Elliot Ikilei

Elliot Ikilei is the Deputy Leader of the New Conservative Party, a minor right wing party in New Zealand.

Personal life and professional career

Elliot Ikilei was born around 1977[1] and grew up in the Auckland suburbs of Point England, Glen Innes, and Mount Wellington. He spent his teenage years in Hamilton. He currently lives in Papakura in South Auckland.[2]

Ikilei is married to his wife Eona.[2][3][4] Ikilei has worked as a speaker, facilitator, and youth advocate. In the past, Ikilei has worked for the Ministry for Children, a tutor at BEST Pacific Institute of Education, a community liaison manager at Villa Education Trust, and as a training developer at Statistics New Zealand.[5]

Political career

2017 general election

During the lead-up to the 2017 general election, Elliott Ikilei had been designated as the Conservative candidate at a cross-party debate in March 2017 organised by the University of Auckland's Debating Society. However, the Conservatives were disinvited due to a decision to limit participants to parties that were represented in the New Zealand Parliament.[6] During a subsequent debate held at the University of Auckland, Ikilei advocated a pro-life stance on abortion and supported citizen-initiated referenda.[2]

In June 2017, Ikilei was appointed as the Conservative Party's Deputy Leader and nominated as the party's candidate in the Manurewa electorate.[7] During the 2017 election, the Manurewa seat was won by Labour Party Member of Parliament Louisa Wall; with Ikilei only winning 342 votes.[8] The Conservatives performed poorly during the election, winning only 0.2% of the party vote (6,253) and failing to win a seat in Parliament.[9]

Post-2017 election

After the Conservatives rebranded themselves as the New Conservatives,[10] Ikilei defended controversial far-right Canadian Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux, who had been denied public speaking venues during their tour of Auckland in July 2018.[11][12] In August 2018, Ikilei seconded former National and ACT parties leader Don Brash during a debate on free speech and "political correctness" at the University of Auckland, which attracted the attention of protesters.[13][14]

In October 2018, Ikilei was designated as the party's candidate for the scheduled Botany by-election,[15] triggered by Jami-Lee Ross resigning from the National Party. However, the by-election did not go ahead since Ross opted to remain in Parliament as an independent candidate.[16]

2020 general election

In April 2020, the party announced Ikilei as their candidate for the new electorate (Takanini, at the time proposed to be called 'Flat Bush') that had been created following population changes.[17]

Political views

Elliot Ikilei is socially conservative, taking a traditional stance on abortion, the family, law and order, welfare and transgender issues.[2][10] In April 2019, Ikilei was temporarily suspended from Twitter for tweeting "'Trans women’ are men with dysphoria/disorder, to be treated with compassion and tolerance"; a remark which many regarded as transphobic.[10][18] Ikilei has defended controversial Australian rugby player Israel Folau's opposition to homosexuality.[14]

Ikilei has described free speech as a cornerstone of Western culture. He has also advocated tough on crime policies and opposed so-called "race-based" policies including Māori seats.[19]

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References
  1. The Stuff article "Getting Candid with... Elliot Ikilei" identifies him as being 40 years old in 2017.
  2. "Getting Candid with ... Elliot Ikilei". Stuff. 9 August 2017. Archived from the original on 8 November 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  3. "Elliot Ikilei". New Conservatives. Archived from the original on 12 May 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  4. Bayer, Kurt (31 December 2018). "Ex-gang member Sully Paea marks 40 years of Otara youth work by going back to the streets". New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 1 January 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  5. "Elliot Ikilei's LinkedIn profile". LinkedIn. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  6. "University Debate Running Scared of Conservatives!". Scoop.co.nz. 4 March 2017. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  7. "Deputy Leader for Manurewa Candidate". Conservative Party of New Zealand. 9 June 2017. Archived from the original on 12 February 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  8. "Manurewa - Official Result - 2017 General Election". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 16 January 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  9. "2017 General Election – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  10. Braae, Alex (25 July 2019). "NZ's resurgent New Conservatives: riding the culture wars to the 2020 election". The Spinoff. Archived from the original on 29 April 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  11. Ikilei, Elliot (8 July 2019). "A Line Has Been Crossed". New Conservatives. Scoop. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  12. Chiang, Jessie (14 July 2018). "Auckland free speech rally over controversial speakers draws crowds". Radio New Zealand. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  13. "Protesters disrupt free-speech debate when Don Brash takes stage". New Zealand Herald. 9 August 2018. Archived from the original on 9 August 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  14. Chapman, Madaleine (10 August 2018). "And the winner is: Don Brash, by a mile". The Spinoff. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  15. "Elliot Ikilei to Contest Botany for New Conservative". New Conservatives. Scoop (website). 17 October 2018. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  16. "Burning Bridges: Simon says Ross 'lying, leaking, lashing out'". Otago Daily Times. 16 October 2018. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  17. "Elliot Ikilei Will Stand For Flat Bush". Scoop. 9 April 2020. Archived from the original on 15 April 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  18. de Boer, Dieuwe (29 April 2019). "New Conservative's Elliot Ikilei Suspended From Twitter". Right Minds. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  19. Miller, Corazon (11 July 2020). "New Conservatives defend Western culture as 'greatest in the world', warn NZ 'sliding toward socialism'". Newshub. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
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