Elliot Ikilei
Elliot Ikilei is the Deputy Leader of the New Conservative Party, a minor right wing party in New Zealand.
Personal life and professional career
Elliot Ikilei was born around 1977[1] and grew up in the Auckland suburbs of Point England, Glen Innes, and Mount Wellington. He spent his teenage years in Hamilton. He currently lives in Papakura in South Auckland.[2]
Ikilei's relatives include his wife Eona, grandmother Fanela Ikela, mother Dianne Hohaia, father Pasione Ikilei, and youth worker Sully Paea.[2][3][4] Ikilei has worked as a speaker, facilitator, and youth advocate. In the past, Ikilei has worked for the Ministry for Children, a tutor at BEST Pacific Institute of Education, a community liaison manager at Villa Education Trust, and as a training developer at Statistics New Zealand.[5]
Political career
2017 general election
During the lead-up to the 2017 general election, Elliott Ikilei had been designated as the Conservative candidate at a cross-party debate in March 2017 organised by the University of Auckland's Debating Society. However, the Conservatives were disinvited due to a decision to limit participants to parties that were represented in the New Zealand Parliament.[6] During a subsequent debate held at the University of Auckland, Ikilei advocated a pro-life stance on abortion and supported citizen-initiated referenda.[2]
In June 2017, Ikilei was appointed as the Conservative Party's Deputy Leader and nominated as the party's candidate in the Manurewa electorate.[7] During the 2017 election, the Manurewa seat was won by Labour Party Member of Parliament Louisa Wall; with Ikilei only winning 342 votes.[8] The Conservatives performed poorly during the election, winning only 0.2% of the party vote (6,253) and failing to win a seat in Parliament.[9]
Post-2017 election
After the Conservatives rebranded themselves as the New Conservatives,[10] Ikilei defended controversial far-right Canadian Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux, who had been denied public speaking venues during their tour of Auckland in July 2018.[11][12] In August 2018, Ikilei seconded former National and ACT parties leader Don Brash during a debate on free speech and "political correctness" at the University of Auckland, which attracted the attention of protesters.[13][14]
In October 2018, Ikilei was designated as the party's candidate for the scheduled Botany by-election,[15] triggered by Jami-Lee Ross resigning from the National Party. However, the by-election did not go ahead since Ross opted to remain in Parliament as an independent candidate.[16]
Political views
Elliot Ikilei is socially-conservative, taking a traditional stance on abortion, the family, law and order, welfare and transgender issues.[2][10] In April 2019, Ikilei was temporarily suspended from Twitter for tweeting "'Trans women’ are men with dysphoria/disorder, to be treated with compassion and tolerance"; a remark which many regarded as transphobic.[10][18] Ikilei has defended controversial Australian rugby player Israel Folau's opposition to homosexuality.[14]
References
- The Stuff article "Getting Candid with... Elliot Ikilei" identifies him as being 40 years old in 2017.
- "Getting Candid with ... Elliot Ikilei". Stuff.co.nz. 9 August 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- "Elliot Ikilei". New Conservatives. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- Bayer, Kurt (31 December 2018). "Ex-gang member Sully Paea marks 40 years of Otara youth work by going back to the streets". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- "Elliot Ikilei's LinkedIn profile". LinkedIn. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- "University Debate Running Scared of Conservatives!". Scoop.co.nz. 4 March 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
- "Deputy Leader for Manurewa Candidate". Conservative Party of New Zealand. 9 June 2017. Archived from the original on 12 February 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
- "Manurewa - Official Result - 2017 General Election". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- "2017 General Election – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
- Braae, Alex (25 July 2019). "NZ's resurgent New Conservatives: riding the culture wars to the 2020 election". The Spinoff. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- Ikilei, Elliot (8 July 2019). "A Line Has Been Crossed". New Conservatives. Scoop. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- Chiang, Jessie (14 July 2018). "Auckland free speech rally over controversial speakers draws crowds". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- "Protesters disrupt free-speech debate when Don Brash takes stage". New Zealand Herald. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- Chapman, Madaleine (10 August 2018). "And the winner is: Don Brash, by a mile". The Spinoff. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- "Elliot Ikilei to Contest Botany for New Conservative". New Conservatives. Scoop (website). 17 October 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- "Burning Bridges: Simon says Ross 'lying, leaking, lashing out'". Otago Daily Times. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- "Elliot Ikilei Will Stand For Flat Bush". www.scoop.co.nz. 9 April 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- de Boer, Dieuwe (29 April 2019). "New Conservative's Elliot Ikilei Suspended From Twitter". Right Minds. Retrieved 25 July 2019.