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Vision NZ
LeaderHannah Tamaki
SecretaryAnne Williamson
Founded23 May 2019 (2019-05-23)
Headquarters44 Bob Charles Drive, Golflands, Botany, Auckland
IdeologyChristian fundamentalism
Christian nationalism
Christian right
Right-wing populism
Reactionarism
Political positionFar-right[1][2]
ReligionDestiny Church
National affiliationFreedoms New Zealand
Colours  Black
  Blue
MPs in the House of Representatives
0 / 120
Website
vision.org.nz

Vision NZ is a nationalist political party in New Zealand led by Hannah Tamaki, the co-leader of the fundamentalist Christian movement Destiny Church.[3][4][5] Its policies have included opposition to abortion, homosexuality, immigration, and the construction of new mosques. It has supported creating a Māori-owned bank and Tūhoe ownership of Te Urewera, and has called for government funding for Destiny Church programmes.

The party was announced in May 2019. It contested the 2020 New Zealand general election both for electorate seats and the party-list vote, receiving 0.1% of the party vote and winning no seats. After the Freedoms New Zealand party formed in 2022, Vision NZ was registered as a component party of Freedoms NZ. At the 2023 election, Freedoms NZ was unsuccessful in winning any seats.

History

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Earlier parties associated with the Tamakis

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See also: Destiny Church (New Zealand) and Destiny New Zealand

Destiny Church was founded by Brian Tamaki in 1998[6] and is led by Brian and his wife Hannah Tamaki.[5] Destiny New Zealand, a socially conservative Christian political party, was formed in 2003.[7] The party contested the 2005 New Zealand general election; it received just over 14,000 party votes, or 0.62%, and won no seats.[8] It was deregistered as a political party in 2007.[9] The official founder and former leader of the Destiny Party, Richard Lewis, created the Family Party in 2007.[10] The Destiny Church supported the Family Party in the 2008 New Zealand general election.[5] It won no seats[11] and was deregistered in 2010.[12]

Creation and registration

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On 23 May 2019, Hannah and Brian Tamaki announced the creation of a new party, at the time called Coalition New Zealand, with Hannah Tamaki to lead the party. She would not talk about policies at the announcement.[5] Brian described the aim of the party to become a vehicle for the "silent majority" to express their beliefs.[5] The party had not created a website, and in the days following the announcement, a number of other people registered relevant domain names and social media handles to stymie the party.[13][14]

On 10 July 2019 the party applied to the Electoral Commission for registration.[15] On 16 August the Electoral Commission refused registration on the grounds that the party's name and logo was likely to mislead voters.[16][17] In October 2019, the party announced a new name, Vision NZ, and a new logo, and applied to the Electoral Commission for registration again.[18] The registration was confirmed on 4 December.[19]

The party received a broadcasting allocation of $51,821 for the 2020 election.[20]

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In February 2020, Hannah Tamaki was understood to be a contestant on the upcoming Dancing with the Stars television show.[21] Later that month, media company MediaWorks New Zealand announced that while Tamaki was originally going to be on the show, it had changed its mind and formally announced she was not to be in the show. A MediaWorks speaker said that "we have seen a very strong reaction, some of which has been extreme and concerning and MediaWorks does not condone bullying. We would be failing in our duty of care to everyone if we continued as planned."[22]

After a TV presenter commented on Tamaki's inclusion in Dancing with the Stars, Vision NZ's campaign manager Jevan Goulter made a post on Facebook about the presenter. The post breached Facebook's community guidelines, media site Stuff declined to publish them, and as of February 2020 police were assessing a complaint laid about the post. Tamaki fired Goulter for these comments.[23][24] Tamaki was asked by a journalist about similar comments by her husband Brian, who referred to "venomous, dirty liberal left, sexually confused antichrists", but Mrs Tamaki said she was not responsible for her husband's comments as they are not related to Vision NZ.[25]

2020 election campaign

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By December 2019, the leaders of both major parties, Labour and National, had ruled out working with Vision NZ.[26] In July 2020 it rejected a merger offer from the New Zealand Public Party.[27]

Vision submitted a party list of five people for the 2020 general election, tied for the shortest list with the Heartland Party.[28] All five also contested electorates, including Hannah Tamaki in the electorate of Waiariki.[29][30]

By September 2020, Vision NZ had only registered in one Colmar Brunton poll, receiving 0.1% of support in its May 2020 poll. In all other polls it had not registered any support.[31][32] An electorate poll for the Waiariki seat conducted in September 2020 showed that Vision NZ's leader, Hannah Tamaki, was only polling at 2%, compared to Labour's Tāmati Coffey at 38% and the Māori Party's Rawiri Waititi at 26%.[33]

