New Zealand First Party Aotearoa Tuatahi
Leader	Winston Peters
President	Dail Jones
Deputy	Peter Brown
Number of MPs in the House of Representatives	7
Founded	1993
Headquarters	Parliament Buildings Wellington
Political Ideology	Nationalism, Conservatism, Populism (disputed)
International Affiliation	Not Affiliated
Colours	Black
Website	www.nzfirst.org.nz
See also:	Politics & Government Sovereign Governor-General House of Representatives Speaker of the House of Representatives Political parties Prime Minister Cabinet Elections Māori politics Foreign relations

New Zealand First, a political party in New Zealand, has had members in the New Zealand House of Representatives since 1993. Winston Raymond Peters (born April 11, 1945) is a New Zealand politician and leader of New Zealand First, a Political party he Dail Michael John Jones QSO (born 7 July 1944) is a New Zealand politician Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) Wellington (ˈwælɪŋtən is the Capital of New Zealand, the country's second largest urban area, the The term nationalism can refer to an Ideology, a sentiment, a form of Culture, or a Social movement that focuses on the Nation Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined Populism is a discourse which supports "the people" versus "the Elites " Populism may involve either a political philosophy urging social and political The politics of New Zealand takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic Monarchy. TalkCommonewalth realm.--> New Zealand The Governor-General of New Zealand (Te Kawana Tianara o Aotearoa is the representative of the Sovereign in right of New Zealand (currently Queen The New Zealand House of Representatives is the Legislature of New Zealand. In New Zealand the Speaker of the House of Representatives is the individual who chairs the country's legislative body the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand national politics feature a pervasive Party system. The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's Head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in The New Zealand Cabinet functions as the policy and decision-making body of the Executive branch within the New Zealand government system Members of New Zealand 's House of Representatives, commonly called " Parliament " normally gain their parliamentary seats through nationwide general Māori politics is the Politics of the Māori people who were the original inhabitants of New Zealand and who are now the country's largest minority The foreign relations of New Zealand are oriented chiefly toward developed democratic nations and emerging Pacific economies A political party is a Political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within Government, usually by participating in electoral New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island The New Zealand House of Representatives is the Legislature of New Zealand. Commentators dispute the appropriate classification of the party on the traditional political spectrum, but New Zealanders might arguably associate it with advocacy of senior citizens' benefits, and opposition to immigration, especially from Asia. A political spectrum (plural Spectra) is a way of modeling different political positions by placing them upon one or more geometric axes Old age consists of ages nearing or surpassing the Average life span of Human beings and thus the end of the human life cycle. Immigration refers to the movement of people among countries While the movement of people has existed throughout human history at various levels modern immigration implies long-term

The party's founder, Winston Peters, a former New Zealand National Party cabinet minister, resigned from his former party in 1992 and founded New Zealand First in 1993. Winston Raymond Peters (born April 11, 1945) is a New Zealand politician and leader of New Zealand First, a Political party he The New Zealand National Party ("National" or "the Nats" currently forms the second-largest (in terms of parliamentary seats Political party A minister or a secretary is a Politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional Government. As of 2008 he continues to lead the political/parliamentary wing of the party. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common

Contents 1 Policies 2 The Maori vote 3 History 3.1 1993 election 3.2 1996 election 3.3 Coalition with National 1996- 1998 3.4 Return to opposition, 1998 3.5 1999 General Election 3.6 2002 General Election 3.7 2005 General Election 4 Office-holders 5 See also 6 External links 7 Footnotes

Policies

In the 2002 election campaign, New Zealand First focused on three primary policies:

1. reducing immigration (especially immigration by Asians), with the aim of preserving New Zealand's culture. The 2002 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 47th New Zealand Parliament.
2. attempting to bring crime under control by increasing judicial sentences and increasing police presence.
3. reducing payments related to the settlements process for the Treaty of Waitangi. The Treaty of Waitangi ( Māori: Tiriti o Waitangi) is a Treaty first signed on February 6, 1840, by representatives of the British

