Conservative Party NZ Election Gratitude

The Conservative Party wants to thank everyone who voted for the Party in the election for their unwavering support in the face of huge pressure to vote for a winner rather than for a Party that best represents their values.

MMP is supposed to provide proportional representation in parliament for all sectors of society, but when an election is turned into a two horse race, albeit with one of the horses being a conjoined twin, fear mongering and manipulation can rob us of the benefits intended with such a system.

If the Report of the Royal Commission on the Electoral System 1986, which recommended the implementation of the MMP system, was implemented in its fullness, the Maori Party would still be represented in Parliament, as the Report recommended there should be a 4% threshold in general, but that there should be no threshold for a Maori Party. It also recommended the abolishing of the Maori seats under this system, as Maori would be represented in proportion to the number of votes given a Party such as the Maori Party.

The Report also suggested that there may come a time when there is a case for the 4% threshold be waived for parties representing other minority ethnic groups. The makeup of NZ society has changed dramatically since 1986, and perhaps it is time to look at this system again. Neither Maori representation nor the wasted vote issue were considered in the review of 2011.

If a threshold is to be maintained, then to overcome the fear of the “wasted vote” a single transferrable vote could be provided for the Party vote only. If a Party failed to reach the threshold based on voters’ first choice, then the voter’s second choice would prevail, rather than it being “wasted” and effectively distributed in proportion to the results of those Parties who exceeded the threshold. In that case it would never be wasted.

This election saw every minor Party decrease its share of the vote significantly from the previous election. The rejection of minor Parties in this way was never the intention when MMP was introduced. Indeed, exactly the opposite was intended. Clearly the system in its current form is failing us. The Report also stated that “Democracy demands that interests be given their due weight…. and that they be adequately and fairly represented.” Some change is needed to see this happen.

Again, thank you for standing with us in a system that has been abused and used against minor Parties seeking to gain recognition and representation of a smaller but significant proportion of concerned New Zealanders. We seek to learn from this and move forward with greater wisdom.

Time to Make History

This new government must be given time to find its footing, and prioritise areas of agreement. However, part of that process must be the corporate understanding and recognition of the drivers of New Zealand’s negative statistics, so that these can be addressed at their cause rather than at their result.

The Conservative Party‘s policies on a comprehensive justice solution, nationwide relationship training, and early trade streaming, could all be key ingredients in helping New Zealand move forward. We hope our new Government will take the best of all Party’s policies for the good of our nation.

“Having differing parties working together could be a great thing for New Zealand if ideologies are put aside for effective policies,” says Leighton Baker, Conservative Party Leader.

“I enjoyed listening to policies from all parties during the recent campaign and recognise that no one Party has all the answers, and many candidates from different parties were willing to acknowledge good ideas from across the political spectrum,” adds Mr Baker.

“For the sake of our nation, we hope that this new coalition will have the humility and courage to utilise the collective wisdom put forward in the recent election.

Failure to do so will be costly for us all.

What do the Greens Really Want?

Legalising Cannabis will make some people’s escapism legal, but at a price that is way too high according to those who work with at risk youth. On the flip side, securing the Kermadec deal would have been a great legacy and moral victory for a Party supposedly focussed on saving the endangered.

If that’s not enough to make one question the actual beliefs of the Greens, then comes their call for a referendum! This from a party who wanted no part in the previous CIRs calling for fewer MPs and rejecting the Bradford bill.

For the sake of consistency and fairness, the Conservative Party calls on the Greens to first make Citizens’ Initiated Referenda binding, and then go out and collect the 300,000 plus signatures required to see a referendum go to the ballot.

Unfortunately this is unlikely to happen as history has shown that the Greens only want to hear the people’s voice if it agrees with their own philosophies. Not a great form of democracy really.

Democracy? Yeah Right!

Leighton Baker, Conservative Party NZ Leader. In another blow to democracy, Trevor Mallard has taken it upon himself to change parliament’s opening prayer.

While there may be some who would welcome the change, surely even they must realise that allowing MPs to change things without, or before, consultation, is opening the way for power abuse. Removal, or for that matter any changes made to Parliament’s opening prayer should be put to the people for consultation.

It has been nine long, cold years for Labour in opposition.  Their promotion to Government is not a license to do what they will, but a trust given them, by the people, to govern with honesty, diligence, and in respect of the wishes of the people.