Vision New Zealand received 4,236 party votes at the 2020 election, or 0.1%.[34] Hannah Tamaki received 1,171 electorate votes in Waiariki (4% of the electorate vote), coming third behind Rawiri Waititi and Tāmati Coffey.[35] Vision NZ won no seats, but Hannah Tamaki claimed after the election that her goal had always been to unseat Labour's candidate Coffey from the Waiariki electorate, and since that seat was won by Waititi, the party had achieved that goal.[36]

Alliance with Freedoms New Zealand and 2023 campaign

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During the occupation of Parliament in August 2022, Brian Tamaki announced the creation of a new political party, Freedoms New Zealand.[37] Vision NZ was announced at the same time to be involved with the party, and Vision has since been officially registered as a component party of Freedoms NZ.[38]

On 31 May Vision NZ, in conjunction with other parties associated with Freedoms NZ, sought a judicial review of the Electoral Commission's broadcasting funding decision. The commission had allocated broadcasting funds to Freedoms NZ collectively rather than as individual political parties. Vision NZ and the other plaintiffs argued that the Broadcasting Act 1989 did not clearly define what was a "group of parties" and that the Electoral Commission had not published a clear criteria for how their parties had joined forces.[39][40] The New Zealand High Court dismissed the plaintiffs' claims.[41]

On 13 July 2023, Hannah Tamaki announced that Vision NZ would be contesting all seven Māori electorates during the 2023 New Zealand general election as part of the Freedom NZ coalition. Tamaki stood as the party's candidate in the Tāmaki Makaurau electorate.[42]

Final results from the 2023 New Zealand general election showed that Freedoms New Zealand received 0.33% of the party vote and did not win any electorate seats, meaning it will not enter parliament.[43] Hannah Tamaki came last of five candidates in the Tāmaki Makaurau electorate, with 829 votes compared to the winning Te Pāti Māori candidate Takutai Tarsh Kemp's 10,050 votes.[44]

Policies

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Vision NZ has been described as a Christian party[4][45] and a "Destiny Church-derived party",[16] but Hannah Tamaki has insisted that Vision NZ is not a Christian party, saying that "people don't have to go to church to be members of Vision New Zealand, they don't have to go to church to vote for Vision New Zealand."[3][46]

Vision opposes both abortion and homosexuality.[4] Hannah Tamaki says that being gay is "wrong",[22] though when discussing her opposition to gay MP Tāmati Coffey she said "If you do the work, I don’t care what you do, it’s your private life. I choose to live my Christian faith, and I don’t force that on anybody else."[36] Brian Tamaki has said that homosexuality is a sin and has maintained there is a link between homosexuality and natural disasters.[22]

Hannah Tamaki has called for a ban on the construction of new mosques.[47] The party opposes immigration and has promised to ban all immigration and refugees for two years, although Tamaki backtracked on this, saying there would not be a total ban on refugees.[46] It also seeks to remove the right of permanent residents to vote.[48]

