christian parties...
and Destiny New Zealand
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 breakdown of the traditional family was a primary...
. The political aspect of Māori Christianity, such as the Ratana
Ratana
The Rātana movement is a Māori religion and pan-tribal political movement founded by Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana in early 20th century New Zealand...
movement, also merits attention.
Before the 1970s: debates over prohibition and capital punishment
Before the establishment of major specifically Christian parties in the 1970s, evangelicalEvangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
or fundamentalist Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
had had little specific effect on mainstream New Zealand politics in society. While the Baptist Union
Baptist Union of New Zealand
The Baptist Union of New Zealand is an association of Baptist churches in the country of New Zealand.Several Baptists settled in New Zealand in the 1840s, but the first Baptist minister, Decimus Dolamore from Yorkshire, England, did not arrive until May 1851...
endeavoured to get alcohol-prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
policies passed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the Catholic Church urged its members to vote against such laws, concerned that the measures would outlaw eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
wine, which symbolised the blood of Christ during that particular key church sacrament
Sacrament
A sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites.-General definitions and terms:...
. A referendum on prohibition took place in 1919, but the return of demobilised New Zealand soldiers from World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
defeated the measure. Evangelical and Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
New Zealanders did not respond as corporate institutions to the debates on capital punishment in New Zealand
Capital punishment in New Zealand
Capital punishment in New Zealand first appeared in a codified form when New Zealand became a British territory in 1840, and was first employed in 1842. It was last used in 1957, abolished for murder in 1961, and abolished altogether, including for treason, in 1989. During the period that it was in...
in the thirties, forties and fifties, but individual laypeople and clergy did make their opposition heard. The Anglican Church of New Zealand became more forthright in its opposition to the death penalty, and as the largest Christian denomination
Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...
in New Zealand, it made its presence felt.
Christianity within mainstream political parties
Neither the Labour PartyNew 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....
nor 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:...
, the two traditional dominant mainstream political parties in New Zealand since the 1930s, represent explicitly religious traditions. Nevertheless, both parties have occasionally contained people who saw their political mission in religious terms. A number of early politicians, both in Labour and in National, saw their respective political ideologies as an extension of "Christian values
Christian values
The term Christian values historically refers to the values found in the teachings of Jesus.The biblical teachings of Jesus include:* love of God: "You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind" ,...
".
In the early Labour Party a significant sub-set of the party promoted what one might call "Christian socialism
Christian socialism
Christian socialism generally refers to those on the Christian left whose politics are both Christian and socialist and who see these two philosophies as being interrelated. This category can include Liberation theology and the doctrine of the social gospel...
", claiming that "Christian kindness and charity
Charity (virtue)
In Christian theology charity, or love , means an unlimited loving-kindness toward all others.The term should not be confused with the more restricted modern use of the word charity to mean benevolent giving.- Caritas: altruistic love :...
" fitted socialism better than it did conservatism. New Zealand's first Labour Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage
Michael Joseph Savage
Michael Joseph Savage was the first Labour Prime Minister of New Zealand.- Early life :Born in Tatong, Victoria, Australia, Savage first became involved in politics while working in that state. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1907. There he worked in a variety of jobs, as a miner, flax-cutter and...
is said to have personified Labour's "Applied Christianity." Labour won an overwhelming victory by presenting itself as the party of practical Christian compassion, in contrast to the "anti-family" depression-era coalition government. It was in this context that Savage - who would later return to his Roman Catholic roots - described Labour’s Social Security Act (1938), intended to afford security for all New Zealanders 'from cradle to grave', as ‘applied Christianity’. A number of early Labour politicians had Christian backgrounds.
One of the first leaders of the Labour Party, HE Holland (1919-1933), had been a street preacher with the Salvation Army in Australia prior to his migration to New Zealand. Savage's successor, Peter Fraser
Peter Fraser
Peter Fraser was a New Zealand political figure who served as the 24th Prime Minister from 27 March 1940 until 13 December 1949. He assumed the office nearly seven months after the outbreak of World War II and remained as head of government for almost ten years...
(1940-49), reflected in his personal life on the lasting impact of his Scottish Presbyterian upbringing, and the next leader,[Walter Nash]], was "an avowed Christian strongly committed to the Anglican Church." Subsequent Labour Party leaders also had church backgrounds. Arnold Nordmeyer, the leader of the Labour Party in opposition from 1963 to 1965, was an ordained Presbyterian minister. David Lange, (Prime Minister 1984-1989) was methodist , while Norman Kirk (Prime Minister 1972-74) was raised by devout members of the Salvation Army.
Such church connections are also present in the National Party. For example, Keith Holyoake (Prime Minister 1957, 1960-72), was "brought up in a strict Open Brethren environment", and in later years was an irregular attender of the Presbyterian church. John Marshall (deputy Prime Minister 1957, 1960-72; Prime Minister 1972) was active in the Presbyterian church, , while RD Muldoon (Prime Minister 1975-84) was raised as a Baptist and continued as a church member until he married and became an Anglican like his wife Thea
In , however, religion has not usually formed a major component of either Labour or National platforms. The leaders of both major traditional parties would qualify as agnostic
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
by most definitions, although the deputy leader of the National Party Bill English
Bill English
Simon William "Bill" English is the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Minister of Infrastructure of New Zealand.English entered parliament in 1990 as a National party MP representing the Wallace electorate...
openly practises Roman Catholicism.