“With no upper house, or any way of holding Government to account between elections, the Conservative Party calls on the Honorable Winston Peters to keep his word and make Referenda binding, ensuring such matters are put to referenda so the people are heard,” says Leighton Baker, Party Leader.

Conservative Party to Get New Name.

Leighton Baker, Leader of the Conservative Party.

Members of the Conservative Party of New Zealand voted to look at a name change at the party’s AGM held in Auckland in November.

Although all smaller parties had poor results this election, it was the belief of many members that a new name would encourage people to look at the positive, practical policies that the party presents.

Members are currently presenting their suggestions to the board, who hope to have the new name registered early next year.

“There is definitely a desire for a practical, solutions based party in Parliament, and we believe that we can represent that choice,” said Party Leader, Leighton Baker.

The current Conservative Party website will remain active until the new name and new website are released next year.

End Poverty with Marijuana?

Leighton Baker, Party Leader. The Greens’ promise to end poverty has just suffered a terminal, self inflicted injury, by pushing to legalise marijuana.

A massive study published in Aug 2016 in the US Journal of Drug Issues found that the proportion of marijuana users who smoke daily has rapidly grown, and that many of those frequent users are poor and lack a high-school diploma.

Examining a decade of federal surveys of drug use conducted between 2002 and 2013, study authors Steven Davenport and Jonathan Caulkins paint one of the clearest pictures yet of the demographics of current marijuana use in the U.S.

“Consumption is highly concentrated among the smaller number of daily & near-daily users, and they tend to be less educated, less affluent, and less in control of their use.”

Americans of all ages with a household income of less than $20,000 accounted for 29 percent of all marijuana use but represent just 19 percent of the total adult population.

The concentration of use among poorer households means that many marijuana users are spending a high proportion of their income on their marijuana habit. Users who spend fully one quarter of their income on weed account for 15 percent of all marijuana use.

If a genuine effort is too be made to reduce poverty, then the causes of poverty like family breakdown and poor education need to be addressed. Both practical experience and research show that legalising harmful substances will not reduce poverty, The Conservative Party believes that good relationship education, early trade streaming and stable housing are real ways to reduce poverty.

OUR PARTY

The Conservatives were born from a growing frustration amongst voters from the right, left and anywhere in-between who felt abandoned and betrayed by the Government they had voted for.

 

  • Both National and Labour have abandoned principle for self-interest.
  • No-one in the Conservatives is a career politician. We are teachers, policemen, business men and women, farmers and parents. We will bring fresh thinking to Wellington.
  • If we’re elected, our role will be to keep the Government honest and on a short leash.
  • Our role will be to give the Government a backbone; to give them the support they need to make the tough calls.
  • Our role is to make sure this Government listens to you and follows the instructions of the majority.
With your help we’ll make them do just that in 2017. We need your electorate vote and your party vote. We need you to stand beside us and send them a message loud and clear.

The Great Kiwi Poll- results now out! 16th Mar 2017

PRESS RELEASE 16th March 2017

A new political poll carried out by the Conservative Party finds Labour’s new deputy Jacinda Ardern could potentially carry Labour to victory if she took over from Andrew Little as leader.

The poll, carried out between 8th and 15th March, asked a sample of nearly 1200 people how they would vote if an election were held today, then asked them a surprise follow-up question: “If Jacinda Ardern was Labour leader instead of Andrew Little, which party would you vote for if an election were held today?”

Astoundingly, in that scenario, Labour moved into top spot in the poll, more than three percentage points clear of National – a clear signal that this year’s election could become a close-fought race.

Conservative Party leader Leighton Baker says although the poll was carried out online among a pool of social media users, the results are statistically valid as they measure a voting shift within the survey sample itself if the opportunity came to vote for an Ardern-led Labour Party.

“Online polls are normally treated more skeptically because their samples are less random than standard phone polls, but findings of attitudinal shifts within such polls are valid because they measure changes within the same survey sample.

“In this case we were stunned to find that a promotion of Jacinda Ardern to the leadership of Labour saw the party move from four percentage points behind National to three percentage points in front. An Ardern-led Labour took votes away from National and NZ First, although the Greens were hardest hit by the prospect of Jacinda Ardern.”

