Foundation
The People's Choice Party was conceived in 1997 when Doug Wilson began a protest walk from New Plymouth to Wellington collecting 52,000 signatures for a petition calling for the then Governor-General Sir Michael Hardie Boys to impose a snap election. It was a historical event in that it was the first ever people's petition to have been presented to a Governor-General in New Zealand.
The People's Choice Party was officially registered on 14 May 1999 after declaring 1172 financial members.
The party was de-registered after Doug Wilson's retirement in 2002. It remained and stayed active as a Ginger Group and supported Rusty Kane as an Independent on national and local issues. These included the Waitara Leaseholders Associations (WLA) fight with the NPDC and Māori to freehold Waitara land and his activities with CEPRA (Chemically Exposed Paritutu Association) fight with the Government Ministers and the TDHB to have New Plymouth's Paritutu residents and workers be recognised for being chemically exposed from living and working in or near the old Ivon Watkins Dow Chemical Plant now (Dow Agro) at Paritutu, and his independent stand that New Plymouth should have its own Independent seat (the New Plymouth Independent Seat) not a party seat.
“The People's Choice Party” had 2504 financial members when it was de-registered in 2002. The party encouraged its supporters to vote Labour in the 1999 general election, New Zealand First in the 2002 election, Green in 2005 and National in the 2008 elections.
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