NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Christian Heritage New Zealand

Christian Heritage New Zealand (formerly known as the Christian Heritage Party) was a New Zealand political party promoting evangelical Christian-based social conservatism. While it was represented briefly in Parliament, it never won any seats in an election, its sole Parliamentary representation being due to the defection of the Alliance MP Frank Grover. It did however come close to winning representation in the 1996 election as part of the Christian Coalition. new logo of Christian Heritage New Zealand This work is copyrighted. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on Jesus of Nazareth, and on his life and teachings as presented in the New Testament. ... Social conservatism is a belief in traditional or natural law-based morality and social mores and the desire to preserve these in present day society, often through civil law or regulation. ... The New Zealand Parliament is the legislative body of the New Zealand government. ... Current Alliance logo The Alliance, when referring to New Zealand politics, refers to a left-wing political party. ... Frank Grover is a former New Zealand politician. ... The 1996 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament. ... Christian Coalition logo The Christian Coalition was a Christian political party operating in New Zealand. ...

On October 3, 2006, the Party announced that it would be closing down to allow "new things to arise in Christian politics in New Zealand". This may mean that its surviving members merge with Destiny New Zealand, whose leader, Richard Lewis, expressed interest in such a possibility. Ex-CHP Leader Ewen McQueen announced that the hypothetical new party would "make a strong and clear stand for the importance of family life, the primacy of marriage and the sanctity of human life." [1] October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Current Destiny New Zealand logo Destiny New Zealand, a Christian political party in New Zealand, centres around the charismatic Destiny Church, founded and led by the televangelist Brian Tamaki. ...

Policies

According to Christian Heritage New Zealand's self-description, the party aimed "to provide leadership that takes the initiative in building a culture that affirms marriage, strengthens families, and celebrates life as a precious gift of God. We believe these are the key issues that need to be addressed if we are to make an impact for the next generation."

It described its three key policies as "Affirming Marriage, Building Families and Celebrating Life". This, in effect, represents a "family values" platform of protecting the traditional family unit, a focus on law and order, and an emphasis on personal responsibility.

The party espoused strongly conservative views on social policy. It favoured law changes that strengthen heterosexual marriage and prevented same-sex marriage and civil unions. The party was anti-abortion, but for most of its existence, the CHP supported the reintroduction of capital punishment in New Zealand, which had been abolished in 1989. Christian Heritage NZ supported restrictions on prostitution, as well as mandatory standards for television to reduce violence and pornography. A marriage is a relationship between or among individuals, usually recognized by civil authority and/or bound by the religious beliefs of the participants. ... Same-sex marriage is the union of two people who are of the same biological sex, or gender. ... A civil union is one of several terms for a civil status similar to marriage, typically created for the purposes of allowing homosexual couples access to the benefits enjoyed by married heterosexuals (see also same-sex marriage); it can also be used by couples of differing sexes who do not...

In economic policy, Christian Heritage was moderately right-wing, and stressed that "economic policy cannot be viewed in isolation" from social matters. In education the party emphasised parental influence over the curriculum and parent's rights to chose the school their child will attend. The party supported victim's rights.

The party supported New Zealand's constitutional monarchy. In foreign affairs, the party supported New Zealand's alliance with Australia and a resumption of its alliance with the United States. From the New Zealand general election 1999, the CHP supported New Zealand's anti-nuclear policy, whereas beforehand, it had endorsed return to the ANZUS alliance, but not necessarily the return of nuclear armed ships. The 1999 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 46th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ...

Christian Heritage NZ claimed broad based support from members of various Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic church, although many of its past members appeared to be members of the tiny Reformed Churches of New Zealand, composed largely of conservative Calvinist Dutch immigrants. The party had long required its members to publicly declare themselves as Christians. This rigid confessional policy has been criticized for supposedly limiting the party's base. Reformed Churches of New Zealand is the New Zealand representation of the Reformed churches. ... There are two different contexts in which the term confessionalism can be used. ...