The Party espouses a mixture of economic policies. Economics is the social science that studies the production distribution, and consumption of goods and services. It opposes the privatisation of state assets (particularly to overseas buyers), which might align it with views generally found on the left of New Zealand politics. Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of business from the Public sector (government to the Private sector (business On the other hand, it favours reducing taxation (a policy typical of the New Zealand right) and tends to espouse quite conservative views on social issues. In Politics, right-wing, the political right, and the Right are positions that uphold traditional values and/or authorities Rather than defining the party's precise position on the left-right spectrum, some commentators simply label NZ First as "populist" — in line with its emphasis on direct democracy and on popular referendums. Left-right politics or the Left-right political spectrum is a common way of classifying political positions political ideologies, or political parties Populism is a discourse which supports "the people" versus "the Elites " Populism may involve either a political philosophy urging social and political Direct Democracy is a movement within the British Conservative Party dedicated to localism and Constitutional reform as a means of reviving public A referendum (plural referendums or referenda) ballot question, or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita

Senior party members have caused controversy with their remarks on Asian immigration. Winston Peters has expressed the opinion on several occasions that the rate of Asian immigration in New Zealand is too high; in 2004, he stated: "We are being dragged into the status of an Asian colony and it is time that New Zealanders were placed first in their own country. Winston Raymond Peters (born April 11, 1945) is a New Zealand politician and leader of New Zealand First, a Political party he "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " "^[1] On April 26, 2005, he said: "Maori will be disturbed to know that in 17 years' time they will be outnumbered by Asians in New Zealand", an estimate refuted by Statistics New Zealand, the government's statistics bureau. This article discusses the Māori people of New Zealand For their language see Māori language, and for other meanings see Māori (disambiguation. ^[2] In April 2008, deputy party leader Peter Brown drew widespread criticism after voicing similar views and expressing concern at the increase in New Zealand's ethnic Asian population: "We are going to flood this country with Asian people with no idea what we are going to do with them when they come here. International holidays and other major events April 1 - April Fools' Day April 4 - Qingming Festival (Mainland "^[3] Politicians Keith Locke (Green) and Peter Dunne (United Future) responded by accusing Brown of being a racist. Keith Locke (born 1944 is a current New Zealand MP representing the Green Party who was first elected to parliament in 1999. The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is a Political party in the New Zealand parliament. Peter Dunne (born 17 March 1954) a New Zealand Politician and Member of Parliament leads the United Future Political party. United Future New Zealand is a New Zealand Political party. As of 2008 it has two members of the New Zealand Parliament – party leader Peter Dunne ^[4] The National Party issued a statement stating that it disagreed with New Zealand First's views. The New Zealand National Party ("National" or "the Nats" currently forms the second-largest (in terms of parliamentary seats Political party ^[5] Similarly, business leaders from the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Northern Employers and Manufacturers Association underlined Asian New Zealanders' contributions to the economy, likened Brown to Pauline Hanson^[6], and denounced what they referred to as racial stereotyping. Pauline Lee Hanson ( née Seccombe; born 27 May 1954) is an Australian Politician and former leader of Pauline Hanson's Winstons Peters stated that he supported Browns' comments, and that New Zealand First was "not anti-Asian". ^[7] Brown's views were commented on by the media in Malaysia^[8], Australia^[9], China^[10] and South Africa^[11]. For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Fairfax New Zealand hinted at political motives, and commented: "NZ First has revived its attack on Asian migration as its fortunes flag. Fairfax New Zealand is New Zealand 's largest media company, best known for its daily publication The Press in Christchurch (voted "^[12]

The Maori vote

The New Zealand First Party has a part-Maori leader, once held all the then available Maori seats, and continues to receive significant support from voters registered in Maori seats. The word leadership can refer to Those entities that perform one or more acts of leading In New Zealand politics, the Māori Seats, a special category of electorate, give reserved positions to representatives of Māori But as a party, New Zealand First does not support the retention of the Maori seats and has declared that it will not stand candidates in the Maori seats in the future. It did not stand candidates in the Maori seats in the 2002 General Election or in the 2005 General Election. The 2002 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. The 2005 New Zealand general election took place on 17 September 2005 and determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament.

