Colin King-Ansell

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Colin King-Ansell was a prominent figure in far-right politics in New Zealand.

King-Ansell, a printer by trade, first achieved national New Zealand fame in 1968 when he appeared on a television current affairs programme. When questioned about the Holocaust, he dismissed it as lies and allied propaganda, prompting public anger. King-Ansell however did not elaborate his views on the screen. Seven years later the current affairs host Brian Edwards said the first tape of the interview was accidentally not broadcast.

During his involvement in political activism, King-Ansell served two prison sentences — one was for vandalism of the Auckland synagogue in 1968, and the other was under recent human rights legislation for inciting ill feelings towards Jews in 1978.

In 1969, the year after he was first jailed, King-Ansell founded the National Socialist Party of New Zealand, which was to serve as a vehicle for his views. As a National Socialist candidate, he contested the Mount Albert electorate. This was the only electorate seat the party ever contested. The party no longer exists, and King-Ansell once said he had outgrown it. Some years later, however, he was suspected of involvement in a number of extremist groups, including the little-known Unit 88 and the NZ Fascist Union.[1]

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Shannon, Michael. Ku Klux Kiwis, Australia/Israel Review, 1998