Advance New Zealand

The Advance New Zealand Party is a proposed political party in New Zealand led by Independent MP Jami-Lee Ross. The idea was first unveiled in a newsletter from Ross released in April 2020. The party would be a broadly centrist and anti-corruption movement designed to appeal to voters "in the middle". Ross had been a member of the centre-right New Zealand National Party until a public spat with leader Simon Bridges during which he accused Bridges of corruption. Ross has since been accused of sexual harassment and bullying, and is currently under investigation for corruption himself.[1]

Advance New Zealand
LeaderJami-Lee Ross
Founded2020[1]
Split fromNew Zealand National Party
Headquarters309 Botany Road, Botany,
Auckland
IdeologyCentrism
Anti-Corruption
International affiliationNone
Colours     Blue and      Red
MPs in the House of Representatives
0 / 120
[2]
Website
advancenz.org.nz

Background

Jami-Lee Ross had been a long-time stalwart for New Zealand's centre-right National Party, having been elected to the Manukau City Council in 2004 aged just 18, and later as a Member of Parliament for Botany at 25 in 2011. Being one of the safest seats for the National Party, Ross would continue to win Botany by comfortable margins.[3] Ross eventually became the party's Senior Whip in May 2017. After the National Party lost power at the 2017 election, Ross became a high-ranking figure in the Opposition led by new National leader Simon Bridges, serving as party spokesperson for Transport and Infrastructure.

In a highly publicised falling out, Ross departed from the National Party in October 2018, accusing Bridges of corruption, and releasing the audio from conversations between him and Bridges. In a press conference on 16 October, Ross announced his intention to resign his seat and contest the resulting by-election as an Independent candidate. In the end however Ross chose to remain in Parliament and the election never took place.[4][5][6] Ross was subsequently accused of sexual harassment and bullying behaviour towards staff members, National Party officials, and members of Parliament.[7]

On 29 January 2020 the Serious Fraud Office announced they had charged four people in relation to the claims made by Ross in 2018 around the NZ$100,000 donation. None of the sitting National Party MPs at the time, including Simon Bridges, were among the four charged.[8] On 19 February 2020, it was reported that Ross was one among four people charged by the SFO over a $105,000 donation made to the National Party in June 2018. The SFO alleged that Ross and the other defendants had committed fraud by splitting the 2018 donation into sums of money less than $15,000, which were then transferred into the bank accounts of eight different people before being donated to the National Party.[9][10] On 25 February, Ross appeared in court where he pleaded not guilty to the charges relating to the National Party donations.[11][12]

Creation

With Ross's case still ongoing in the Auckland District Court, he announced his intention to create his own political party in an April 2020 newsletter. This has been described by Ross as a "new political movement" designed to appeal to "brave voices in the middle that speak truth to power". Little else is known about the party beyond its broadly centrist ethos and central issue of anti-corruption – in particular, opposition to the Chinese government's supposed influence on New Zealand. It is expected that Ross will contest his seat of Botany as the Advance NZ candidate, going up against National candidate and former Air New Zealand CEO Christopher Luxon.[1][13]

The party received a broadcasting allocation of $62,186 for the 2020 election, contingent on achieving registration.[14]

References
  1. "Former National MP Jami-Lee Ross is forming his own political party – Advance New Zealand". NZ Herald. 29 April 2020.
  2. "Members of Parliament". Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  3. "Final Botany results counted, Jami-Lee to be sworn in". Newshub. 15 March 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  4. "Jami-Lee Ross: 'I believe Simon Bridges is a corrupt politician'". Radio New Zealand. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  5. "Live: Jami-Lee Ross quits National, accuses Simon Bridges of 'corruption'". Stuff.co.nz. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  6. "Jami-Lee Ross tweets pics of Simon Bridges and Chinese '$100k donor' as MP accuses National Party leader of electoral fraud". 1 News. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  7. du Plessis-Allan, Heather (19 October 2018). "Exclusive: Watch – Jami-Lee Ross admits to affairs with two women". Newstalk ZB. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  8. Forbes, Steve (30 January 2020). "MP Jami-Lee Ross avoiding media after Serious Fraud Office charges four people". Stuff. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  9. Roden, Jessica (19 February 2020). "MP Jami-Lee Ross among four charged over National Party donations". 1 News. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  10. Murphy, Tim (19 February 2020). "Jami-Lee Ross one of 4 charged by SFO". Newsroom. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  11. "Jami-Lee Ross, three Chinese businessmen plead not guilty to National Party donation charges". 1 News. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  12. Hurley, Sam (25 February 2020). "National Party donations: MP Jami-Lee Ross pleads not guilty to SFO charges". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  13. Stephen Forbes (14 May 2020). "Jami-Lee Ross' battle for Botany continues with new party Advance NZ". Stuff. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  14. "2020 Broadcasting Allocation Decision Released". Electoral Commission. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
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