The National Party, the ostensibly more socially conservative of the two "major" traditional parties, apparently received increasing proportional support from religiously-identifiable voters between 2002 and 2005.
Also, one should not underestimate the influence of the Ratana
Ratana
The Rātana movement is a Māori religion and pan-tribal political movement founded by Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana in early 20th century New Zealand...
movement (see Māori Christianity, below).
Evangelical political activism: anti-abortion activism in the 1970s
Beginning in the 1970s a significant increase in activismActivism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
by New Zealand evangelical and conservative Catholic-based organisations occurred. Much of this opposed reforms undertaken by governments. In the 1970s and 1980s, two significant campaigns opposed the liberalisation of abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
-rules and the legalisation of homosexual acts
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. Perhaps surprisingly, members of the generally-conservative National Party (George Gair
George Gair
George Frederick Gair, CMG, QSO is a former New Zealand politician. He was once deputy leader of the National Party in the Parliament of New Zealand, and was considered by many to be a possible contender for the leadership itself...
and Venn Young
Venn Young
Venn Spearman Young was a New Zealand politician. He was a member of the National Party, and served as a Cabinet Minister in the government of Robert Muldoon. He is known for his failed attempt to legalise "homosexual acts" in 1975.-Early life:Young was born in Stratford, Taranaki...
, respectively) championed each of these legislative measures. Organizations such as the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child (SPUC
SPUC
Society for the Protection of Unborn Children is a pro-life organisation in the United Kingdom and several other countries.In New Zealand, SPUC changed its name to "Voice for Life" in August 2004...
- now Voice for Life
Voice for Life
Voice for Life is New Zealand's oldest and largest pro-life group with branches nationwide. Voice for Life's role is to educate about the humanity of the preborn child, the effects of abortion on women and advocate for social change so that abortion is seen as unthinkable medical homicide...
) and the Society for the Promotion of Community Standards
Society for the Promotion of Community Standards
The Society for the Promotion of Community Standards is a conservative Christian-dominated organisation in New Zealand. The Society's objectives include the encouragement of "self-respect and the dignity of the human person, made in the image of God", the "recognition of the sanctity of human life...
(SPCS) served as a focus for Christian conservatism. Eventually, the conservatives won their initial battles against homosexual law reform, but lost their ongoing battle over abortion during the late seventies and early eighties. For more about the history of the New Zealand abortion-debate, see abortion in New Zealand
Abortion in New Zealand
Abortion in New Zealand is currently legal in cases where the pregnant woman faces a danger to her life, physical or mental health, or if there is a risk of the fetus being handicapped, in the event of the continuation of her pregnancy...
.
Liberal Protestant activism: 1981-2001
Mainline Protestant churches became involved with ending sporting contacts with South Africa during the apartheid era (c. 1948-1994), culminating when many liberal Protestants and Catholics participated in mass protests against the New Zealand Rugby Football Union's 1981 Springbok Tour1981 Springbok Tour
The 1981 South African rugby union tour of New Zealand was a controversial tour of New Zealand by the South Africa national rugby union team, known as "the Springboks"...
of New Zealand. Shortly afterward, many of the same liberal Christians participated in the peace movement
Peace movement
A peace movement is a social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war , minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or type of situation, often linked to the goal of achieving world peace...
of the 1980s, which resulted in New Zealand becoming a declared nuclear free zone in 1987. During the New Zealand 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:...
governments of the 1990s, these liberal Christians became involved in organising against New Right
New Right
New Right is used in several countries as a descriptive term for various policies or groups that are right-wing. It has also been used to describe the emergence of Eastern European parties after the collapse of communism.-Australia:...
cutbacks to social-welfare benefits (cutbacks supported by the New Zealand Business Roundtable
New Zealand Business Roundtable
The New Zealand Business Roundtable , a market-oriented thinktank, operates from Wellington, New Zealand. Businessman Robert McLeod chairs the organisation, with Bill Gallagher MBE, Nick Calavrias and Bill Day as Vice-Chairs. Members, who pay a five-figure subscription fee, represent most of the...
, ACT New Zealand and similar organisations).
Evangelical political activism: 1985-1986: homosexual law reform
In March 1985, when Labour's Fran WildeFran Wilde
The Honorable Fran Wilde QSO , is a New Zealand politician, and former Wellington Labour MP, Minister of Tourism and 31st Mayor of Wellington...
introduced a new homosexual law reform bill, a resurgence of Christian-based political activism occurred. Two National 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,...
s, Graeme Lee
Graeme Lee
Graeme Ernest Lee, MZNM, JP is a former New Zealand politician. Originally a National Party MP, he broke away to found the Christian Democrat Party.-Member of Parliament:...
and Norman Jones
Norman Jones (politician)
Norman Philip Hastings Jones, QSM was a New Zealand National Party politician, who represented the seat of Invercargill in the Parliament of New Zealand from 1975 to 1987....
, organised a petition
Petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer....
against the bill; and Labour MP Geoff Braybrooke
Geoff Braybrooke
Geoffrey Bernard Braybrooke, QSO is a former New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1981 to 2002, representing the Labour Party. He was one of the party's more conservative MPs.-Early years:...
joined them in their campaign. A number of activists from the United States provided advice. At about the same time, the Coalition of Concerned Citizens
Coalition of Concerned Citizens
The Coalition of Concerned Citizens was a New Zealand Christian conservative pressure group, and one of several attempts to form pro-censorship, anti-abortion, anti-gay and sex education opponents into a comprehensive social conservative political coalition...
