As eloquent as New Zealand First MPs may be, showing some humility at the party’s 23rd annual conference which ended in Dunedin yesterday would have been a wise move.
MPs Denis O’Rourke, Tracey Martin, Fletcher Tabuteau and, to a lesser extent, Mahesh Bindra sought to dazzle the more than 200 delegates attending the conference with their brilliance.
Sadly, the MPs were ignoring the fact the delegates had spent their own money to travel to Dunedin — without the benefit of taxpayer-funded air travel — to talk about the issues that mattered to them.
Leader Winston Peters is promising major changes this year and into next year’s election campaign and he needs the delegates on side, raising money, distributing leaflets and campaigning on behalf of the party.
This was the conference for delegates to be heard, not lectured at by the MPs who can barely scratch up someone outside the party who knows their name.
The MPs would not be in Parliament without the support of the people attending the conference, and the many supporters around the country.
The delegates were in good heart at the conference, which was more like an actual political conference than a stage-managed event as now held by National and Labour.
The Green Party is rapidly moving to a sterile party conference with only selected topics allowed out in public.
For NZ First, it was warts and all from introducing a financial tax on currency traders (approved) to wanting convicted paedophiles to be automatically fitted with a GPS bracelet (defeated).
The recently reconstituted Clutha-Southland branch promoted a remit of NZ First adopting an Irish-style "origin Green" branding strategy for primary products as its flagship agricultural policy.
The conference really was a "back to basics" for political parties increasingly losing touch with their membership.
Deputy leader Ron Mark, who needs to lose the cowboy hat after all these years, told the Otago Daily Times the party had seen a revival of support among young voters and its youth branch was becoming increasingly influential.
There were younger members present but they kept mostly to themselves through the day, particularly at break times where the older members got together over a Devonshire afternoon tea to chat.
One of the challenges the party hierarchy now needs to focus on is whether to take notice of a strongly supported remit of declaring by the end of this year, to the maximum extent practicable, all NZ First candidates.
Rumour abounds former Labour MP Shane Jones is being lined up to be a high-profile candidate for the party, although there was some concerns at the conference about how hard he would work to be elected.
However, his ability to connect with middle New Zealand is seen as an asset.
It seems increasingly unlikely Dunedin will ever see another National or Labour national conference, and it has been a few years since the Green Party graced the city with its presence.
But for NZ First, the conference, which was the largest since the party formed 23 years ago, was an outstanding success.
