The Phoenix Party was a short-lived left-wing political party in New Zealand.
New Zealand is a sovereign island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, and the South Island —and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, and plant life. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland.
It was founded by Gerald Williams, formerly an organiser for the Labour Party. During Norman Kirk's leadership of Labour (1965–1974), Williams came to disagree with a number of Labour Party policies, particularly over the policy of giving state funding to church schools. Believing that the Labour Party was becoming moribund, Williams founded the Phonenix Party. The name is an allusion to the mythical Phoenix, representing Williams' hope that the party would "rise from the ashes" of the Labour Party.
The New Zealand Labour Party, or simply Labour, is a centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers describe Labour as social-democratic and pragmatic in practice. It is a participant of the international Progressive Alliance.
Norman Eric Kirk was a New Zealand politician who served as the 29th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974.
In Greek mythology, a phoenix is a long-lived bird that cyclically regenerates or is otherwise born again.
Williams was the party's only candidate, and attracted a certain number of protest votes. In the 1969 elections, he contested the Dunedin Central electorate, placing fourth (with 365 votes). He continued to criticise the Labour Party by means of satire. Williams later became a member of the Values Party, the world's first national-level environmentalist political party.
Dunedin Central was a parliamentary electorate in the city of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand from 1881 to 1890 and 1905 to 1984.
The Values Party was a New Zealand political party. It is considered the world's first national-level environmentalist party, pre-dating the use of "Green" as a political label. It was established in May 1972 at Victoria University of Wellington. Its first leader was Tony Brunt, and Geoff Neill, the party's candidate in the Dunedin North electorate, became the Deputy Leader.
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