(CCC) formed, using the motto "For God, Family and Country", while many liberal Anglicans and Methodists formed a "Christians for Homosexual Law Reform" network to counter their efforts.
The campaign against homosexual law reform eventually failed, however, and the bill became law in 1986.
Increased evangelical political activism did, however, set the stage for the emergence of several evangelical Christian political parties during the next twenty-five years (see below).
Evangelical parties
Three New Zealand evangelical Christian political parties emerged in times:- Christian Heritage PartyChristian Heritage New ZealandThe Christian Heritage Party of New Zealand was a New Zealand political party espousing Christian values...
(1989–2006) - Christian Democrat PartyChristian Democrat Party (New Zealand)The Christian Democrat Party of New Zealand was a Christian political party established in 1995. It contested the 1996 general election as part of the Christian Coalition with the Christian Heritage Party....
(founded in 1995) - Destiny New ZealandDestiny New ZealandDestiny 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 breakdown of the traditional family was a primary...
.
Each had its origins in the increased political activism of the 1970s and 1980s. In 2003, controversial Māori Pentecostal minister and televangelist Brian Tamaki
Brian Tamaki
Brian Raymond Tamaki heads Destiny Church, a Pentecostal Christian organisation in New Zealand which advocates strict adherence to fundamentalist biblical morality, and is notable for its position against homosexuality, its patriarchal views and for its calls for a return to biblical conservative...
founded his own political vehicle, Destiny New Zealand. In May 2007, this became rebranded as the Family Party, still with significant input from Destiny Church
Destiny Church
Destiny Church may refer to:*Destiny Church Groningen, a network of churches based in the Netherlands and South America*Destiny Church , a network of churches based in New Zealand...
and another New Zealand Pentecostal religious organisation, City Impact Church
City Impact Church New Zealand
City Impact Church is a Pentecostal church located in East Coast Bays, New Zealand.Formerly known as Bays Christian Fellowship, it was founded in 1982 by current senior pastors Peter Mortlock and his wife Bev Mortlock. It has now grown to around 3000 extended members...
.
Before the Christian Coalition
While many suppose that the Christian Heritage Party took the Christian Heritage Party of CanadaChristian Heritage Party of Canada
The Christian Heritage Party of Canada, also referred to as CHP Canada, is a federal political party that advocates that Canada be governed according to Biblical principles...
(founded 1987) as its model, another strand to its origins may also exist. Many members of the Reformed Churches of New Zealand
Reformed Churches of New Zealand
Reformed Churches of New Zealand is a Reformed Christian denomination in New Zealand. The denomination is constituted of 18 member churches, the first seven of which were formed in 1953. Total membership as of 2007 stands at 3,332.-Form of doctrine:...
became involved in founding the new party, and a model had existed in the Netherlands since 1922, the Political Reformed Party or SGP (Dutch). As Dirk Vanderpyl noted in his denominational history of the Reformed Churches, Trust and Obey (1994), the SGP, ChristenUnie and other Reformed fundamentalist-based political parties were involved in "testimonial party
Testimonial party
Testimonial party is a political party that focuses on its principles, instead of adapting them to local or temporal issues in the pursuit of coalition government participation...
" politics within the Dutch Parliament, based more on principle than concrete political objectives.
The Christian Heritage Party formed in 1989. The driving force behind its creation, Bill van Rij, had had previous involvement in the Coalition of Concerned Citizens
Coalition of Concerned Citizens
The Coalition of Concerned Citizens was a New Zealand Christian conservative pressure group, and one of several attempts to form pro-censorship, anti-abortion, anti-gay and sex education opponents into a comprehensive social conservative political coalition...
. Van Rij took direct inspiration from the Christian Heritage Party of Canada
Christian Heritage Party of Canada
The Christian Heritage Party of Canada, also referred to as CHP Canada, is a federal political party that advocates that Canada be governed according to Biblical principles...
, and believed that a similar party could have success in New Zealand. In January 1988, van Rij and several friends established a steering committee for a new political party based on the Canadian model. In February, a meeting in Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
confirmed the plan, and John Allen, a former National Party candidate, became de facto interim leader. By 20 July 1989, a sufficient number of people had gathered for the party to launch officially. The party took a strict biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
line, and strongly condemned things such as abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
, and the perceived erosion of marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
and the family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
. Shortly after the party's official launch, the Reverend Graham Capill
Graham Capill
Graham John Capill is a former New Zealand Christian leader and politician. He served as the first leader of the now-defunct Christian Heritage Party, stepping down in 2003. In 2005 he was convicted of multiple sexual offences against girls under 12 years of age and sentenced to nine years...
gained appointment as leader
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
, a position he would hold for the next fourteen years.
Religious conservatives gave a mixed reaction to the formation of the Christian Heritage Party. Some groups, such as SPUC
SPUC
Society for the Protection of Unborn Children is a pro-life organisation in the United Kingdom and several other countries.In New Zealand, SPUC changed its name to "Voice for Life" in August 2004...