History

It is usually argued that the Christian Heritage Party of Canada was the inspiration behind the formation of New Zealand's Christian Heritage Party, but there may also be other explanations. Many of the party's founding members were of Dutch ancestry and were familiar with the history of the Anti Revolutionary Party which had been the leading party in the Netherland's government for many decades. As well as this, many of the party's founding members were members of the Reformed Churches of New Zealand. The Christian Heritage Party of Canada is a federal political party that advocates the governance of Canada according to the inspired, inerrant written Word of God. [1] This socially and fiscally conservative party held its founding convention in Hamilton, Ontario in November 1987, where Ed Vanwoudenberg was elected its first... The Anti-Revolutionaire Partij (ARP, Anti-revolutionary Party) was a political party in the Netherlands from 1879 until 1980. ... Reformed Churches of New Zealand is the New Zealand representation of the Reformed churches. ...

Dirk Vanderpyl noted in his book Trust and Obey (1994) that many Reformed Churches of New Zealand members came from a narrow slice of Netherlands society, centred in Zeeland, Veleuwe and Overjissel. In those Netherland provinces, the Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij (Political Reformed Party-Eng.)(SGP) had existed since 1922, and stood as a model for separatist Reformed fundamentalist political activism. The SGP differs from the Christian Heritage Party in that its membership is restricted to certain Reformed Denominations, while Christian Heritage membership was open to all evangelical Christians, although at first many of its office holders had some association with the Reformed Churches. However, the SGP has only ever existed as a 'testimonial party'- which raises some intriguing questions about the role of the Christian Heritage Party of New Zealand. Reformed Churches of New Zealand is the New Zealand representation of the Reformed churches. ... The Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij (SGP, literally Constitutional Reformed Party) is a Dutch constitutional theocratic political party following conservative Christian principles, in the tradition of the Dutch Reformed Church. ... The word evangelicalism usually refers to a tendency in diverse branches of conservative Christianity. ... In Dutch parliamentary politics, a testimonial party is a small purist political party that is based on particular political principles that do not command majority support. ...

Also inspired by the Christian Heritage Party of Canada, the Christian Heritage Party of New Zealand was founded in 1989 to promote "Biblical principles" in politics, although the party's leadership generally claimed that its policies were advantageous even for those who are not Christian. The party's founder and first President was Bill van Rij and its initial leader was a former National Party candidate, John Allen. The Christian Heritage Party of Canada is a federal political party that advocates the governance of Canada according to the inspired, inerrant written Word of God. [1] This socially and fiscally conservative party held its founding convention in Hamilton, Ontario in November 1987, where Ed Vanwoudenberg was elected its first... For other uses, see Bible (disambiguation). ... Bill van Rij was a significant figure in Christian politics in New Zealand. ...

The party's first convention was held in 1990, and established the group's structure. In 1991 Graham Capill, a Reformed Churches of New Zealand pastor, was confirmed as the party's leader. During the nineties, there were recurrent complaints from non-Reformed evangelical Christians that the CHP took too long to transcend this initial base. Graham Capill (born 1959) is a former New Zealand Christian leader and politician. ... Reformed Churches of New Zealand is the New Zealand representation of the Reformed churches. ...

Eighteen Christian Heritage candidates contested seats in the 1990 general election. The party did not gain any seats, but did secure over 10,000 votes across the country. Subsequently, the party's candidate, Clive Thomson, finished fourth in a by-election in the electorate of Tamaki. The 1990 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 43rd term. ... A by-election or bye-election is a special election held to fill a political office when the incumbent has died or resigned. ... Tamaki is a suburb of the city of Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand. ...

In the 1993 elections, the Christian Heritage party stood 97 candidates and polled 2.02%, making it easily the largest party outside parliament, a position the party retained in the 1996, 1999 and 2002 general elections. The 1993 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament. ...

The Christian Heritage Party supported the ultimately successful campaign to change New Zealand's electoral system from first past the post to mixed member proportional (MMP).

