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New Zealand First is a conservative political party in New Zealand founded in July 1993, following the 19 March 1993 resignation of its leader and founder, Winston Peters, from the then-governing National Party. It has formed governments with both major parties in New Zealand: first with the National Party in 1996, and then with the Labour Party in 2005. Commentators dispute the appropriate classification of the party on the traditional political spectrum, but New Zealanders might arguably associate it with advocacy of senior citizens' benefits, and opposition to immigration, especially from Asia. The party held seats in the House of Representatives of New Zealand from its formation in 1993 until 2008, when it failed to gain enough party votes to retain representation. However, in the 2011 election, New Zealand First gained 6.59% of the total party vote, entitling it to eight MPs in the House. The party sits on the cross-benches and during the 50th New Zealand Parliament tended to vote with the Opposition against Government policies. == Policies == At the core of New Zealand First's policies are its "Fifteen Fundamental Principles"; the first being "To put New Zealand and New Zealanders First". They largely echo the policies that Peters has advocated throughout his career. New Zealand First is best known for its policies regarding the welfare of the elderly and its strong anti-immigration policies, which have caused media controversy in the past. The party also espouses a mixture of economic policies. It opposes the privatisation of state assets (particularly to overseas buyers), which aligned it with views generally found on the left of New Zealand politics. On the other hand, it favours reducing taxation and reducing the size of government (policies typical of the New Zealand right) and espouses strongly conservative views on social issues. Rather than defining the party's precise position on the left-right spectrum, some commentators simply labelled NZ First as "populist"—in line with its emphasis on direct democracy and on popular referendums. In 2011, it was announced at the New Zealand First annual convention that if elected to parliament in the 2011 general election the party would repeal the controversial Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Act 2007 (widely known as the Anti-Smacking Legislation), which a vast majority of voters rejected in a 2009 citizen-initiated referendum. The party also announced that it would introduce a new government scheme to tackle the ongoing problem of student debt in New Zealand where the government makes a matching dollar-for-dollar payment on student debt for students staying and working in New Zealand.〔New Zealand First Policies: New Zealand Young People http://www.nzfirst.org.nz/policies2.html#young〕 In 2012, New Zealand First announced that if state assets were to be partially privatised, at the next general election, it would work in coalition with parties that will buy the assets back. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「New Zealand First」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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