New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says this weekend's conference will be about rebuilding hope and opportunity, as the party plots an unprecedented second consecutive term in Government.
By Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira of RNZ
Party members and candidates are gathering in Auckland for the conference and election campaign launch, as polling shows the party's popularity continues to rise.
The 11.5% New Zealand First received in the latest RNZ-Reid Research poll is its third consecutive rise in this poll and its best result in nearly a decade.
It puts the party on track to remain in Parliament after serving a term in government, something it was unable to do in 2008 and 2020. It has also mustered several former politicians to its cause.
Former National MP Harete Hipango-Brownlie is the latest in a string of former politicians to hitch their return to Parliament to the party, along with former National MPs Alfred Ngaro and Michael Laws, and former Labour MP Stuart Nash also confirmed as candidates.
Before the conference, Peters told RNZ that, over the weekend, there would be a focus on "the rebuilding of real hope and real opportunity" for New Zealanders over the next few years of government.
"It's not full of promises on the 'Never-Never Land' basis, but it's filled with statements backed up with economic planning to take this country forward, to turn our economy around, to uplift all New Zealanders' lives, to attack the cost of living, the cost of power, the cost of energy," he said.
Despite regularly disparaging polls, saying New Zealand First would turn them into "confetti", Peters was more than willing to talk about the party's rise in them. He put that down to the regular public meetings the party held.
"We're in the room properly, and we've never been far from ordinary New Zealanders' concerns and thoughts," he said. "We understand the situation that we've been going through, decade after decade, of all sorts of promises made politically and fulfilment not matching that.
"We've got a chance to turn this around and we need to do so, but we need to do so now. It's one of those elections where it's now or never."
On Saturday, attendees will hear from Peters, before the party's roster of candidates, including former All Blacks captain Taine Randell, are put on display.
A gala dinner celebrating the 33rd anniversary of the party formation will take place later that night.
On Sunday, Peters will host a public meeting for the official launch of the party's campaign.
The party wants to restrict voting rights to New Zealand citizens only, automatically enrol all newborn New Zealand citizens into KiwiSaver with a $1000 government contribution, buy back the Bank of New Zealand and split up the energy gentatailers.
A new policy on immigration will likely be announced at the conference.
The party's opposition to the Free Trade Agreement with India has seen it at odds with its coalition partners. Peters has criticised the deal being both "too generous" to India on immigration, and "discriminatory" and restrictive.
"We told the New Zealand people that [the deal] would mean open-slather immigration from India to New Zealand, but the National Party has just changed its course - no doubt due to poor polling - and they have done so covertly.
"Their officials have even discussed the importance of not announcing these changes for the fear of the Indian reaction," he said. "This is bad faith."
Peters, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, was notably absent for the "historic" visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, away on other business in Singapore and Japan.
In the latest RNZ-Reid Research poll, New Zealand First climbed 0.9 pts to 11.5% - its best Reid Research showing since July 2017.
If the poll results were replicated at the election, New Zealand First would return 15 MPs to Parliament, National with 36 MPs and ACT with 10, giving the coalition 61 seats in a 120-seat Parliament.
New Zealand First is the last of the coalition partners to hold its conference, with National using its to announce a KiwiSaver policy and ACT announcing its policy on welfare.
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