In 1994, the Christian Heritage Party gained new competition when a National Party MP, Graeme Lee, formed the Christian Democrats (originally named the United Progressives). Lee had originally considered joining Christian Heritage, but eventually declined because of the party's requirement that all members declare themselves to be Christians. 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... The New Zealand National Party (National or the Nats) currently forms the second-largest (in terms of seats) political party represented in the New Zealand Parliament, and thus functions as the core of the parliamentary Opposition. ... Graeme Lee is a former New Zealand politician. ... The Christian Democrat Party of New Zealand was a Christian political party established in 1995. ...

Later, however, Christian Heritage and the Christian Democrats reached an agreement to contest the 1996 elections together. This resulted in the formation of the Christian Coalition, with Capill and Lee as its co-leaders. Lee would be first on the party list, since he was already in Parliament. The 1996 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament. ... Christian Coalition logo The Christian Coalition was a Christian political party operating in New Zealand. ...

Shortly before the election, there was much speculation as to whether the Christian Coalition would reach the "five percent threshold" necessary to gain proportional representation in New Zealand's MMP electoral system. If the party gained more than five percent of the vote, it would be entitled to a share of parliamentary seats equivalent to its support, probably gaining it five or six MPs. Although the Coalition polled as high as 6.7% in polls before the election, when the final vote was tallied, the coalition had only 4.4% support. MMP may stand for: Mixed Member Proportional electoral system. ...

In May 1997, the Christian Coalition collapsed, with the two component parties going their separate ways. The causes of this breakdown are debated. According to the Christian Heritage Party, it was the Christian Democrats who left the alliance, but other accounts disagree (either blaming Christian Heritage or blaming both). Points of contention included the extent to which the party would admit people who were not Christian but who shared compatible views - after the split, the Christian Democrats would conceal the explicitly religious nature of their party, which was eventually renamed Future New Zealand.

Christian Heritage stood Ewen McQueen as its candidate in the 1998 Taranaki-King Country byelection. McQueen outpolled candidates for the larger New Zealand First and Green parties.

Six months before the 1999 elections, Frank Grover, leader of the Liberal Party, a component of the Alliance, defected to Christian Heritage, giving it one seat in Parliament. Grover had been an Alliance list MP. High profile broadcaster Philip Sherry also joined the party in 1999 and stood in the number 2 position on the party list. The 1999 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 46th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... Frank Grover is a former New Zealand politician. ... The New Zealand Liberal Party founded in 1992 (not to be confused with the original Liberal Party) was a splinter group of the National Party. ... Current Alliance logo The Alliance, when referring to New Zealand politics, refers to a left-wing political party. ...

In the 1999 elections, Christian Heritage gained 2.4% of the vote, well short of the threshhold for entering Parliament.

In the elections of 2002, Christian Heritage had high hopes. It hoped that by focusing on a single electorate, Wairarapa, it could gain entry to parliament and bypass the 5% requirement. However, the result was disappointing - the party itself gained only 1.4% of the vote, and its Wairarapa candidate, deputy leader Merepeka Raukawa-Tait, came third. Christian Heritage's support defected to United Future New Zealand, a merger of Future New Zealand (a successor to the Christian Democrats) and Peter Dunne's United New Zealand, which had occurred in 2000. The 2002 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. ... The Wairarapa is a district or subregion of New Zealand occupying the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of Wellington and south-west of Hawke Bay. ... Merepeka Raukawa-Tait is a former chief executive of the Womens Refuge organisation of New Zealand. ... Current United Future logo United Future New Zealand is a political party in the New Zealand parliament with three MPs -- two list MPs, and one electorate MP, leader Peter Dunne (see MMP for the difference). ... This article is about the party formed out of the Christian Democrats. ... Peter Dunne The Honourable Peter Dunne (born 17 March 1954 - ) leads New Zealands United Future political party. ... United New Zealand logo This article is about the party founded in 1995. ...

