NZ First leader Winston Peters has rejoined the political environment with a bang after an emphatic leader's address after his party's annual conference in Christchurch. Photo / Adam Pearse
NZ First leader Winston Peters has rejoined the political environment with a bang after an emphatic leader's address after his party's annual conference in Christchurch. Photo / Adam Pearse
ANALYSIS
New Zealand First’s return to the political sphere confirms its traditional building blocks are still in place and its architect maintains a firm grip on the tools.
After two years in the wilderness, the party emerged not just with a new lick of paint but an extensive makeover.
NZFirst’s conference, held in Christchurch at the weekend, was among the first true chances for members to reconnect after suffering through political oblivion.
They flocked from across the country. Former MP Shane Jones led a strong Northland contingent, while another former MP - Mark Patterson - and his crew ventured up from the deep south.
Leader Winston Peters, now 77, cuts a figure 10 years his junior - his ability to captivate his audience no less evident after lockdowns in Whananaki.
While memories of 2020 and achieving just 2.6 per cent of the vote seem distant, the pain it inflicted on the party is still deeply felt by those who have remained faithful.
"It was an ass-kicking, yeah," Waikato farmer Craig Sinclair admits.
"The surprise, I think, to the membership was the deathly silence after the election with no one looking to build and question what happened and what went on," Coromandel electorate chairman Gilbert James says.
Waikato farmer Craig Sinclair speaks to his fellow members regarding a remit. Photo / Adam Pearse
Party secretary Holly Howard, then a member of the board for almost five years, acknowledges just how damaging the 2020 result was.
"It was a very tumultuous time," she tells the Herald.
"The membership was burnt, the membership was hurt, it was a very different campaign and there were some pretty obvious factions that had come about."
Anthony Odering says he was among those knocked by the abrupt ejection from New Zealand's democracy. He, like others in the party, had to question whether their time with NZ First had come to an end.
However, with a beaming smile, Odering says the conference has restored his faith.
"No matter how much you feel like you want to throw in the towel because you've got to focus on just me and mine, you come back here and see the dedication, the hours and the love of country, it's a very patriotic feeling and it's really hard not to be invigorated by that."
Not all had Odering's resolve to stand by the party. For various reasons, several of the older guard moved on after 2020, posing a challenge to those remaining, but also an opportunity.
"It wasn't the way we wanted the party to end and in reality it gave us an opportunity to do a full refresh and actually make some changes because it forced things to change that previously we'd had a lot of resistance on," Howard says.
"Bringing in the new blood, we don't have baggage."
Former MPs Jenny Marcroft (left), Fletcher Tabuteau, Darroch Ball and party secretary Holly Howard discuss remits. Photo / Adam Pearse
Much of Howard's decision to return was to do right by her leader. With Peters forking out financially to keep the party "campaigning" in a Covid-delayed election, Howard felt it was only right to carry on.
"I didn't want him and his family to have to wear that cost because it was a party decision to carry on with the campaign.
"It was the party of the true believers at that point."
Howard, along with then board member and current president Julian Paul and former MP Darroch Ball, formed a small but formidable team as they went about assessing the damage to their members and find out who still remained.
In June last year, the party gathered but not in typical fashion. In a more private affair, the leaders redeveloped the party's governance, formalising a members council, prioritising skill-based appointments to the board and finessing its financial structure.
It appears to have made an immediate impact. It's estimated about 30 per cent of those who attended this weekend were new. The number of wheelchairs and walkers had reportedly decreased significantly amid a boost in young members.
"We've got the right people in the right places, the party has had a massive refresh in terms of membership, bringing in new people which has made a massive difference," Howard says.
Party president Julian Paul addresses the crowd. Photo / Adam Pearse
Northland, somewhat expectedly, has been fertile ground for the party in recent times.
Craig and Wendy of the well-known Zielinski whānau in Kaikohe say they've recruited about 100 young members recently and expect to double that by Christmas.
Among those at his first conference was 33-year-old Cale Silich. As a nephew to Jones, Silich was no stranger to the party but this year made the decision to take a closer look.
"After two terms of Government with Jacinda, I - like many people my age - have become disillusioned with the identity politics that we no longer identify with," he says.
His own pedigree aside, Silich can see the pathways open to young, innovative thinkers within NZ First.
"I'm hopeful that I'll be able to elicit or at least inspire some of my generation to be involved in this party because as I say, it's a party based on ideas and rationale and that's what we need moving forward."
Party members were largely in agreement when discussing policy priorities. Photo / Adam Pearse
NZ First won't be afforded a smooth transition back into political life, especially by opposing parties. Act has already fired early warning shots across the bow, requesting the Auditor-General investigate Jones over a perceived conflict resulting from a 2019 donation to his campaign.
Just as Peters concluded his leader's address yesterday afternoon, leader David Seymour was quick to brand his rival "Winnie-the-wasted-vote" over what he considered a sluggish response to Labour and National's housing intensification plans.
Peters' proclivity to associate co-governance with South African apartheid is already showing a small divide between him and the party - the latter voted to remove "apartheid" from a remit describing the "cornerstone policy stance" on co-governance ideology because members felt the comparison wasn't fitting.
He has promised billions for education and health but without exact figures or a plan to pay for it, the words will be worth little more than the paper they're printed on.
Winston Peters exercised his well-known magnetism to reinvigorate his party over the weekend. Photo / Adam Pearse
But this weekend’s conference has proven what political experts predicted in its lead-up: Never count out Winston.
His party members are buoyed by what they see as a fresh start. Former MPs have returned into the fold, including those who once thought the party had lost its way.
As Howard attests and experts warn, people betting against an NZ First revival do so at their own risk.
“Anybody who thinks NZ First is dead and buried is a fool because we’ve got this way of resurrecting ourselves.”
