Cannabis Sativa

New Zealand TEA Party
LeaderJohn Hong and Susanna Kruger
FoundedJune 2020 (2020-06)
IdeologyAnti-racism
Fiscal conservatism
Political positionCentre[1]
Colours  Purple
MPs in the House of Representatives
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The New Zealand TEA Party (Taxpayers and Entrepreneurs Alliance) was a registered political party in New Zealand. The party was led by John Hong. The party contested the 2020 general election, but did not win any seats.

Policies[edit]

The party defined itself as anti-racist, socially democratic, and fiscally conservative.[2] It supported reform of the Family Court of New Zealand.[3] Party policies included support for business, opposition to capital gains taxes, embracing migration and multiculturalism,[4] and opposition to legalisation of recreational cannabis consumption.[5]

It had no connection to the American Tea Party movement.[4]

History[edit]

Foundation[edit]

The party was founded by two former Auckland mayoral candidates, John Hong and Susanna Kruger, and it included a third; John Palino, who ran his electorate campaign from Florida, where he was living during the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] At its creation, the party was co-led by Hong and Kruger.[2] The party's website described Roger Douglas as its patron.[6]

2020 general election[edit]

The party did not apply for a broadcasting allocation for the 2020 general election.[7] In July 2020, the TEA Party applied to the Electoral Commission to be a registered party and it was registered on 6 August 2020.[8][9][10] In September 2020, the TEA Party announced their candidate list for the 2020 election.[11][12] Youth wing president, Dominic Hoffman Dervan was also a TEA Party list candidate and stood for the Auckland Central electorate contesting in the 2020 general election.[13][14]

The party received 2,415 of the party vote, or 0.1%, in the 2020 election, and won no electorate seats, so did not enter Parliament.[15]

Present status[edit]

The party's registration was cancelled at its request on 14 September 2022.[16] It did not field candidates in the 2023 general election.[17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "John Hong takes tilt at national politics through Tea Party". Newsroom. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b Sachdeva, Sam (16 June 2020). "John Hong takes tilt at national politics through Tea Party". Newsroom. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  3. ^ "New Political Party Addresses Thorn In Labour's Side". Scoop. 13 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Braae, Alex (2 September 2020). "John Palino is running for parliament – from Florida". The Spinoff. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Our policies". New Zealand TEA Party. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Meeting with patron Sir Roger Douglas". New Zealand TEA Party. 9 June 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  7. ^ "2020 Broadcasting Allocation Decision Released". Electoral Commission. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  8. ^ "Three parties apply to register". New Zealand Electoral Commission. 18 July 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  9. ^ "General election candidates: Who will be standing?". New Zealand Herald. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  10. ^ "Registration of three parties and logos". New Zealand Electoral Commission. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  11. ^ "Party profile: TEA Party". Policy.nz. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  12. ^ "About". teaparty.org.nz. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  13. ^ "Q+A Colmar Brunton Auckland Central poll" (PDF).
  14. ^ "Auckland Central electorate race narrowing, Q+A Colmar Brunton poll reveals".
  15. ^ "2020 General Election and Referendums - Official Result". Electoral Commission. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  16. ^ "Amendment to the Register of Political Parties". New Zealand Electoral Commission. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  17. ^ "Electorate candidates". Vote NZ. Retrieved 16 September 2023.


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