In the aftermath of the election, there was considerable tension between the party's central leadership and the Wairarapa branch. Allegations of financial mismanagement were made against both sides, and Raukawa-Tait criticised Graham Capill's leadership of the party. Capill, in turn, criticised Raukawa-Tait, and rebuked her for her comments. Raukawa-Tait and the entire Wairarapa Electorate Committee eventually resigned. Logo of the Christian Heritage New Zealand political party. ...

Not long after the election, Capill announced his retirement as party leade and took up a job as a police prosecutor. When Capill's retirement came into effect in August 2003, the party appointed Ewen McQueen to replace him. The party also reaffirmed its determination to carry on contesting elections (rather than remove itself from the list of parties and become a pressure group). In 2003 the party also adopted the name Christian Heritage New Zealand, or CHNZ, (rather than the original Christian Heritage Party, or CHP). Ewan McQueen is the leader of Christian Heritage New Zealand, a religious political party in New Zealand. ...

In November 2004 Graham Capill resigned from the party citing differences of opinion about the party's direction. On 1 April 2005 Capill pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting an eight year old girl, and on 14 July 2005 was jailed for nine years. Capill's conduct was swiftly condemned by the new party leadership. [2] April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Indecent assault is a form of sex crime in many jurisdictions. ... July 14 is the 195th day (196th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 170 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In the 2005 general elections, Christian Heritage saw its support collapse even further. The party stood only seven candidates, and only won 2,821 votes (out of more than 2 million cast) for 0.2 percent. It appears much of its support bled over to National, United Future, and newly formed Destiny New Zealand. The loss of support to Destiny was somewhat surprising, since Destiny is based around the Pentecostal Destiny Church and McQueen is also Pentecostal. Wikinews has news related to: Results of the 2005 New Zealand General Election The 2005 New Zealand general election took place on 17 September 2005 and determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. ... Current Destiny New Zealand logo Destiny New Zealand, a Christian political party in New Zealand, centres around the charismatic Destiny Church, founded and led by the televangelist Brian Tamaki. ... The Pentecostal movement within Protestant Christianity places special emphasis on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. ... Destiny Church is a charismatic Christian church with headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand. ...

One factor in the party's disappointing performance in the 2005 general election was a campaign organised by the conservative Christian influenced Maxim Institute called New Zealand Votes 2005. The Maxim institute stated that the campaign was designed to inform voters. However, some commentators saw it as an ultimately successful attempt to persuade Christian voters not to vote for Christian Heritage New Zealand.[3] Maxim Institute is a conservative Christian research and public policy think tank based in Auckland, New Zealand. ...

After the election, controversy arose when former CHNZ Policy Director Mark Munroe defended Capill in a private email, arguing that his serial paedophile offenses did not fit the 'biblical definition of rape.' Ewen McQueen and the CHNZ Board pressured Munroe for his resignation, which ultimately occurred.

After a prolonged period of silence, the CHNZ website was updated on 10 May 2006. The details centred on the CHNZ submission to Parliament's electoral law select committee, which urged reduction of MMP's five per cent threshold for list party representation without electorate seats, and abolition of MMP's one seat/list representation rule, which allows parties that have an anchoring constituency seat to gain parliamentary representation without having to clear the five percent threshold. However, neither of these suggestions are likely to be adopted.

On October 3, 2006, the Party announced that it would be closing down following a postal vote in which 97% of its members endorsed the move. [4] Party leader Ewen McQueen said that it was necessary for the party to close down to allow a new broad based Christian/family values party to be formed partially as a result of the conviction of Capill [5]. Further explanations of the closure can be found on its website.

The "Testimonial Party" Debate

There is some controversy over whether the CHP could have been described as a "testimonial party" because while the party attempted to be true to its principles, it also made rare politically pragmatic decisions.

