Craig Young believes Kirralie Smith’s Low-Key NZ Tour is a sign of the Christian Right’s shrinking influence in New Zealand.
Regular readers will be aware that Australian Christian Right figure Kirralie Smith is scheduled to visit Aotearoa later this year as a guest of Family First New Zealand. With the event still two months away, several peculiarities around her visit—and her book Devastated—are already emerging.
Curiously, despite Smith’s upcoming appearance, her anti-transgender book Devastated is currently unavailable through any New Zealand-based fundamentalist Christian bookshops. Hoping to secure a review copy, I browsed several catalogues and websites of prominent Christian retailers—only to find the book absent, even from pre-order listings. Moreover, neither Binary Australia nor Family First have listed any concrete promotional details for the book on their websites. At the moment, Smith’s only confirmed appearance is at the Forum on the Family, scheduled for 28–29 August in Māngere, Auckland.
One explanation may lie in the changing fortunes of Christian bookshops. Take Manna Christian Stores, for instance. Once boasting sixteen branches, the chain halved its presence in March 2024, reducing operations to eight stores and shuttering its former Wellington headquarters in favour of centralising in Auckland. In a Christianity Today feature, Manna cited a mix of rising freight costs, the COVID-19 pandemic, customer preference for digital media, and overall economic pressures for the closures—particularly in provincial areas.
Another factor, of course, is broader societal change. Church attendance and religious affiliation have been steadily declining in New Zealand for decades. That trend is undoubtedly affecting the viability of the Christian Right and its institutions, including their ability to distribute material like Smith’s.
Given this context, it’s possible that Family First might take on the role of sole distributor for Devastated, possibly launching sales during the Forum itself. With the Free Speech Union notably absent from promoting the visit, the only other likely collaborator could be the fringe Women’s Rights Party, known for its anti-transgender stance. This raises the likelihood that Devastated will be a self-contained event-driven publication, rather than one with wide distribution.
The bigger question, however, is what this says about the current state of Christian Right activism in New Zealand. With shrinking infrastructure and increasingly narrow platforms, even high-profile figures like Kirralie Smith may struggle to make an impact beyond isolated appearances.
Will Smith travel beyond Auckland in late August? Will Family First scale back its activities ahead of the 2026 general election to preserve resources? These questions remain unanswered—but they point to a movement whose reach may be waning.
