MP Alfred Ngaro will remain a member of the National Party after flirting with the idea of starting a Christian party.
On Tuesday, Ngaro confirmed "the National Party is my home and where I want to stay".
"I have informed National leader Simon Bridges and my caucus colleagues that I will continue as a member of the National caucus."
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He said he appreciated the support shown by Bridges to give him space to consider his option and hopes to continue to play a strong role in National.
"I look forward to campaigning strongly for National in 2020."
Speculation mounted last week that Ngaro, a former pastor and current list MP for Te Atatu, was planning to lead a new Christian conservative party into the next election.
"People have been talking to me for some time, talking about the concerns that they have with the current Government's arrangements. Out of that, those conversations have come to a point where people have said maybe it is an option to set up a party," he told Newshub Nation.
Bridges at the time said that the establishment of a new religious party was an "alluring idea".
"He told me a month or two back he'd been approached by some people in relation to the idea of a Christian or values party," he said.
"We'll give him the time and the space to see what he does."
Last week, the leader of the new Coalition NZ party, Hannah Tamaki, also offered Ngaro an opportunity to speak to her and potentially join the party, which will campaign on conservative family values.
"I do not know you. You seem like a reasonable man looking for somewhere to call home. I imagine you and I may have different views, but overall I suspect there are a number of things we can agree with and have in common," Tamaki said.
"It is for that reason that I give you Alfred an opportunity to come and sit with me."
Newshub.
