Ganilau expressed optimism that the new party would allow him to convey his vision of a multiracial Fiji more effectively than he had been able in his previous role as Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs.
"I was quite outspoken about the need to respect the rights all citizens in Fiji during my role as chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs," he said, "but that did not go down well with some.
Other former politicians from the Mara era endorsed the party, including Bill Aull, Fereti Dewa, Joji Uluinakauvadra, and Irene Jai Narayan.
In a strongly worded reaction on 12 April 2005, Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase attacked the new party, claiming that it would split the ethnic Fijian vote, which he said would not be good for the country.
He also accused it of promoting policies that he said were the main cause of instability in the past - namely support for the 1997 constitution and the Agricultural Landlords and Tenants Act, both of which Qarase had attempted, without success, to substantially amend.
The policy would be aimed at guaranteeing access to education, employment, land, housing, and community participation to all citizens, regardless of race.
At the public launch of the party in April, Ganilau declared uniting the people of Fiji to be the most urgent priority.
In addition to promoting interethnic cooperation and national unity, the party would strongly emphasize economic development, Ganilau said.
Spokesman Filipe Bole announced on 7 August 2005 that if the NAP won the general election scheduled for 2006, primary and secondary education would be made free and compulsory.
He rejected criticism from former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and Fijian Political Party Secretary Ema Druavesi; they and others had said that previous efforts to forge a multiracial electoral alliance had been a failure, and that Ganilau's own political history, including his former leadership of the now-defunct Christian Democratic Alliance, did not give grounds for optimism.
On 30 August 2005, Ganilau declared that his party would not be rushed into making any coalition agreements for the general election scheduled for 2006.
On 23 February, however, Ganilau told a rally in Cautata Village in Tailevu Province that the party had decided, at least for the time being, to contest the election on its own.
On 13 March, Ganilau and FLP Parliamentarian Krishna Datt both denied reports that their respective parties had agreed on Cabinet allocations in a coalition government.
Guest speaker Anthony Tarr, Vice Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific, presented ideas about creating employment opportunities and economic development.
Ratu Epeli Ganilau spoke of the "urgent need" to break down the racial polarization, which he said could be achieved only "by providing an open and fair government, expanding the economy and attracting investment to fully develop our natural resources."