Why Matt King thinks his party is still needed
Former National MP Matt King says while most vaccine mandates and passes are being removed, the hurt will remain for many people impacted by them.
‘‘They [mandates] will not be an issue, but the after effects – the physical, financial and all those sorts of scars – will not be dropped and people will not forget.’’
Last Wednesday’s changes winding back the vaccine pass and most mandates came as no surprise to King, but he said it should have happened long ago.
The mandates took jobs away from people who refused to have the vaccine, and those people were then alienated by the sitting MPs who refused to meet with anti-mandate protesters at Parliament grounds, he said.
King said it was for this reason he formed a new political party, DemocracyNZ, standing of a platform of democracy, unity, freedom of choice, freedom of expression, access and inclusion.
The party was all about upholding the Bill of Rights, a foundation which covers all political sides, including those feeling ‘‘politically homeless’’ by sitting MPs, he said.
While King has spoken out against Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Government and the ‘‘undemocratic’’ mandates, and also said
National went against the bill when it removed prisoner voting rights in 2010, a rule revoked by Labour in 2020.
DemocracyNZ has had good support since its low-key launch on Friday, with about 2000 people signing up to become members in the first 48 hours, he said.
No other team members have been named yet, but King said other candidates would be announced closer to the election.
While Northland is a key political home, King thought there wasn’t necessarily something special about the region, it just happened to be his home.
The former detective lives on a farm in kaihau, in the Far North, in an off-the-grid house.
‘‘I can’t see any other houses where I live, and life’s pretty good,’’ King said.
Representing Northland, for National, from 2017 to 2020 was one of King’s greatest honours, he told Facebook followers.
King lost the seat to Labour’s Willow-Jean Prime in a close battle that also dealt a blow to NZ First, represented by Shane Jones.
NZ First leader Winston Peters is also based in Northland, and he has also spoken against mandates and met with Parliament protesters.
The party won 2.6 per cent of the party vote in 2020, but failed to meet the threshold for Parliament entry without an electorate seat.
The north is also home to former Advance NZ leader Billy Te Kahika, who ran for Māori seat Te Tai Tokerau and stood on a platform against Covid lockdowns.
Advance NZ gained 1 per cent of the party vote in the 2020 general election, and Te Kahika was later charged with filing false candidate donations and obtaining money by deception.
A fourth political party leader, Whangārei-based Social Credit leader Chris Leitch, has also spoken against vaccine mandates, calling on the Government to compensate all those who lost their jobs because of the rules.
Social Credit gained just 0.1 per cent of the party vote in the 2020 general election.