Heartland New Zealand
LeaderMark Ball (as of 2020)
FoundedJune 2020 (2020-06)
HeadquartersPukekohe
IdeologyAgrarianism
Political positionCentre-right
House of Representatives
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Website
heartlandnz.org.nz

Heartland New Zealand is a New Zealand political party founded in 2020.[1] The party is rural-based, and opposed the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme, the Paris Agreement, and attempts to limit the environmental impacts of agriculture.[2]

History

Founding and 2020 election

The party was founded in 2020, prior to the 2020 election. For that election, the party was led by former Franklin District mayor Mark Ball.[1][2] At the time of its founding, it was backed by Hamilton entrepreneur Harry Mowbray,[3] father of Nick Mowbray, a billionaire who, with his siblings, was on the 2019 NBR Rich List.[4]

Heartland did not apply for a broadcasting allocation, which was allocated in May 2020.[5] The party applied for registration with the Electoral Commission in July,[6][7] and was registered on 6 August 2020.[8] It had a party list of five people for the 2020 election — tied for the shortest party list with Vision NZ[9] — and Mark Ball was its only electorate candidate, standing in the Port Waikato electorate.

The party won 914 party votes (0.003% of the total) in the 2020 election, the fewest party votes of the registered parties.[10] Ball came third in Port Waikato, with 8,462 electorate votes (21%).[11]

2023 election

In June 2023 the party's registration was cancelled at its own request.[12] It initially said that it intended to run for electorate seats in the 2023 election, in the hopes of creating an overhang.[13] However, it did not field any candidates.[14] The party announced that it had decided not to contest the 2023 election at all, saying it intended to build towards the 2026 election.[15]

Ideology

Heartland NZ seeks to form a coalition with other right-wing parties.[16] The party has been critical of climate change policies and water restrictions and has opposed New Zealand's ban on oil and gas exploration.[2] In 2023 it campaigned against the Labour government's Clean Car Standard,[17] and against "wokeism" and political correctness.[18]

Election results

House of Representatives

Election Candidates nominated Seats won Votes Vote share % Position MPs in
parliament
Electorate List
2020 1 5 0 987[19] 0.1 17th
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References

  1. ^ a b "Party profile: Heartland New Zealand". Policy.nz. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b c James Baker (17 July 2020). "New rural Heartland party challenges climate change and water restrictions". Stuff. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  3. ^ Andrea Vance (15 March 2020). "Why a new rural political party is likely to fail". Stuff. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Kiwi celebs and rich listers go wild at the biggest party of the year". NZ Herald. 8 December 2019. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  5. ^ "2020 Broadcasting Allocation Decision Released". Electoral Commission. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  6. ^ "General election candidates: Who will be standing?". New Zealand Herald. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  7. ^ "Three parties apply to register". New Zealand Electoral Commission. 18 July 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Registration of three parties and logos". New Zealand Electoral Commission. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  9. ^ "Parties | Vote NZ". vote.nz. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  10. ^ "2020 General Election and Referendums – Official Result". New Zealand Electoral Commission.
  11. ^ "Port Waikato – Official Result". New Zealand Electoral Commission.
  12. ^ "Amendment to party register". New Zealand Electoral Commission. 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  13. ^ "Why we DON'T want you to vote for our party". HeartlandNZ Party.
  14. ^ "Electorate candidates". Vote NZ. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  15. ^ "HeartlandNZ". HeartlandNZ. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  16. ^ "HeartlandNZ". HeartlandNZ. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  17. ^ "Abolish The Ute Tax". Scoop. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  18. ^ "Finally A Political Party For The Farmers - HeartLandNZ". Scoop. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  19. ^ "2020 General Election and Referendums – Preliminary Count: Nationwide Party Votes – 100.0% of results counted". New Zealand Electoral Commission. 18 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
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