New Zealand TEA Party
Political party in New Zealand
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | John Hong and Susanna Kruger |
| Founded | June 2020 |
| Dissolved | 14 September 2022 |
| Ideology | Anti-racism Fiscal conservatism |
| Political position | Centre[1] |
| Colours | Purple |
| MPs in the House of Representatives | 0 / 120 |
Policies
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
Foundation
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
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
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]