, welcomed the party. Others, however, believed that an independent Christian conservative party would not succeed, or worse, would split the conservative vote. Graeme Lee
Graeme Lee
Graeme Ernest Lee, MZNM, JP is a former New Zealand politician. Originally a National Party MP, he broke away to found the Christian Democrat Party.-Member of Parliament:...
, a National 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,...
who had fought against homosexual law-reform, did not support the new party, seeing fighting for Christian values within the National Party as more effective. Critics also noted that the party (like its Canadian counterpart) drew heavily on the Reformed Churches of New Zealand
Reformed Churches of New Zealand
Reformed Churches of New Zealand is a Reformed Christian denomination in New Zealand. The denomination is constituted of 18 member churches, the first seven of which were formed in 1953. Total membership as of 2007 stands at 3,332.-Form of doctrine:...
— two thirds of the delegates at its first convention came from this denomination, with the remainder mostly unaffiliated. Yet another criticism saw the party as too extreme.
One controversial issue associated with the Christian Heritage Party centred on the party's rigidly "confessional
Confessionalism (religion)
Confessionalism, in a religious sense, is a belief in the importance of full and unambiguous assent to the whole of a religious teaching...
" nature. Under this policy, all members of the party had to declare themselves as Christians. The Christian Heritage Party saw this requirement as only natural, and as a guarantee of the party's ideological purity. Other Christian activists, however, particularly those with more moderate views, believed that confessionalism unnecessarily restricted the support base of the party. Instead, they advocated a party "based on Christian values", rather than a "Christians Only" party. The non-confessionalists claimed that anyone, even if not actually followers of the Christian religion, could see the benefits of Christian values to society.
As for the Christian Democrats, they had a relatively broader base. In New Zealand, Christchurch's New Life Churches
New Life Churches
New Life Churches International is a Pentecostal Christian church denomination that was formally established in New Zealand in the 1960s. It was led for many years by Rob Wheeler, a New Zealand Evangelist and Peter Morrow, an Australian evangelist...
(then known as "New Life Centres") had a history of recent anti-abortion, anti-feminist and anti-gay activism, from the mid-seventies onward. Like Lee, many had joined the National Party, only to become disillusioned as it rejected social conservatism in favour of a more pluralist model as it sought to reach out to urban liberals. Brett Knowles chronicled the New Life Churches and their denominational history in 1999.
Graeme Lee, the National MP, opposed confessionalism
Confessionalism (religion)
Confessionalism, in a religious sense, is a belief in the importance of full and unambiguous assent to the whole of a religious teaching...
, believing that a party which followed this doctrine would never gain sufficient support. For this reason, among others, Lee, when invited, refused to join the new Christian Heritage Party. Lee had initially disliked the idea of having a separate Christian or Christian-based party at all, believing that remaining with National could prove more effective. In 1993, however, Lee had fallen out with the National Party's leadership
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
, mainly due to losing his ministerial role in a 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...
reshuffle. Lee's demotion, combined with his belief that National had started to become gradually more and more liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
, had prompted him to plan a departure. At this point Christian Heritage contacted Lee and invited him to join the party. According to some accounts, Lee actually received an offer of leadership.
The negotiations between Lee and Christian Heritage eventually broke down, however. The issue of confessionalism, which Lee continued to oppose, remained a major sticking-point. Lee eventually pulled out of the talks, and in 1994, established his own group, known as the United Progressive Party. The prospect of two competing Christian parties alarmed many Christian conservative activists, and repeated attempts took place to get the two sides talking once again, but the issue of confessionalism (as well as several other policy differences that had emerged) made this difficult. In November, however, talks re-opened, partly at the urging of Bill van Rij.
It seemed obvious to both sides that co-operation would bring mutual benefits — Lee had the advantage of a current Parliamentary seat, while the Christian Heritage Party had the advantage of superior organisation and a "grass-roots" network. Policy-issues once again proved difficult, but on 20 December 1994 a proposed agreement finally emerged. The proposal, which needed ratification by both Christian Heritage and the United Progressives, would have seen both parties dissolved, with a new united, non-confessional party set up in their place. Lee reportedly endorsed the plan, and believed that it would succeed. Graham Capill, of Christian Heritage, showed less enthusiasm. Later, a Christian Heritage Party convention rejected the proposal, although it did offer an alliance which would have seen the parties contest the election together. Lee, deeply disappointed at the rejection, refused the alliance. Van Rij also expressed disappointment with the decision.
On 17 May 1995, Lee re-launched his party, calling it the Christian Democrat Party
Christian Democrat Party (New Zealand)
The Christian Democrat Party of New Zealand was a Christian political party established in 1995. It contested the 1996 general election as part of the Christian Coalition with the Christian Heritage Party....
. (The Christian Heritage Party complained to the Electoral Commission
Electoral Commission (New Zealand)
The Electoral Commission of New Zealand is a governmental body responsible for administering certain aspects of the country's electoral system....
that the name too closely resembled their own, but the commission rejected this complaint). The launch of the party went well and generated considerable attention in the media. Lee also received considerable publicity for his attacks on the "Death with Dignity" bill, an attempt by dissident National MP 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...
to legalise euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
.
The Christian Coalition
Occasional attempts at talks between Christian Heritage and the Christian Democrats continued during the early part of 1995, but these proved generally ineffectual. Towards the end of 1995, however, pressure for a united front began to increase substantially. Bill van Rij became particularly prominent in this effort, as did a number of Christian associations which threatened to withhold their endorsement. At the instigation of Murray SmithMurray Smith (New Zealand)
Murray Smith was a New Zealand politician. He was a member of the United Future New Zealand party caucus, having been elected to Parliament as a list MP in the 2002 elections.-Christian Democrats:...
