The Expatriate Party of New Zealand is an unregistered political party that seeks to represent people who consider themselves New Zealanders but who do not reside in New Zealand. It contested one electorate, but not the party vote, at the 2014 general election. It has announced it intends to contest the 2017 election.
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Policies
According to the party's Facebook page, the Expatriate Party seeks "to provide representation for, and to promote fairness in the treatment of all members of the mobile global workforce who identify as New Zealanders, irrespective of where they live or their residency or citizenship status."
The party put forward several policies during their 2014 campaign. The main policy for that election was fairer rules to allow New Zealanders to become Australian permanent residents, with the rights to services such as healthcare that this would bring. However, the party made clear it did not intend to seek access to unemployment benefits. It also supported reforms to New Zealand law regarding whether and how expatriates may participate in New Zealand elections (including studying the introduction of electronic voting); reduction of regulation and taxation (which it considers a disincentive for expatriates to remain connected to New Zealand); and stronger social and economic ties with New Zealand's traditional allies.
2014 election
The party spokespeople were Grant Cheesman and Nick Teulon, both of whom were New Zealand-born residents of Australia. By August 2014, the party had announced that it had sufficient numbers to register as a political party in New Zealand, which would have allowed it to contest the 2014 election. However, the registration process was not completed before Writ Day due to issues in verifying registered members, leaving the party unable to contest the party vote. The Expatriate Party ran one electorate candidate at the 2014 elections. Vicky Rose contested the Maori Electorate of Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, receiving 70 votes, which was 0.32% of the electorate vote; Rose came last of the six candidates.
2014-2017
During 2014, the party stated it did not rule out the possibility of participating in Australian elections in the future. However, it did not contest the 2016 Australian election.
2017 election and current status
On 8 February 2017, the party announced on their Facebook page that they had talked with the Electoral Commission about enrolling for the 2017 election, and another post on 3 March stated it has applied for broadcasting funding. Otherwise, the status of the party is unclear. The party's website is defunct, and the party's Facebook page does not state who the party leader is, if any, the number of current members, or the names of any members apart from Nick Teulon. As of March 2017, the party remains unregistered.