History

1993 election

New Zealand First emerged as a political grouping in 1993, shortly before the that year's general election. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) The 1993 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament. Peters, the MP for the seat of Tauranga and a former Minister of Maori Affairs, had left the National Party after disputes with its leadership, but Tauranga voters had re-elected him in a special by-election as an independent. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. for the electorate see Tauranga (NZ electorate Tauranga (population 114500 2007 estimate after status was lost after 1989 Local The New Zealand National Party ("National" or "the Nats" currently forms the second-largest (in terms of parliamentary seats Political party The word leadership can refer to Those entities that perform one or more acts of leading The Tauranga by-election was a By-election in the New Zealand electorate of Tauranga, a city in New Zealand's North Island.

In the following general election Peters held onto Tauranga. Tau Henare, another New Zealand First candidate, won the Northern Maori seat, giving the party a total of two MPs. Early life Henare was born and educated in Auckland. Before entering politics he held a number of governmental and consultancy positions including advisory roles at the This did much to counter the perception of New Zealand First as merely a personality-driven vehicle for Peters.

1996 election

With the switch to the MMP electoral system for the 1996 elections, smaller parties could gain a share of seats proportional to their share of the vote. Mixed member proportional representation, also termed mixed-member proportional voting and commonly abbreviated to MMP, is an ' additional member ' The 1996 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament. This enabled New Zealand First to win 13% of the vote and 17 seats, including all five Maori seats. In New Zealand politics, the Māori Seats, a special category of electorate, give reserved positions to representatives of Māori New Zealand First's five Maori MPs — Henare (the party's deputy leader), Tuku Morgan, Rana Waitai, Tu Wyllie and Tuariki Delamere — became known as the "Tight Five". Rana Donald Waitai is a former New Zealand politician He was an MP from 1996 to 1999. Tuariki John Delamere (born 9 December 1951) is a former New Zealand politician The Tight Five was a nickname given to the five Māori elected to the New Zealand Parliament in 1996 from the centrist/nationalist New Zealand First The election result put New Zealand First in a powerful position just three years after its formation. Neither of the two traditional major parties (National and Labour) had enough seats to govern alone, and only New Zealand First had enough seats to become a realistic coalition-partner for either. The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party This placed the relatively new party in a position where it could effectively choose the next prime minister. The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's Head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in

New Zealand First entered into negotiations with both major parties. Before the election, most people (including many New Zealand First voters) had expected Peters to enter into coalition with Labour. In fact, he harshly attacked his former National colleagues during the campaign, and appeared to promise that he would not even consider going into coalition with them.

Coalition with National 1996- 1998

However, to the surprise of the electorate, which had apparently voted for New Zealand First in order to get rid of National, Peters decided to enter a coalition with National, enabling and becoming part of the third term of the fourth National government. The Fourth National Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 2 November 1990 to 27 November 1999 The most common explanation for this decision involved National's willingness to accept New Zealand First's demands (and/or Labour's refusal to do so). However, Michael Laws (a former National Party MP who served as a New Zealand First campaign-manager) claims that Peters had secretly decided to go with National significantly before this time, and that he merely used negotiations with Labour to encourage more concessions from National. Michael Laws (born 1957 a New Zealand politician broadcaster and columnist served two terms as a Member of the New Zealand Parliament, representing the National

Whatever the case, New Zealand First exacted a high price from incumbent Prime Minister Jim Bolger in return for allowing him to stay in power. Rt Hon James Brendan "Jim" Bolger, ONZ (born 31 May 1935) was Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1990 to 1997 Winston Peters would serve as Deputy Prime Minister, and would also hold the specially-created office of Treasurer (senior to the Minister of Finance). The Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand is second most senior officer in the Government of New Zealand, although this seniority does not necessarily translate The Minister of Finance is a senior figure within the Government of New Zealand. The National Party also made considerable concessions on policy.

Initially, New Zealand First had a relatively smooth coalition relationship with National. Despite early concerns about the ability of Peters to work with Bolger, who had sacked Peters from a former National cabinet, the two, who had signed off on a detailed coalition agreement, did not have major problems.

New Zealand First had graver concerns about the behaviour of some of its MPs, whom opponents accused of incompetence and extravagant spending. Many people came to the conclusion that the party's minor MPs had come into parliament merely to provide votes for Peters, and would not make any real contributions themselves. A particularly damaging scandal involved Morgan.