, an Executive Member with Christian Democrats, more talks took place, and eventually decided an alliance possible, with everything split exactly equally between the two parties. The joint party list would alternate between the Christian Democrats and Christian Heritage, beginning with Lee (as a sitting MP) in first place and Capill in second. While the two parties would campaign together, they would function separately in Parliament.
The new Christian Coalition
Christian Coalition (New Zealand)
The Christian Coalition was an Evangelical Christian political party operating in New Zealand. It was an alliance of the now-defunct Christian Heritage Party and the Christian Democrats, New Zealand's two fundamentalist Christian parties...
launched on 29 March 1996. It received considerable public attention, and prospered in opinion-poll
Opinion poll
An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...
s. The Coalition issued its manifesto in September, though — due to an inability to resolve certain differences between the two parties — the manifesto lacked a degree of detail. The Christian Heritage Party expressed a certain amount of dissatisfaction over the manifesto, which it considered "too moderate". Lee and the Christian Democrats, however, strongly believed moderation crucial to electoral success, and that Christian Heritage's more extreme policies would alienate many voters. Even with Lee's attempt at moderation, however, the party's more controversial views tended to receive the most media attention, and many criticised the Coalition as "extremist".
In the 1996 election
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...
itself, the Christian Coalition gained 4.33% of the vote. This fell short of the 5% necessary for 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...
under MMP, and none of the party's electorate candidates won a seat. As many polls had once shown the Coalition as passing the 5% threshold, this result led to disappointment in some circles. Considerable acrimony ensued between Christian Heritage and the Christian Democrats, with both believing that the other had caused the loss. Christian Heritage generally believed that the Christian Democrats had "watered down" the Coalition's message in the name of political pragmatism, surrendering the moral high ground
Moral high ground
The moral high ground, in ethical or political parlance, refers to the status of being respected for remaining moral, and adhering to and upholding a universally recognized standard of justice or goodness...
and giving up the party's clear focus. The Christian Democrats, on the other hand, said that Christian Heritage's extremism and unwillingness to compromise had led to the defeat. Each side essentially blamed the other for dragging the Coalition down.
In May 1997, the Christian Coalition dissolved, and its constituent parties went their separate ways. Shortly afterwards, Bill van Rij left Christian Heritage and joined the Christian Democrats, blaming Capill for the collapse of the Coalition. A number of other senior Christian Heritage members, led by a former Deputy Leader, Geoff Hounsell, also resigned; and the party expelled others. Ex-members joined the Christian Democrats following an unsuccessful attempt to have Christian Heritage agree to a merger with Christian Democrats.
Christian Heritage
The Christian Heritage Party remained somewhat bitter about the collapse of the Christian Coalition. While considerable tension had existed between Christian Heritage and the Christian Democrats, Graham Capill apparently believed a resolution possible. After the Christian Democrats left, however, Christian Heritage re-affirmed all its traditional policies, including those that had seemed too extreme for the Coalition.Christian Heritage stood Ewen McQueen
Ewen McQueen
Ewen McQueen is a New Zealand politician who is currently a member of the New Zealand National Party. He was the third and final leader of Christian Heritage New Zealand, a religious political party in New Zealand that is now defunct.-Early years:...
as its candidate in the 1998 Taranaki-King Country byelection. McQueen out-polled candidates for the larger New Zealand First and Green parties.
Six months before the 1999 general election
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...
, Frank Grover
Frank Grover
Frank Grover is a former New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1996 to 1999, representing first the Alliance and then the Christian Heritage Party in the House of Representatives.-The Liberals:...
, leader of the Liberal Party, a component of the Alliance, defected to Christian Heritage, giving it one seat in Parliament. Grover had won election as an Alliance list MP in 1996. High-profile broadcaster Philip Sherry also joined the party in 1999 and stood in the number 2 position on the party list. Christian Heritage gained 2.4% of the vote in the 1999 election, well short of the threshold for entering Parliament, although enough to make it easily the largest party outside parliament.
In the New Zealand general election, 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...
, Australian political consultant David Elliot, a prominent campaigner against republicanism in Australia
Republicanism in Australia
Republicanism in Australia is a movement to change Australia's status as a constitutional monarchy to a republican form of government. Such sentiments have been expressed in Australia from before federation onward to the present...
, became the campaign manager for Christian Heritage. A strategy developed of focusing on a single electorate, Wairarapa
Wairarapa
Wairarapa is a geographical region of New Zealand. It occupies the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service towns, with Masterton being the largest...
, whereby Christian Heritage could gain entry to parliament and bypass the 5% requirement. However, the result proved disappointing – the party itself gained only 1.4% of the vote, and its Wairarapa candidate, deputy leader Merepeka Raukawa-Tait
Merepeka Raukawa-Tait
Merepeka Raukawa-Tait is a former chief executive of the Women's Refuge organisation of New Zealand. She also stood as a candidate for Parliament, serving briefly as deputy leader of the small Christian Heritage Party.-Early life:...
, came third. Christian Heritage's support defected to United Future New Zealand, a merger of Future New Zealand (a successor to the Christian Democrats) and Peter Dunne's United New Zealand, which had occurred in 2000.
