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.

New Zealand TEA Party
LeaderJohn Hong and Susanna Kruger
FoundedJune 2020 (2020-06)
Dissolved14 September 2022
IdeologyAnti-racism
Fiscal conservatism
Political positionCentre[1]
Colours  Purple
MPs in the House of Representatives
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Policies

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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

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Foundation

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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

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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

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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

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  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.