17 October 2007

"New Christian Party to Target South Auckland Electorates in
2008 General Election"

Richard Lewis, former leader of Destiny New Zealand and former MP Paul Adams will spearhead a new broad-based Christian party with the primary goal of winning the South Auckland electorates of Mangere and Manukau in the 2008 General Election.

"The Family Party" will be lead by Richard Lewis with Paul Adams as Deputy Leader. As in 2005, Lewis will contest the Manukau electorate while Jerry Filipaina, Mangere resident of 46 years and brother to former legendary Kiwi Rugby League star, Olsen Filipaina, will contest the Mangere electorate. Ironically, Jerry's brother Alf Filipaina is a Mangere City Councillor for the Labour Party.

"We've been convinced for some time that Mangere is the battleground for the next election. Our intention is to take Labour 'head on' as the genuine contender for the Mangere and Manukau seats - seats we believe rightfully belong to South Auckland's pro-family, traditional Christian constituencies," says Lewis.

Lewis says the party will spend the next 12 months saturating the electorates to convert Labour supporters who traditionally vote out of obligation as opposed to informed opinion. He points to the rise in prostitution, street gangs, alcohol and drug abuse, teen pregnancies, family breakdown and violent crime as the hallmarks of a Labour Government that has rejected the Christian ethic.

"Our message is that today's Labour Party bears no resemblance to that which our forefathers voted for. The responsibility South Auckland has to its families and the next generation is to back the Candidates that genuinely reflect their pro-family, traditional Christian values," says Mr Lewis.

The Family Party intends to maximise and build upon well-established Pacific and Maori networks throughout the South Auckland electorates over the next 12 months and has plans underway to establish a Mangere Headquarters.

"We're under no illusions about the immensity of the task ahead but we've got a well organised and highly motivated team of people that believe in our cause. Localising our efforts provides the greatest opportunity to win a seat, remove the 5% threshold and get a result that sees the electorate vote 'upsized' from one to three or more pro-family Christian MP's in Parliament," Lewis added.

ENDS

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