He may dress in a blue jacket but Focus NZ Party president Ken Rintoul says his centre-right party definitely doesn't replicate Act or cross-over with the National Party.

The Northland farmer and business owner was at last month's Mystery Creek Fieldays' drumming up support of prospective members and voters – with his belief that this country is in too much debt and its dying provinces need to be re-kindled to stimulate economic growth in New Zealand.

NZ Focus Party president Ken Rintoul and party secretary Christy Gordon were drumming up support at this year's Fieldays, at Mystery Creek.

'Our provinces are dying and it is really critical that we re-kindle them because when they're doing well everyone does well. It's a down-stream effect. You can't stimulate cities to stimulate provinces – it doesn't work,” says Ken.
Every person who works on-farm, creates eight jobs off-farm, says Ken. 'And farmers aren't making money – the rate of return is between two and seven per cent – you need six to break even.”
Sounding like an economic conscience - while being a rural champion – the party, with motto ‘prosperity through productivity', hasn't limited itself to an agricultural sector voting base.

Name change
A recent name-change from the Rural Party (formed in August) to Focus NZ Party reflects that people from other industries are interested in the party's values too, says Ken.
'We found about 40 per cent, who were joining or talking of joining, were not from rural provinces. They're people in manufacturing, businesspeople and even people in cities,” says Ken. 'But they said it's hard to get people to join with that specific [rural name], because it doesn't resonate with them.”
Party membership is now about 50 per cent rural people and provincial farmers, and 50 per cent businesspeople, self-employed or people who work for 'down-stream” companies.
Ken says the party is 40 to 50 members short of the 500 required to register with the Electoral Commission. 'But we've just been to Fieldays' and we're starting to get memberships from there.”
The board of Focus NZ includes Ken and co-founder Joe Carr (a former Federated Farmers dairy chairman), Lachlan McKenzie (a primary industries commentator), and former National Party MP Ross Meurant. Ken says the bulk of membership is now coming from out of Northland.

Crippling
'Joe and I founded this party because of over-regulation – regulations were coming in on a daily basis, and they're crippling the economy and producers, and stifling growth,” says Ken.
He points to the issue of young people, interested in getting into businesses, not taking the step, 'either because they've seen their parents struggle or they've calculated the rate of return”.
'Unless they get handed a generational business, a lot of them can't get into business these days.”
Ken says the average person wouldn't know 'that today, 40 per cent of the cost of a house is made up of compliance costs or taxes to the Government”.
'This is ridiculous – they're borrowing to pay taxes to our Government [for it] to prop up the economy.”
During the last 40 years, Ken says the country's ramped up to borrowing $12b to $15b each year. 'Our debt is growing every year. It started at $1b a year, and this year total borrowing could be more. The Government will borrow $9b and the private sector will borrow the same - if not more - and we can't keep going – we've got to stop borrowing one day.”
Party policies released so far cover tax rates, asset sales, livestock tax on breeding stock, and tax on speculative foreign funds – with dabbles in debate on rail transport and housing.
Policies show the party wants to cut taxes, but not in all areas, and introduce a new tax on international financial transactions but is opposed to asset sales – offering a stance that floats across NZ's political spectrum.
Ken says another 10 policies will be 'ready to go” in the next few weeks; and the party plans to stand on three to four main points – including (as its name suggest) a focus on economics 'of getting the dollar down” and 'empowering communities”.
'Empowering communities is about people taking responsibility, instead of the Government taxing us and taking on the responsibilities of everyone.”