As noted above, the CHP may have been modelled on a prior Dutch Reformed separatist political party, the Political Reformed Party, given the particular provincial origins of Dutch immigrant New Zealand CHP founders. If this is the case, it is possible that the CHP was consciously modelled on the Netherlands template of a testimonial party. In Dutch politics, "testimonial parties" do not expect concrete political outcomes from their meagre parliamentary representation, but are there purely on 'principle.' The Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij (SGP, literally Constitutional Reformed Party) is a Dutch constitutional theocratic political party following conservative Christian principles, in the tradition of the Dutch Reformed Church. ... In Dutch parliamentary politics, a testimonial party is a small purist political party that is based on particular political principles that do not command majority support. ...

While the Dutch proportional representation electoral system permits this due to its demographically based nature, New Zealand's Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) electoral system has a German-style five percent threshold, which must be passed by a political party if it is to gain parliamentary seats without the safety valve of a constituency seat. However, the CHP has never been able to circumvent the five percent threshold on its own. It can therefore be argued that voting for Christian Heritage New Zealand acted as a 'spoiled vote' reservoir for conservative Christian political ambitions, on the basis that it only ever was a New Zealand 'testimonial party,' based on a Dutch model being used in a New Zealand political context where it would never work. The Additional Member System (AMS) is a voting system where some representatives are elected from geographic constituencies and others are elected under proportional representation from party lists. ...

Against this, those who say Christian Heritage was never a testimonial party point out that the CHP has been willing to compromise some issues of principle in an attempt to obtain concrete political outcomes. For example the party compromised on various policies when it entered the Christian Coaltion in 1996. The Coalition was designed to achieve political power for the Coalition. The party was also willing to compromise on the capital punishment issue to gain an MP in parliament (Frank Grover) in 1998. The party also attempted to win power and prevent its votes being spoiled by standing the high profile Merepeka Raukawa-Tait as Carterton electorate candidate (even though she did not agree with all the party's policies). Had Merepeka won her electorate the party would have gained two members of parliament. While she placed highly in that contest, she did not win the electorate, however.

However, while Merepaka Raukawa-Tait did record the highest ever constituency seat count for the CHP when she stood in Carterton, she proved too socially liberal for the party, and ultimately resigned as CHP Deputy Leader. With the resignation of this high-profile mainstream public figure, the CHP reverted to its usual high dependency on the media profile of Graham Capill, its first leader. In addition, it should be recalled that while Frank Grover stood for office as CHP candidate in Tauranga, he placed lowly in subsequent election results, given the popularity of New Zealand First leader, Winston Peters. New Zealand First functions as a political party in New Zealand. ... The Right Honourable Winston Raymond Peters (born April 11, 1945) is a New Zealand politician and the current Minister of Foreign Affairs, outside cabinet. ...

These three instances suggest that while periods of political opportunism might have existed in its history, the CHP always seemed to conform to a prescribed, confessional "testimonial party" model.

Against this, opponents of the testimonial party theory also point out that the party changed its policies over the years for political reasons. They cite removal of the capital punishment policy and changing their stance on the anti-nuclear/ANZUS issue. However, supporters of the testimonial party argument would respond that the CHP only changed its position on nuclear issues in 1999, and abandoned its support for capital punishment in 2004, after Graham Capill had stepped down as leader. Therefore, both instances may not disprove the testimonial party model, due to their late adoption as party policies. This late adoption suggests strong resistance to changes within entrenched confessionally-based organisational policies that are consistent with a testimonial party model. When Capill and his Reformed Church associates left the party, this resistance lapsed.

The party constitution also seemed to rule out Christian Heritage being a purely "testimonial party." While allowing that an objective of the party it to "promote and uphold biblical principles" the constitution goes on to state that the party's goal ...[was]... to "gain seats in parliament so that it can have a direct influence on legislation, policy, and the governing of New Zealand."

However, this is not an argument against possible Netherland-centred Reformed Church influences that had only had experience within a confessional, testimonial party structure, and might have unconsciously replicated the testimonial party model in the context of New Zealand.

Contents

Policies

History

The "Testimonial Party" Debate

See also

External Link

References

Contents

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History

The "Testimonial Party" Debate

See also

External Link

References

Policies