Gradually, however, the coalition tensions became more significant than problems of party discipline. This became increasingly the case after Transport Minister Jenny Shipley gained enough support within the National caucus to force Bolger's resignation and become Prime Minister (8 December 1997). Jennifer Mary Shipley, DCNZM, (born 4 February 1952, Gore New Zealand) was the Prime Minister of New Zealand from December Events 1609 - Biblioteca Ambrosiana opens its reading room the second public library of Europe. Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar The tensions between the two parties also rose as New Zealand First adopted a more aggressive approach to promoting its policies (including those that National would not implement). This new attitude probably fed off New Zealand First's poor performance in opinion polls, which (to Peters) indicated that the party's success rested on its confrontational style. Many commentators believe that Peters performs better in opposition than in Government. Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government particularly in a Westminster -based Parliamentary system

On 14 August 1998, Shipley sacked Peters from Cabinet. Events 1183 - Taira no Munemori and the Taira clan take the young Emperor Antoku and the three sacred treasures Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) This occurred after an ongoing dispute about a relatively minor matter (the sale of the government's stake in Wellington International Airport). The issue itself appeared merely the outward manifestation of much deeper disagreement.

Return to opposition, 1998

Peters immediately broke off the coalition with National. However, several other MPs, unwilling to follow Peters out of government, tried to replace Peters with Henare. This caucus-room coup failed, and most of these MPs joined Henare in forming a new party, Mauri Pacific, while others established themselves as independents. Mauri Pacific (literally meaning "spirit of the Pacific " was a short-lived Political party in New Zealand. Many of these MPs had previously come under public scrutiny for their behaviour. Until 1999, however, they provided National with enough support to continue on without the rump New Zealand First. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar)

1999 General Election

In the 1999 elections the voters gave New Zealand First a severe mauling. The 1999 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 46th session of the New Zealand Parliament. Some voters had apparently not forgiven Peters for going into coalition with National after being led to believe that a vote for him would help get rid of National. The party gained only 4% of the vote, and would not have received any seats in Parliament had Peters not held onto his electorate seat of Tauranga. (Under New Zealand's MMP rules, a party must either win an electorate seat or 5% of the vote to qualify for representation. ) Peters held his Tauranga seat by a mere 63 votes, and New Zealand First received (by proportionality) only five seats in total.

2002 General Election

By the election of 2002, however, the party had rebuilt much of its support. The 2002 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. This occurred largely due to Peters' three-point campaign against immigration, Treaty costs, and crime. The party won 10% of the vote - a considerable improvement on its previous performance (although still not as good as its performance in 1996), and New Zealand First won thirteen seats in parliament. Winston Peters' campaign phrase "can we fix it? yes we can" gained much media attention, as the same line appears in theme music for the children's television programme Bob The Builder. Bob the Builder is a Children's television character created by Keith Chapman.

It appears that New Zealand First had hoped to play in 2002 a similar role to the one it had in 1996, where it found itself able to give power to either Labour or National depending on which offered the best deal. However, National's vote had collapsed to the extent that it could not form a government even with New Zealand First's support, depriving the party of its negotiating advantage. In the end, however, this proved irrelevant, as Labour refused to consider an alliance with New Zealand First in any case. Instead, Labour relied on support from the newly-significant United Future Party. United Future New Zealand is a New Zealand Political party. As of 2008 it has two members of the New Zealand Parliament – party leader Peter Dunne Peters appeared angry over this.

After the 2002 election New Zealand First continued to promote its policies strongly. In light of National's decreased strength, New Zealand First attempted to gain more prominence in Opposition, frequently attacking the Labour Coalition government on a wide range of issues. Speculation has occurred on efforts to create a more united front linking New Zealand First, National, and ACT, but Peters has rejected this scenario, saying that the New Zealand voters will decide what alliances are necessary (even though New Zealand never votes directly on preferred coalitions). The New Zealand political party ACT New Zealand (commonly known as "Act" and pronounced to rhyme with "fact" though internal image-makers push the phrase Unlike ACT, which pursues the role of the "natural" right-wing coalition partner to National, New Zealand First welcomes coalition with any major party, regardless of the political spectrum.

For a period in early 2004 New Zealand First experienced a brief decline in the polls after Don Brash became leader of the National Party, a change which hugely revived National's previously fallen fortunes. Dr Donald Thomas Brash (born 24 September 1940) a former New Zealand politician served as the Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader The votes that had apparently previously switched to New Zealand First from National seemed to return to support Brash, and many commentators predicted that New Zealand First would lose a number of its seats in the next election. By 2005 however the proportions had changed again, and as the campaign for the September 2005 election got under way, New Zealand First had again reached the 10% mark in political polling.

