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By Olivia Pierson
[First published on Insight@theBFD 14/11/19] Universally, the word ‘betrayal’ is often understood to be synonymous with the word ‘politics,’ and for good reason. No better recent examples can be cited than the betrayal of the NZ First kingmaker party when Winston Peters chose to enter a coalition with the far-Left Labour and Green parties. Now the National Party has also completely sold-out NZ voters (again) with their sycophantic virtue-signalling to climate alarmism, made manifest by their full support of the Zero Carbon Bill which passed in parliament last week with National’s unanimous blessing. Kiwis have to face an appalling fact: apart from David Seymour’s ACT party, there exists no ‘centre’ or ‘centre-Right’ conservative influence in NZ politics, and it’s been that way for some time. Seymour’s signature issue has been his End of Life Choice Bill, so for conservatives who strongly believe in the sanctity of life, voting ACT rubs painfully against the grain of their conscience. Enter the viability of the New Conservative Party, led by Leighton Baker and his deputy, Elliot Ikilei. I’ve never met Baker, but I’ve seen and heard Ikilei speak on several occasions in person, and also in the media, and my overwhelming impression of him is very positive. He’s passionate, decent and strong, he likes to debate, has a booming voice and clearly relates well to young men and boys, especially those from Maori-Pacifica backgrounds. Ikilei is a freedom of speech stalwart, recognising that no other liberties can ever be fought for, or upheld, without that particular liberty being intact. Speaking of liberties, the New Conservatives advocate for a sovereign NZ nation with one law for all, a nation which governs itself, not a nation which submits itself to orders and decrees from the ominous body of the United Nations. On the education front, the New Conservatives promote some much needed normalcy. Recognising that state schools now resemble leftist, radical indoctrination camps rather than sound institutions of learning, they believe that “gender identity should not be taught in schools, apart from offering help for those struggling in that area.” “Parents should be notified of any intended school based sex education programmes including details of any aspect which may be contentious. The right of parents to withdraw their children from school based sex education must remain. Sex education should not be started in schools until after Year 9. Family Planning should be required to include abstinence and long term relationships as the option with the statistically proven best outcomes for all in their syllabus, or lose their funding.” They also fully support the continuation of charter schools and correspondence education for families who desire it. They want parents, not the state, to have more control over the minds and education of their own children. Regarding Emissions Trading policy, the New Conservative position is: “New Conservative rejects the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which imposes significant taxes and costs on everyday New Zealanders whilst not achieving or improving environmental outcomes. New Conservative believes that a better way to reduce emissions is to set achievable targets and then supply funds to research institutes and universities to find emission solutions that help industries meet their targets whilst still remaining in business. An existing example of this is the Zeecol application in dairy farming.” Since our government is hell-bent on replacing the farming sector with forestry, the Zeecol application is an ambitious system of zero-impact farming which converts all effluent and waste into energy, feed and fertiliser that farmers buy back at a much lower price from the company. Zeecol went into liquidation in 2018, indicating how challenging converting to zero-impact farming can be, but the company’s original founder, William Mook, claims that “NZ needs this” and “it will happen.” On the New Conservative website, remarkably they have a stated policy on NZ and Israeli relations, which includes:
The support that the New Conservatives intend toward Israel is truly commendable – and entirely rare in NZ politics – while also displaying a belly-full of guts. In December 2016, National dismally caved to the UN and voted against Israel (Resolution 2334) for building settlements on the West Bank, land that Israel acquired when the surrounding Arab nations, Egypt, Syria and Jordan, tried to obliterate their country by initiating the 1967 Six Day War. In stark contrast to National, New Conservatives display their understanding of the truth that Israel was the victim here and not the aggressor. The West Bank was rightfully retaken by Israel – a tough lesson for Jordan – but there it is; don’t damn-well make war on your neighbours! (Especially if they happen to be the tough survivors of a recent mass genocide.) The New Conservatives’ point about “encouraging and assisting Arab nations to accept and grant full citizenship to Palestinian refugees,” is a point that must be made again and again, though never is. The Arab world boasts adherence to the great “religion of peace” – Islam. Why then has it wilfully failed to take in their own brethren and co-religionists by not offering them citizenship in the 22 Islamic nations which make up the Arab League? While we happen to be touching on the topic of other cultures so very different from our own, the New Conservatives also take a bold stand on their immigration policy by stating, “We believe that those who choose to immigrate (to NZ) should embrace New Zealand’s culture and not try and change it.” “New Conservative will ensure there is no acceptance or allowance of Sharia Law, in any expression, as well as any non-constitutional jurisdictional authority, in New Zealand.” Confronting the Sharia creep into Western law systems – from the UK to Germany – is a salient insight on the part of New Conservatives and something they wish to avert NZ from: specifically, parallel legal councils based on another culture and religion. All immigrants to NZ must be accountable as citizens under only one legal code. The New Conservatives seem to understand what the most essential role of government is – to secure and maintain the natural rights of citizens: “New Conservative believes the role of government should be to provide people the freedom necessary to justly pursue their own goals whilst ensuring support is available to those in need. We believe in Justice for all and that punishment should fit the crime. We believe in hand ups, not hand outs, and that when people are empowered to use their natural skills and abilities, the nation will be strong.” The New Conservatives squarely occupy the ground of the Christian-right. Regardless of whether voters are believers or not (I happen not to be), the Christian cultural heritage of NZ is undeniable and for the sake of balancing-out the mixed bag of secularism currently embedded in this nation’s politics, on both the Left and the Right, to see a party uphold old-school values in keeping with our traditional heritage smacks of something that is somewhat restorative. This is the sort of small party I would like to see grow into something substantial enough to replace NZ First as a ‘kingmaker’ party. If the New Conservatives do manage to achieve something close to that status, the swift currents of radical Leftism in both major parties may be tempered by some much-needed decency and good old-fashioned values. If you enjoyed this article, please buy my book "Western Values Defended: A Primer"
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