Speech to Family Party Conference, May 08

Ladies and gentlemen, fellow Christians, family members and supporters, welcome.

What a great day this has been. We all thank you so much for your attendance, your many kind words and most of all your support.

They say Christianity and politics shouldn’t mix, but I believe that this year Christianity must return to politics. The wellbeing of our nation and our future generations depend on it. In fact, the more I see families suffer and even ignored and hurt through the governmental policies of New Zealand, the more I believe that this is the day, and this is the time to see the Christian values our nation was birthed upon, restored to our land.

Let me read a quote from a great man, a man no doubt known to most of you here today. The man I refer to is William Booth, the founder of The Salvation Army who said:

• “The chief danger of the 20th century will be religion without the Holy Ghost,
• Christianity without Christ,
• Forgiveness without repentance,
• Salvation without regeneration,
• Politics without God,
• A Heaven without Hell.”

If William Booth was in the room with us today in this the 21st century I believe he would be saddened by the accuracy of his words. Churches take family values seriously and they know these values are the cornerstone of great societies. Yet we have had Governments that have continually undermined these values, values that Christians take very seriously. Indeed, most New Zealanders, both Christian and non-Christian understand and desire these principles to be upheld and reinstated in our land simply because time has shown over and over again that they work.

So I’m sure you will agree with me that one of the main beliefs that unite many people in this great country of ours is the high regard and importance of Christian values as the cornerstone of great societies. Values that build families up not pull them apart. People that have these Christian values as their core, as many of our forefathers did, were consequently a more self governing people. They clearly understood the difference between right and wrong. Were they perfect? No.

However they did know, with a far greater clarity, when they were doing wrong. This is something that is rapidly disappearing today as more and more our Government calls things 'right' that are clearly 'wrong'. If New Zealanders were once again a self governing people, we would need far less laws and less of the accompanying complexities that go with them.

Now I want you to ponder on a very important question this afternoon.

Do you think it constitutionally wrong to incorporate these Christian traditions back into Parliament? Do you think it morally unethical that we apply this shared Christian belief back into Government policy? Personally I don’t see anything wrong with this, and neither do the many other voters that I have talked to. After all has not the existing Government put their religious beliefs on us?

Indeed most people that I speak to, have never thought family and family values were unethical or wrong. Many I have spoken to believe the complete opposite. They have confirmed that family and family values was the major missing ingredient of our current Government. It was this shared belief amongst the many voters that I have talked to that has convinced me, and I am glad to find out that such great men as William Booth have also shared this belief, that yes! Christianity does indeed have a place in politics.

And that is why we are here, to make sure that family and family values are upheld as the cornerstone of not only good living but also good governance. That is also why The Family Party is unashamedly Christian. It is New Zealand’s only registered Christian Party. We have no hidden agendas. We want people to know what we believe in and what we stand for. We also heartily agree with William Booth when he stated that you cannot have Christianity without Christ. Check out our constitution.

I should also add that our constitution affirms the separation of church and state and freedom of religious choice.

This brings me to my next point, the issue of governance. Family and family values should be the cornerstone of good governance BUT the reality of today is that they are not the cornerstone of governance at all. And here lies the problem. The problem as The Family Party sees it is that families and family values are being placed last in Parliament and Government policy. Worse still the traditional family is in the process of being dismantled, one piece at a time. That in itself is a major source of many of the social problems that face us today. When you place the family and family values last, there can only be one end result. The breakdown of the family and its social values, throws the systems into chaos, violence and impoverishment.

And isn’t this what we see on the television every night?

Isn’t this what we read in the newspapers every day?

Isn’t this what New Zealanders are up in arms about?

Look, I’m not going to go into the sordid details, but as far as The Family Party is concerned, most of these troubles are directly connected, and are a result of, the rejection of the family and our family values in the governance of this country. Make no bones about it friends. If we had our family and family values placed first, then many of the troubles that we are seeing and reading about today simply wouldn’t be happening. They certainly weren’t only 20 short years ago. Of this I am fully convinced.

So what’s the solution you say? How do we fix this problem? What needs to happen to remedy all this trouble? How do we get family and family values into Government?

There are two parts to the answer to this question. The first part is the traditional values voter, your vote. Did you know that the traditional values or Christian vote holds the key to the future of this country? It’s true. Let me explain. The mathematics is very simple. According to the latest statistics there are over two million people who identify themselves as Christians in New Zealand.

Each one of these Christians has two votes.

Now that’s a lot of votes folks. In political terms, all these votes together would be called the Christian vote. Imagine then if all these traditional values voters, the Christian vote, voted as one?

What do you think would happen then ladies and gentlemen? Well, I know what would happen. Change, much needed change, would happen.

This vote has the power to return family and family values back into their rightful place of being first in everything that is decided upon in the Beehive. This traditional values vote has the power to change the type of governance in Parliament. This traditional values vote has the power to change the lives and future of all New Zealand families. This traditional values vote has the power to change the entire direction of this country. This is the power that the traditional values vote has.

So don’t let anyone fool you into thinking that the Christian vote has no meaning or that Christians cannot affect change in this country or that Christians should keep Christianity out of politics. It’s a lot of rubbish. Don’t you believe them for one second.