Pre-election polls put New Zealand First ahead of the other minor parties. Some thought it likely that in the event of a National minority, unless ACT's fortunes could dramatically improve; Brash would have to form a second coalition or seek a support agreement with New Zealand First to be able to form a Government. Peters announced (in his "Rotorua speech") that he would support the party that won the most seats, or at least abstain in no-confidence motions against it. Rotorua is a city on the southern shore of Lake Rotorua in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand, and Rotorua A motion of no confidence (also vote of no confidence, censure motion, no-confidence motion, or confidence motion) is a Parliamentary motion However, he also said he would not support any government that included the Greens within the Cabinet. The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is a Political party in the New Zealand parliament.

2005 General Election

In the 2005 elections, however, the smaller political parties (including New Zealand First) suffered a severe mauling. The 2005 New Zealand general election took place on 17 September 2005 and determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. Though it remained the third-largest party in the House, New Zealand First took only 5. 72 percent of the vote, a considerable loss from 2002, and just barely enough to cross the MMP proportionality quota of 5%. In addition, Peters narrowly lost his previously safe constituency seat of Tauranga by 730 votes to National's Bob Clarkson, and became a list MP. A safe seat is a seat in a legislative body (eg Congress Parliament City Council which is regarded as fully secured either by a certain Political party, the Tauranga is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate. It is currently held by Bob Clarkson MP who is retiring from politics after one term Bob Clarkson, CNZM (born 1939 in Gisborne) is the retiring former National Party MP for Tauranga in the current Parliament of New Zealand A list MP is a Member of Parliament (MP who is elected from a Party list rather than from a geographical constituency

New Zealand First currently has seven MPs, all elected on the party list:

1. Winston Peters
2. Peter Brown
3. Brian Donnelly
4. Ron Mark
5. Doug Woolerton
6. Barbara Stewart
7. Pita Paraone

Following the 2005 election, New Zealand First agreed to a supply-and-confidence agreement with the Labour Party (along with United Future) in return for policy concessions and the post of Foreign Minister (outside Cabinet) for Peters. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Winston Raymond Peters (born April 11, 1945) is a New Zealand politician and leader of New Zealand First, a Political party he For the American Congressman see Brian J Donnelly. For the UK diplomat see Brian Donnelly (UK diplomat. Controversy The New Zealand television channel TV3 was banned for 3 days from filming in Parliament in August 2006 for showing Mark repeatedly pulling his This article is about a politician from New Zealand There is also a Barbara Stewart, an American composer and Kazoo performer In a Parliamentary democracy confidence and supply are required for a Government to hold power United Future New Zealand is a New Zealand Political party. As of 2008 it has two members of the New Zealand Parliament – party leader Peter Dunne The Minister of Foreign Affairs is a major ministerial portfolio in the government of New Zealand. The New Zealand Cabinet functions as the policy and decision-making body of the Executive branch within the New Zealand government system Some reaction^[13] to Peters' becoming Minister of Foreign Affairs detected a change in his attitude since the "Rotorua speech",^[14] which had spoken of sitting on the cross-benches (and thus staying out of government) and eschewing "the baubles of office". In certain legislative assemblies, especially those which are based on the Westminster system, a crossbencher is a member of the assembly who is a member of neither

Soon after the 2005 election Peters launched a legal challenge against Bob Clarkson. The case alleged that Clarkson had spent more than the legal limit allowed for campaign-budgets during elections in New Zealand. This legal bid ultimately failed, with a majority of the judges in the case declaring that Clarkson had not overspent.

Office-holders

• Parliamentary leader:
  • Winston Peters, 1993 -
• Deputy parliamentary leader:
  • Tau Henare, 1993 - 1998
  • Peter Brown, 1998 -
• Party President:
  • Doug Woolerton, 1993 - 2005
  • Dail Jones, 2005 -

See also

• NZ First Party's Caucus and NZ First MPs' responsibilities
• New Zealand First Candidates in 2005 General Election

External links

• New Zealand First Official Website

Footnotes

2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats the combined army of Pompeian followers and Numidians under Metellus Scipio

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