Vision has supported greater financial autonomy for Māori people, including a Māori-owned bank and Tūhoe ownership of Te Urewera. Vision has called for government funding for Destiny Church programmes.[49]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Manch, Thomas (7 July 2019). "Populist and far-right rhetoric gains currency in New Zealand's political fringe". Stuff.
  2. ^ Peters, Tom (2 July 2019). "New Zealand media promote new far-right Christian party". World Socialist Web Site.
  3. ^ a b Jamie Ensor (23 May 2019). "Hannah Tamaki to lead new political party Coalition New Zealand". Newshub. Retrieved 23 May 2019. On Thursday, Hannah was announced as the leader of the party, saying it is not a party just for Christians but for everyone who feels frustrated with the current Government. Brian promised the party would be a 'vehicle' for the 'silent majority' to express their beliefs.
  4. ^ a b c "Party profile: Vision NZ". Your complete guide to NZ Election 2020 — Policy. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e Melanie Earley (23 May 2019). "Destiny Church launches political party, promising 'politics with teeth'". Stuff. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  6. ^ "14 things you might not know about Destiny Church". The New Zealand Herald. 17 October 2017. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  7. ^ Taylor, Kevin (27 May 2003). "Evangelist's church spawns Christian political party". The New Zealand Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Official Count Results – Overall Status". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  9. ^ "Destiny Church widening political scope". Newstalk ZB. 17 September 2007. Archived from the original on 15 October 2008. Retrieved 17 September 2007.
  10. ^ "Another Christian political party announced". New Zealand Herald. 17 October 2007. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Official Count Results – Overall Status". electionresults.govt.nz. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  12. ^ "Amendments to the Registers of Political Parties and Logos". Archived from the original on 14 May 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  13. ^ "Chase star Paul Sinha takes a parting swipe at Brian and Hannah Tamaki". Stuff. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  14. ^ "Kiwis continue to troll the Tamakis' Coalition Party, snapping up domain names". Stuff. 25 May 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  15. ^ "Application to register Coalition New Zealand party and logo". New Zealand Electoral Commission. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  16. ^ a b Hutt, Kendall (16 August 2019). "Electoral Commission refuses to register Destiny Church-derived party, Coalition NZ". Stuff. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  17. ^ "Hannah Tamaki's Coalition NZ Party denied party registration". The New Zealand Herald. 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  18. ^ Walls, Jason (2 October 2019). "Destiny Church's Hannah Tamaki registers new political party name Vision NZ". The New Zealand Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Archived from the original on 9 March 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  19. ^ "Registration of political parties and logos". Electoral Commission. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  20. ^ "2020 Broadcasting Allocation Decision Released". Electoral Commission. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  21. ^ "'Dancing with the Stars' could wrong-foot aspiring politician Hannah Tamaki". RNZ. 24 February 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  22. ^ a b c "Mediaworks confirms Hannah Tamaki will not be on Dancing with the Stars". RNZ. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  23. ^ Downes, Siobhan (25 February 2020). "Hannah Tamaki sacks campaign manager following 'hate speech' against Kanoa Lloyd". Stuff. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  24. ^ Downes, Siobhan (25 February 2020). "Hannah Tamaki's campaign manager sacked as police consider social media complaint". Stuff. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  25. ^ Checkpoint (25 February 2020). "Hannah Tamaki condemns attack post but dismisses husband Brian's similar post". RNZ. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  26. ^ O'Brien, Tova (16 December 2019). "Ardern, Bridges rule out working with Hannah Tamaki's Vision NZ". MSN. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  27. ^ "Public Party praying for electoral lifeline". Waatea News. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  28. ^ "Parties | Vote NZ". vote.nz. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  29. ^ "Vision NZ leader Hannah Tamaki to run for seat in general election". RNZ. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  30. ^ "Our Team". Vision New Zealand. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  31. ^ "1 NEWS Colmar Brunton Poll: 16 – 20 May 2020" (PDF). 21 May 2020. p. 6.
  32. ^ "1 NEWS Colmar Brunton Poll: 23–27 September 2020" (PDF). 28 September 2020. p. 6.
  33. ^ "Undecided vote leaves Waiariki seat up for grabs". Maori TV. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  34. ^ "2020 General Election and Referendums – Official Result". Electoral Commission. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  35. ^ "Waiariki – Official Result". Electoral Commission. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  36. ^ a b Maxwell, Joel (28 October 2020). "Election 2020: Good God! Destiny Church's Hannah Tamaki fulfills 'goal' to unseat Labour MP". Stuff. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  37. ^ "Brian Tamaki announces new political party". NZ Herald. 22 August 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  38. ^ "Register of political parties". Elections. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  39. ^ Griffiths, Ethan (31 May 2023). "Sue Grey and Brian Tamaki launch High Court action over election campaign funding". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  40. ^ "Minor parties sue over election broadcasting advertising funding". Stuff. 20 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  41. ^ The High Court of New Zealand (17 July 2023). "New Zealand Outdoors and Freedom Party v the Electoral Commission [2023] NZHC 1823" (PDF).
  42. ^ Los'e, Joseph (13 July 2023). "It's Tamaki for Tamaki as Pastor Hannah stands in Auckland and reveals Vision NZ to contest seven Māori seats". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 23 July 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  43. ^ "2023 General Election - Official Result". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 4 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  44. ^ "Tāmaki Makaurau - Official Result". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 8 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  45. ^ Eleven, Beck (25 May 2019). "I don't see Brian and Hannah Tamaki's Christian party lasting long". Stuff. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  46. ^ a b Scotcher, Katie (10 September 2020). "An introduction to 'The Outliers': The political parties who aren't in the daily headlines". Radio New Zealand. Archived from the original on 14 December 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  47. ^ "Destiny Church's Hannah Tamaki calls for ban on new mosques". The New Zealand Herald. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  48. ^ Vision NZ (24 October 2019). "Only NZ citizens should vote". Scoop. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  49. ^ "Hannah Tamaki announces Vision NZ policies". Otago Daily Times. Allied Press. 18 June 2020. Archived from the original on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
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