As you can see, the traditional values or Christian vote is very important in this election and very powerful within the MMP system. No wonder they fight so hard to keep Christianity and politics from mixing.

This brings me to the second part of the answer to the question of ‘how do we get family and family values back into government'?

As you already know, The Family Party is a 100% unashamedly Christian party representing the Christian beliefs in family and family values. The Family Party has formed because we believe that family and family values are coming last in Government policy and we want to change this and make your family first, and govern New Zealand according to our shared family values. As a political party we are totally convinced of and committed to this cause, and as a consequence we are standing up to be counted and we are putting our money where our mouth is.

Indeed, The Family Party is now a fully operational and registered political Party that will be listed on the 2008 ballot papers. Unlike others, The Family Party refuses to shy away from its primary promotion of family and family values. Neither will The Family Party roar like a lion but act as a mouse in the face of opposition. Be under no illusions, The Family Party is serious about firmly placing your family first and Christian family values back into Government. We are not here to look or sound good. We are here to get into Parliament. We are here to win.

But to win, we need the traditional values vote, we need your vote. We need your families’ votes; we need your friends' votes. We need you to be ambassadors of The Family Party. The families of our nation are dependent of it. Without your two votes The Family Party cannot get into Parliament. It really is as simple as that.

As you previously heard from Richard, your two votes do indeed hold the balance of power in 2008. And therein lies the challenge. In 2008, are you going to vote for the same old policies, from the same old parties or are you going to boldly vote for a Christian Party that will place families first. If you want these changes, then voting for Labour, National or the other minor parties is nothing but a wasted vote. Why? Because they don’t have family or family values as their main priority or direction.

No ladies and gentlemen, if you want traditional family values don’t waste your votes on political parties that have had years to put you and your family first, but have not done so. Nor is it likely, that if you vote for them again that they will change their policies or ways. No, don’t be fooled, if you want families to be valued then give your two votes to The Family Party this year. Then you will know that your two votes have not been wasted but have gone to a refreshingly new political Party that really does put your family first.

So what exactly is going on here in Mangere? My friends it is a huge battle, unseen by the eyes of many New Zealanders, yet never the less a significant battle that will affect all New Zealanders. It is a David and Goliath battle.

Why do I say that? Simply because Goliath appeared to have everything he needed to win the battle. Full armour, troops on his side and the one he used to his greatest advantage was 'the fear factor'. And we all know what fear stands for don’t we? 'False evidence appearing real!' Mangere has until recently been Labour’s Giant. This is the seat from which they have achieved their greatest majority. But they will not repeat that this year.

When it passed the electoral finance act, the Government limited parties such as The Family Party to spending only $65.00 per day to get their message out to an Electorate. Considering all the resources available to Government, how fair to you think that is? That is why we have put the effort into knocking on doors and have spoken to you face to face. We wanted to hear what you had to say.

Mangere has always had a significant part to play in the politics of this nation and this year is no different, except this time the Giant will be defeated if you will help. Why must the Giant come down? You have already heard some of the reasons. Parents can no longer discipline their children as scripture encourages us to do, the price of your basic food items are out of control, as are the gangs that adversely affect the lives of your children.

Just like David who stood in the midst of his family and said, “This Giant can be defeated,” we stand in your midst today facing the Giant that has laughed in the face of our traditional family values, and say, “you must fall.”

By giving your two votes to The Family Party, you will be voting for this victory.

By giving your two votes to The Family Party, you will be voting for your family.

Because as you have already heard. In this Election, your kids can’t vote but they’ll have to live with your vote. Think about it - really think about it.

Therefore by giving your two votes to The Family Party, you will be voting for family values. By giving your two votes to The Family Party, you will be voting for a Christian Party. By giving your two votes to The Family Party, you will be voting with your children’s future in mind.

Will you work with us? Will you help us to get this message out? We both know that there are far too many families suffering, too many families breaking apart, too many families going through hardship all because the Government and politicians refuse to put family and family values first.

They have endeavoured to throw our Christian heritage out the window. Stop this by placing The Family Party into Parliament as we can only achieve by being inside Parliament. And only your two votes can get The Family Party into Parliament. There is no other way.

Ladies and gentlemen, The Family Party is here, formed and is in place. Mangere is the home of The Family Party. The Family Party has a heart for this Electorate and will not forsake it. Now I believe that we will see this year that it is ones like you, the traditional voters, who really hold the true balance of power in 2008. You have the power to change everything in one day; Election Day. However, this window for change comes only once every three years. This is that year. This is the year to bring the much-needed change.

• Change that will put more healthy food on the table for our children
• Change that will make your power bill and petrol more affordable
• Change that will protect parents from being arrested for properly disciplining their children
• Change the restores parent’s rights to know what his happening with their children
• Change that will clean up our streets from drug dealing and prostitution
• Change that will make our communities safe for children

That is the sort of change that only the Family Party can bring.

So vote wisely this year. Vote with your children’s future in mind on Election Day. Give both votes to The Family Party and be part of the solution for the families of New Zealand.

Why? Because your children can’t vote, but they will have to live with your vote.

Thank you very much.