Destiny NZ wants 'evil' Government ended

Brian Tamaki, here ordained as a bishop of the Destiny Church, is the 'visionary' behind Destiny NZ. Picture / Martin Sykes

Destiny New Zealand is calling for Catholics, Anglicans, Presbyterians and even non-Christians to catapult it into Parliament to overhaul the present "evil" Government.

The fledgling Christian party, which describes itself as centre-right, held its first major political rally over the weekend - capitalising on the publicity from the ordination of Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki to the role of bishop.

More than 2500 people - making it the largest political rally of the year - gathered at TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre in Manukau to support the party, whose cornerstone principle is traditional family values.

Its leader Richard Lewis is trying to separate Destiny Party from Destiny Church in an attempt to make the party appear more moderate and broaden its appeal to all Christians.

Even non-Christians who are "values voters" are being encouraged to vote for the party.

The slick, high-tech rally used the evangelical preaching style of the church to rouse the largely Maori and Pacific Island audience.

The party, which has 42 candidates, freely admits the "visionary" behind it is the charismatic and controversial Bishop Tamaki.

The man himself says God has called on him to go out and "stir the Christian community" into political action.

"Over half of this nation is very religious, which is hard to comprehend in light of the type of legislation Government have right now," Bishop Tamaki said.

"We are definitely in with more than just a slight chance.

"This party between now and the end of September is going to be the major upset of the polls. It is a sleeping giant."

Auckland University political analyst Raymond Miller said it was unlikely Destiny NZ would make the 5 per cent threshold needed to make it into Parliament or win a seat.

The closest a Christian party has come to entering Parliament was in 1996 when the Christian Coalition, an alliance of Christian Heritage and the Christian Democrats, secured 4.3 per cent of the vote.

Dr Miller said the Christian vote was traditionally spread between Labour and National and also parties such as United Future and Christian Heritage - which would all provide stiff competition for Destiny.

"The party's name is well known, but is known to be extreme. So a lot of moderate church-going people are not going to feel particularly positive about supporting Destiny."

The Catholic and Presbyterian churches both said they did not tell parishioners which party to vote for, but advised they should vote responsibly and with their consciences.

Catholic Communications director Lindsay Freer said in some areas the Catholic Church shared values with the Destiny Party, but he said it also differed in a number of areas.

"It is a dangerous thing when a church forms a political party," she said.

A large percentage of Destiny supporters are Maori or Pacific Islanders and the party is standing candidates in all seven Maori seats, where it believes it has a realistic chance of attracting the vote.

However, broadcaster and former MP Willie Jackson, who attended the weekend's rally, said it was unlikely the party would win any Maori seats, which would go to the Maori Party or Labour.

"Their best chance would be if Tamaki stood. He has the 'X' factor."

Bishop Tamaki said he was not standing as a politician because he had not received the calling from God and had the higher role of leading his church.

Bishop Tamaki and Mr Lewis will be touring the country over the next weeks on their 'Nation under Siege' tour.

A DVD video, produced to correspond with the tour, has been sent to the Chief Censor for classification because it contains overt political and anti-gay content.

Bishop Tamaki's four reasons NZ is under siege:

* The Government has "gone evil".
* There is a "radical homosexual agenda".
* The media is "modern day witchcraft" and a vehicle for evil ideologies.
* The retreat of religion in NZ.