HeartLandNZ proudly represents the Rural and Provincial population of New Zealand.
HeartlandNZ will ensure that the rural and provincial sectors get a fair go as we make up 12% of the population and generate over 80% of New Zealand’s export income. We are the world’s greenest producers of food, yet we have gone from being ignored and taken advantage of, to suffering theft of property rights, being economically targeted and unjustifiably vilified.
HeartLandNZ is a political party dedicated to giving provincial New Zealand and our primary industries the political representation they’ve been denied for so long.HeartLandNZ is asking you to give your candidate vote to us. We are not seeking any party vote – give your party vote to your usual party of preference. This will ensure they get the number of seats required to form a coalition to change the government while creating an ‘overhang’ of extra seats for HeartLandNZ to tip the scales in favour of the Right.
“Give us your
candidate vote.
We are not
seeking any
party vote.”
Frequently asked questions
Q1How does creating an ‘overhang’ double the power of my vote?
Overhang seats are a constitutional feature of MMP and have occurred in three previous New Zealand parliamentary terms.
If you split your vote by giving your candidate vote to the HeartLandNZ candidate and your party vote to the party of preference (not HeartLandNZ!) you can double the power of your vote and get two MPs – a HeartLandNZ electorate MP and a list MP from your other party of preference.
No support is taken away from your other party preference because they are topped up from the party list to the level that their party support qualifies them for. Parliament creates extra ‘overhang’ seats for the HeartLandNZ MPs – you’re not changing your allegiance, you’re adding to it. Here’s how it works:
SCENARIO 1 - TWO VOTES FOR BLUE PARTY
On recent polling, the Left bloc are neck and neck with the right bloc. Te Pāti Māori holds the balance of power and are fully committed to the Left. Parliament is made up of 120 seats.
Scenario 1 Outcome
With 62 seats out of 120, the Left bloc forms a coalition government. (Red, Green, Dark Red)
SCENARIO 2 - SPLIT VOTE BETWEEN BLUE & HEARTLANDNZ
The HeartLandNZ Party contests and wins 10 regional electorate seats. They seek NO PARTY VOTES. Parliament creates 10 extra overhang seats resulting in a Parliament of 130 seats.
Scenario 2 Outcome
With 68 seats out of 130 the Right bloc forms a coalition government. (Blue, Dark Green, Yellow)
Q2Why is HeartLandNZ only standing in rural / provincial seats?
HeartLandNZ’s number one focus is to represent the 12% of NZ’s workforce who generate 82% of our export income. We represent the real producers of NZ’s wealth.
Q3I’m afraid of wasting my vote on a small right-wing party.
This is definitely an issue with respect to your PARTY VOTE. Wasted votes are the worst possible outcome for a right-wing voter!
Wasted PARTY VOTES have to be shared equally amongst all the parties that get into parliament. This means your full party vote is taken off the RIGHT then half of it is given to the left and half is given back to the right. This creates a full one vote difference in favour of the LEFT. This is why HeartLandNZ DOES NOT want your PARTY VOTE. This is not the case with candidate votes and is why HeartLandNZ only wants your candidate vote.
Q4Why do you ONLY want the candidate vote?
Because if our candidate wins the electorate and we get no party vote, under the rules of MMP, parliament is forced to add extra seats in parliament. If, for example, we won 8 seats, parliament would have 128 seats instead of the regular 120 seats. This is called an ‘overhang’. HeartLandNZ seats have therefore not been gained at the expense of National or Act. This will provide much-needed third party support to help the right form right-wing coalition government.
Q5Why don’t you go for the PARTY VOTE?
Because that just takes votes directly off National or Act. Even if we succeeded and crossed the 5% threshold and won six seats, these seats would have been directly taken off National and WON’T ADD any MPs to the RIGHT of parliament.
Q6I have always been a loyal National or Act Party voter. How is this going to help National or Act?
By giving your PARTY VOTE ONLY to National or Act you are maximizing the number of seats they will get in parliament. You haven’t changed your allegiance at
all. When you give your candidate vote to HeartLandNZ, you increase National’s and Act’s chances of governing, thus adding to your allegiance!
Q7What happens in an electorate if a HeartLandNZ and a National candidate split the CANDIDATE VOTE allowing a Labour candidate to win the seat?
The total number of seats National gets is determined by its total PARTY VOTE. If they lose an electorate, it doesn’t reduce their total number of candidates – they just swap an electorate MP for a list MP.
Nor does it give Labour any more MPs because they have just swapped a List MP for an electorate MP.
Q8Why does HeartlandNZ say their Candidate-Only Vote Strategy is risk free?
Because whether a HeartLandNZ candidate wins or loses, they have taken no party vote off National/Act, and National/Act still gets their maximum number of seats.
Q9Will National resist losing electorate seats?
Certainly, National MPs may like the idea of being an electorate rather than a List MP but currently four out of the top 5 National MPs are List MPs. This is the reality of MMP. It is a small price for National to pay given the significantly increased chance HeartLandNZ will give them to form a government.