In 2003, Capill stepped down as party leader and Ewen McQueen succeeded him. The party renamed itself simply Christian Heritage New Zealand (CHNZ).
In 2005 a court convicted former leader Capill for the repeated rape and sexual violation of a girl aged eight, and jailed him for nine years.
The new Christian Heritage leadership condemned Capill's conduct.
On 3 October 2006, ex-CHNZ Leader Ewen McQueen announced that Christian Heritage would disband
to allow "new things to arise in Christian politics in New Zealand". This may result in some of its members merging with Destiny New Zealand, whose leader, Richard Lewis, expressed interest in such a possibility. Former Christian Heritage Leader, Ewen McQueen announced that the hypothetical new party would "make a strong and clear stand for the importance of family life, the primacy of marriage and the sanctity of human life."
debate continued over whether Christian Heritage ever amounted to anything more than a "testimonial party
Testimonial party
Testimonial party is a political party that focuses on its principles, instead of adapting them to local or temporal issues in the pursuit of coalition government participation...
". As noted above, this model of politics refers to a particular model of partisan 'politics of principle' that eschews pragmatic political objectives. If this is the case, then there are certain implications. As the Netherlands has a demographically based electoral system, this means that the testimonial party model could rely on Reformed fundamentalist constituencies in Zeeland
Zeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...
, Veluwe
Veluwe
The Veluwe is a forest-rich ridge of hills in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. The Veluwe features many different landscapes including woodland, heath, some small lakes and Europe's largest sand drifts....
and parts of Overijssel
Overijssel
Overijssel is a province of the Netherlands in the central eastern part of the country. The region has a NUTS classification of NL21. The province's name means "Lands across river IJssel". The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle and the largest city is Enschede...
, the Dutch "Bible Belt
Bible Belt (Netherlands)
The Bible Belt is the name given to a strip of land in the Netherlands, which is inhabited chiefly by conservative Protestants...
." However, New Zealand's Mixed Member Proportional electoral system imposes a five percent threshold before a party that has no constituency seat representation can be represented within the New Zealand Parliament, as does its own German model. As CHNZ never cleared that threshold, it may therefore be seen as an imported 'testimonial party' model that did not work in a foreign political context or electoral system.
By contrast, United Future New Zealand worked that same electoral system well. However, Christian Heritage's constitution seemed to rule out Christian Heritage functioning as a purely "testimonial party". While it allowed as an objective of the party to "promote and uphold biblical principles", the constitution went on to state that the party had as a goal to "gain seats in parliament so that it can have a direct influence on legislation, policy, and the governing of New Zealand."
Christian Democrats / Future NZ / The Kiwi Party
The Christian Democrats, by contrast, took a considerably different path. Not long after the Christian Coalition fell apart, Graeme Lee announced that he would step down as leader of the party. He had contemplated retiring for some time, and had already determined that if the Coalition failed he would make his exit from politics. For some considerable period of time the party remained with Lee as temporary leader, as no satisfactory new candidate had emerged. Eventually Anthony WaltonAnthony Walton
Anthony John Walton is a former New Zealand political party president. He was leader of the Future New Zealand party, having previously been a prominent member of Future New Zealand's predecessor, the Christian Democrat Party. Before becoming president, Walton had been on the Christian Democrats'...
became its new leader. Under Walton, the Christian Democrats went even further down the non-confessional path, removing all explicit references to Christianity from their party platform. The party adopted the name "Future New Zealand
Future New Zealand
The Kiwi Party is a New Zealand political party formed in 2007. Briefly known as Future New Zealand, it is a breakaway from the United Future New Zealand party and seeks to carry on the tradition of Future New Zealand. The party was formed when MP Gordon Copeland left United Future after a dispute...
" (rejecting "Future Vision" as a proposed alternative), and positioned itself as a "values-based" rather than as a religion-based party.
Future New Zealand contested the 1999 General Election but gained only 1.1% of the party vote. The party considered becoming an apolitical lobby-group, but led by its General Secretary, Murray Smith
Murray Smith (New Zealand)
Murray Smith was a New Zealand politician. He was a member of the United Future New Zealand party caucus, having been elected to Parliament as a list MP in the 2002 elections.-Christian Democrats:...
, who had instigated discussions with Peter Dunne
Peter Dunne
Peter Dunne is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament who leads the United Future political party. He has served as a Cabinet minister in governments dominated by the centre-left Labour Party as well as by the centre-right National Party...
, the leader of United New Zealand
United New Zealand
United New Zealand was a centrist political party in New Zealand founded in 1995. It merged with the Christian-based Future New Zealand party to form the United Future New Zealand party in 2000.-History:...
and the holder of a "safe" constituency seat, the party decided to explore a coalition with United New Zealand instead. Following further discussions with United, the two parties entered into a coalition to contest the 2002 General Election under the name United Future New Zealand. The group gained 6.7% of the party vote, giving it 8 seats. In 2003 the two parties formally merged. For a time there was debate as to whether to classify the resultant group as a Christian party, but the party's rejection of that label appears to have clarified matters. According to United Future, the party does indeed have a grounding in traditional values, but remains open to anyone who shares those values, not merely to Christians.
In the New Zealand general election, 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...