Baker says the trend of a swing to Jacinda emerged on day one after the first 200 votes were in, and remained at almost the same ratio right through the next six days of the poll. He noted it is the first poll to actually pose the question about Ardern’s impact as a potential leader, but he was also surprised to see how active on social media NZ First supporters are.

“Being an online poll we took certain precautions to prevent repeat voting, such as allowing only one vote per IP address for the duration of the poll, and using a separate URL – www.thegreatkiwipoll.com – to keep the poll unbranded, but right from the start there was a clear lead for National and also a surprisingly strong challenge by NZ First to the Andrew Little-led Labour team.

“Question one actually found NZ First in second place, ahead of Labour in third, if an election were held today. Now I don’t believe for a minute that Andrew Little’s support is as low as 20% or that Winston’s support is running as high in the general population as the 21% share his party records in this poll, but it may well be higher than the 11% support ordinary phone polls are recording, and that may illustrate a weakness of phone polls which have traditionally surveyed landline users, whereas Gen X and Millennials are more likely to be on smartphones and social media. It may also indicate that Winston’s followers are more motivated than Labour and National supporters, which should be a warning to the major parties.

“Our poll found a level of support for the Conservative Party at more than 4%, and that’s a pretty accurate reflection of the core conservative support over the past couple of decades in various forms. They are not finding it in the landline polls, but we know our support is higher than the landline polls indicate.”

Leighton Baker says there are other questions in the Conservative Party poll that transcend tribal political allegiances and whose sheer margins make them statistically valid as well.

“We wanted to take the pulse of kiwis on some pretty big issues. We found 70% support for Binding Citizens’ Initiated Referenda, which shows there is massive cross-party support from New Zealand voters for making politicians accountable.

“BCIR is a core policy of the Conservative Party. If we form part of the next coalition, we will make sure governments respect the wishes of the people from now on,” says Baker. “You have my word on it.

“Another big finding is that 79% of those sampled reject the philosophy of globalism and supreme international law. This shows New Zealanders have the same concerns that gave rise to Brexit in the UK and Trump in the USA. Political parties and the media ignore this at their peril. This poll result shows a massive majority of kiwis from across the political spectrum share the same concerns as Conservatives do, and those concerns can no longer be swept aside and dismissed. New Zealanders want control of their country to ultimately remain in voters’ hands, not be delegated away to the UN and international treaties.”

Baker says the party will carry out more polling on other major issues in the next few weeks.

With a sample size of almost 1,200, the margin of error is 3%.

The full results of the new poll are being published on the Conservative Party Facebook page and its website, and follow below.


Results for ‘1. If an election were held today, which party would you most likely vote for?’

General

Voting Type

Poll ID

Poll Created

Last Updated

Status

Anonymous voting only

2419708

12 Feb 2017

15 Mar 2017

Results

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Answer

Votes

Act

4.2% / 49

Conservative NZ

4.7% / 55

Greens

15.4% / 181

Labour

19.7% / 232

Maori

0.3% / 4

National

23.7% / 279

NZ First

21.0% / 247

United Future

0.4% / 5

Not sure

6.6% / 78

Other

4.1% / 48

Total votes 08 Mar – 15 Mar: 1,178


Results for ‘2. Which main party leadership team would be most competent to run the country?’

General

Voting Type

Poll ID

Poll Created

Last Updated

Status

Anonymous voting only

2424023

02 Mar 2017

15 Mar 2017

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Answer

Votes

National’s Bill English & Paula Bennett

40.2% / 453

Labour’s Andrew Little & Jacinda Ardern

40.3% / 455

Not sure

19.5% / 220

Total votes 08 Mar – 15 Mar: 1,128

  


Results for ‘3. Which main party leadership team would you personally prefer to run the country?’

General

Voting Type

Poll ID

Poll Created

Last Updated

Status

Anonymous voting only

2424024

02 Mar 2017

15 Mar 2017

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Answer

Votes

National’s Bill English & Paula Bennett

39.0% / 399

Labour’s Andrew Little & Jacinda Ardern

43.5% / 445

Not sure

17.6% / 180

Total votes 08 Mar – 15 Mar: 1,024

 


 

Results for ‘4. Which of the following best describes New Zealand’s elected politicians?’

General

Voting Type

Poll ID

Poll Created

Last Updated

Status

Anonymous voting only

2424028

02 Mar 2017

15 Mar 2017

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Answer

Votes

They respect the wishes of the people

9.9% / 95

They don’t respect the wishes of the people

33.8% / 326

They act as if they are Elite

33.2% / 320

I’m happy with our political establishment

23.1% / 223

Total votes 08 Mar – 15 Mar: 964

 


 Results for ‘5. Do you think the Brexit was:’

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Poll ID

Poll Created

Last Updated

Status

Anonymous voting only

2424030

02 Mar 2017

15 Mar 2017

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Answer

Votes

A classic case of people power bringing politicians to heel

48.9% / 474

A big mistake

36.9% / 358

Not sure

14.2% / 138

Total votes 08 Mar – 15 Mar: 970

  


Results for ‘6. Would you like to see New Zealand politicians compelled to respect the public’s wishes on controversial policies if expressed in a binding referendum?’

General

Voting Type

Poll ID

Poll Created

Last Updated

Status

Anonymous voting only

2424169

03 Mar 2017

15 Mar 2017

Results

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Answer

Votes

Yes

70.4% / 675

No

20.4% / 196

Not sure

9.2% / 88

Total votes 08 Mar – 15 Mar: 959

  


Results for ‘7. Do you support the globalist ideal of countries increasingly giving up national sovereignty under international law, or do you think the public should continue to have the final say in how their countries are run?’

 

General

Voting Type

Poll ID

Poll Created

Last Updated

Status

Anonymous voting only

2424173

03 Mar 2017

15 Mar 2017

Results

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Answer

Votes

I believe in the ideals of global governance and supreme international law

14.3% / 136

I believe countries and communities should be self-governing and the people should always have the final power to veto international treaties a government signs

79.2% / 752

Not sure

6.4% / 61

Total votes 08 Mar – 15 Mar: 949

  


 

Results for ‘8. Do you believe foreigners should be allowed to buy New Zealand houses if their own countries don’t allow New Zealanders to buy homes over there?’

General

Voting Type

Poll ID

Poll Created

Last Updated

Status

Anonymous voting only

2424174

03 Mar 2017

15 Mar 2017

Results

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Answer

Votes

Yes, our moral commitment to free investment and free trade requires us to allow foreigners to buy up our properties

15.2% / 142

No, foreign investors can too easily dominate New Zealand’s small market and finite land supply, and there must be controls, especially when we don’t have the same property rights

78.1% / 729

Not sure

6.6% / 62

Total votes 08 Mar – 15 Mar: 933

 


Results for ‘9. Do you think prostitution would be better controlled by cracking down on clients like they do in other countries and making it illegal for men to buy sex services from vulnerable women?’

General

Voting Type

Poll ID

Poll Created

Last Updated

Status

Anonymous voting only

2424175

03 Mar 2017

15 Mar 2017

Results

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Answer

Votes

Yes, young girls are being lured in by ‘easy money’ but prostitution has long term psychological and health impacts and clients should bear responsibility

23.7% / 219

No, as long as the participants are consenting adults the police should not get involved

53.1% / 490

Yes, but only where it can be proven a woman is vulnerable or there has been any attempted solicitation in a public place

16.5% / 152

Not sure

6.7% / 62

Total votes 08 Mar – 15 Mar: 923

 


 

Results for ’10. If Jacinda Ardern was Labour leader instead of Andrew Little, which party would you vote for if an election were held today?’

General

Voting Type

Poll ID

Poll Created

Last Updated

Status

Anonymous voting only

2424183

03 Mar 2017

15 Mar 2017

Results

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Answer

Votes

Act

4.1% / 38

Conservative NZ

4.8% / 44

Greens

13.1% / 120

Labour

25.4% / 233

Maori

0.2% / 2

National

22.1% / 203

NZ First

19.8% / 182

United Future

0.4% / 4

Not sure

6.4% / 59

Other

3.6% / 33

Total votes 08 Mar – 15 Mar: 918

 


Results for ’11. Do you approve or disapprove of the government raising the superannuation age to 67 for people born after 1972?’

General

Voting Type

Poll ID

Poll Created

Last Updated

Status

Anonymous voting only

2424891

07 Mar 2017

15 Mar 2017

Results

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Answer

Votes

Yes

47.1% / 426

No

36.4% / 329

Not sure

16.6% / 150

Total votes 08 Mar – 15 Mar: 905