United Future saw its support slump to 2.67%, leaving it with only 3 MPs. The precise reasons for this remain difficult to identify, but it appears that many former Christian supporters of United Future cast their votes for the National Party in the 2005 election.
In 2006–2007, Peter Dunne decided to vote in favour of a bill banning parental corporal punishment
Corporal punishment
Corporal punishment is a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable...
of children, while his surviving party caucus-members, Gordon Copeland
Gordon Copeland
Gordon Copeland is a New Zealand politician who was a Member of Parliament from 2002 to 2008. He was a list MP for the United Future New Zealand party from 2002 until he resigned from the party in 2007. He is now Party President of The Kiwi Party, which he co-founded with another former United...
and Judy Turner
Judy Turner
Judy Turner is a New Zealand politician who is the deputy leader of United Future New Zealand. She was a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 2002 to 2008 as a list MP.-Member of Parliament:...
voted against it. As a result of Dunne's exercise of his right to a conscience vote
Conscience vote
A conscience vote or free vote is a type of vote in a legislative body where legislators are allowed to vote according to their own personal conscience rather than according to an official line set down by their political party....
over this issue, Gordon Copeland seceded from the United Future caucus. Copeland and former UFNZ List MP Larry Baldock
Larry Baldock
Larry Baldock is a New Zealand politician. He was a member of Parliament for the United Future New Zealand party from 2002 to 2005...
announced their intention to re-form an independent Future New Zealand party (subsequently re-named as The Kiwi Party on 25 January 2008). Baldock has said that over one hundred former UFNZ board members and candidates joined them. However, UFNZ President Denise Krum contested Baldock's assertion over resignations. According to its website, Future New Zealand
Future New Zealand
The Kiwi Party is a New Zealand political party formed in 2007. Briefly known as Future New Zealand, it is a breakaway from the United Future New Zealand party and seeks to carry on the tradition of Future New Zealand. The party was formed when MP Gordon Copeland left United Future after a dispute...
succeeded in enrolling the five hundred party-members required for registration under the Electoral Act 1993. It remains unclear whether these figures represent former disgruntled FNZ members who had quit after the merger with United, or new supporters, possibly from the disintegrated Christian Heritage New Zealand
Christian Heritage New Zealand
The Christian Heritage Party of New Zealand was a New Zealand political party espousing Christian values...
.
In the event, the New Zealand general election, 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...
proved a disappointment for the Kiwi Party. They polled 11,658 votes in total, only 0.54% of the total party votes cast for all New Zealand political parties, and far short of the five-percent threshold required for list-only electoral representation. It even polled behind the avowedly satirical Bill and Ben Party
Bill and Ben Party
The Bill and Ben Party was a New Zealand joke political party formed in 2008 and voluntarily deregistered in 2010. The party's leaders were Jamie Linehan and Ben Boyce of the TV3 satirical sports show Pulp Sport...
.
Destiny New Zealand (2005–2007) and the Family Party (2007)-
In 2003 another Christian party formed in New Zealand: Destiny New ZealandDestiny 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 breakdown of the traditional family was a primary...
, based around the evangelical Destiny Church
Destiny Church
Destiny Church may refer to:*Destiny Church Groningen, a network of churches based in the Netherlands and South America*Destiny Church , a network of churches based in New Zealand...
pastored by controversial figure Brian Tamaki
Brian Tamaki
Brian Raymond Tamaki heads Destiny Church, a Pentecostal Christian organisation in New Zealand which advocates strict adherence to fundamentalist biblical morality, and is notable for its position against homosexuality, its patriarchal views and for its calls for a return to biblical conservative...
. Bishop Tamaki claimed that Destiny would rule New Zealand by 2008, but in the 2005 general election the party only polled 0.6%, far short of the support required to enter Parliament. This was also far short of the over 2% support managed by even the Christian Heritage Party in 1993 and 1999.
In April 2007, Brian Tamaki and Samoan-born evangelical Christian and independent former Labour Party
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....
MP for Mangere
Mangere
Māngere is one of the larger suburbs in South Auckland, in northern New Zealand.The suburb is located on flat land at the northeastern shore of the Manukau Harbour, to the northwest of the centre of Manukau city and 15 kilometres south of Auckland city centre...
Taito Phillip Field
Taito Phillip Field
Taito Phillip Hans Field is a Samoan New Zealand politician. He was a Member of Parliament for south Auckland electorates from 1993 to 2008. Field was a minister outside Cabinet in a Labour-led government from 2003 to 2005. Following charges of bribery and perverting the course of justice, he was...
held talks about a possible rapprochement between Destiny New Zealand and Field's fledgling "Pacific Party".
However, Field was under police investigation for allegedly questionable financial dealings.
On 18 September 2007, Destiny New Zealand announced that it would de-register itself under the terms of the Electoral Act 1993 to allow the formation of a new composite evangelical/fundamentalist political party. This would have become an amalgam of Destiny New Zealand, Future New Zealand
Future New Zealand
The Kiwi Party is a New Zealand political party formed in 2007. Briefly known as Future New Zealand, it is a breakaway from the United Future New Zealand party and seeks to carry on the tradition of Future New Zealand. The party was formed when MP Gordon Copeland left United Future after a dispute...
and Taito Phillip Field, if the latter survived the criminal investigations. Richard Lewis and Gordon Copeland
Gordon Copeland
Gordon Copeland is a New Zealand politician who was a Member of Parliament from 2002 to 2008. He was a list MP for the United Future New Zealand party from 2002 until he resigned from the party in 2007. He is now Party President of The Kiwi Party, which he co-founded with another former United...
would have become joint leaders of the new fundamentalist party. However, reports subsequently emerged that Copeland and Future New Zealand had refused to work alongside Lewis, and had sought to marginalise Brian Tamaki's influence in the proposed new party. This led to recriminations from the National Advisory Committee established to advance this process, including former UFNZ MP Paul Adams
Paul Adams (New Zealand)
Paul Adams is a politician and former rally driving champion from New Zealand.-Early years:Adams was originally a carpenter and joiner, but later established a business manufacturing outdoor playground equipment. Later, he became a professional rally driver, and won three prestigious New Zealand...
and a representative of Field.
Subsequently, Richard Lewis and Paul Adams became co-leaders of the Family Party, which hoped to harness Pacific Island immigrant evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
s in Mangere, South Auckland
South Auckland
South Auckland is an imprecisely defined area of Auckland, New Zealand, often stereotyped as a socio-economically disadvantaged, and sometimes rough, urban area with a relatively large Polynesian and Māori population. The name South Auckland is not an official place name but is in common use by New...
, who traditionally vote for the Labour Party. Jerry Filipaina stood as their Mangere candidate 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...
, running against Taito Phillip Field who had formed the New Zealand Pacific Party
New Zealand Pacific Party
The New Zealand Pacific Party was a Christian political party that existed in New Zealand from 2008 to 2010. The party was founded as a vehicle for former Labour MP Taito Phillip Field, who was subsequently convicted for bribery and corruption...
. The Family Party's hopes proved futile, winning 999 votes in Mangere and coming fourth. Labour's Su'a William Sio
Su'a William Sio
Su'a William Sio is a politician who became a Member of Parliament in the New Zealand House of Representatives on 1 April 2008 as a New Zealand Labour Party list MP. He currently represents the Māngere electorate seat in Parliament....
retook the seat for his party from Taito Phillip Field by 7126 votes. Altogether, the Family Party accumulated only 8176 (0.35%) of total party votes cast in New Zealand.
The New Zealand Pacific Party
New Zealand Pacific Party
The New Zealand Pacific Party was a Christian political party that existed in New Zealand from 2008 to 2010. The party was founded as a vehicle for former Labour MP Taito Phillip Field, who was subsequently convicted for bribery and corruption...
polled only 8640 (0.37 percent) of the total party votes cast, and did not win another anchoring constituency seat, it lacked representation in the 49th New Zealand Parliament. Taito Philip Field was subsequently found guilty of bribery and corruption charges and sentenced to imprisonment.
Māori Christianity
The first significant specifically Christian political party activity in New Zealand came at the behest of the RatanaRatana
The Rātana movement is a Māori religion and pan-tribal political movement founded by Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana in early 20th century New Zealand...
movement. The Ratana Church, established by Māori spiritual leader Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana
T. W. Ratana
Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana was the founder of the Rātana religion in the early 20th century in New Zealand. He rose to prominence as a faith healer.-Beginnings:...
in 1925, gained particularly strong support from Māori of lower socio-economic status. The Ratana movement actively participated in the world of politics, and the first Ratana Member of Parliament gained election in a 1932 by-election
Southern Māori by-election, 1932
The Southern Maori by-election of 1932 was a by-election during the 24th New Zealand Parliament. The election was held on 3 August 1932.The seat of Southern Maori became vacant following the death of the sitting member Tuiti Makitanara....
.
In Parliament, the Ratana movement co-operated closely with the Labour Party
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....
, the rising force in New Zealand politics in the 1930s. In the 1935 elections
New Zealand general election, 1935
The 1935 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 25th term. It resulted in the Labour Party's first electoral victory, with Michael Joseph Savage becoming the first Labour Prime Minister...
, Ratana won two of the four of the Māori seats, and shortly afterwards, allied itself with the Labour Party, which had won the election. The Labour Party and the Ratana movement have remained closely allied since this point, although the alliance has grown strained at times, and both National and the Maori Party also vie for their support.
In years at least one independent attempt has occurred to bring the Ratana religion to politics — the Piri Wiri Tua
Piri Wiri Tua Movement
Piri Wiri Tua Movement is a Māori political party in New Zealand and is based around the Ratana movement. The name "Piri Wiri Tua" was sometimes used by the religion's founder, Tahupotiki Wiremu Ratana, and means The Campaigner...
party, although not part of the Ratana Church, has strong roots in Ratanadom.
See also
- Religion in New ZealandReligion in New ZealandReligion in New Zealand is dominated demographically by Christianity, at just over half of the population at the 2006 New Zealand Census although regular church attendance is probably closer to 15%...
- Politics of New ZealandPolitics of New ZealandThe politics of New Zealand take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy. The basic system is closely patterned on that of the Westminster System, although a number of significant modifications have been made...
- Raven-Taylor-Hales BrethrenRaven-Taylor-Hales BrethrenThe Raven–Taylor–Hales Brethren are a protestant sect, and a branch of the Exclusive Brethren. These Brethren hold an uncompromising 'separatist' doctrine and their practice has steadily evolved differently from other Brethren groups and also from mainstream Christianity.Most Australian and New...
(Exclusive Brethren)