[7] The party was "conspiracy theory driven",[8] opposing the United Nations, 5G technology, 1080 poison, fluoridation, and electromagnets.

Vision refused to provide Te Kahika the leadership position of a merged party and the plan fell apart.

[25] On 27 August the Public Party drew controversy after it posted a video on its Facebook page claiming that the New Zealand Government had passed a law allowing it to force citizens to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

The Advance Party's co-leader Jami-Lee Ross defended the video, claiming that the Labour-led coalition government had passed a law to forcibly vaccinate citizens.

[29][30] The anti-domestic violence charity White Ribbons ended Te Kahika's ambassadorship in August 2020, on the grounds that his recent remarks about COVID-19 and other issues undermined the trust's evidence-based approach.

He refused to accept the election result and said he planned a tally of Advance voters to prove the official process was corrupt.

The Electoral Commission said that adding comments to a ballot would not invalidate it, and did not understand his reasoning for claim about the 200,000 lost votes.

[42] In a later post, he said that his figure of 200,000 was a mistake, but insisted that Advance NZ supporters' had written comments and drawn smiley faces on their voting forms, causing them to be disqualified.

[43] On 26 October, Te Kahika severed ties with Advance NZ after its election failure, stating that he had decided not to continue with the party.

[44][45] Later that day, Te Kahika issued a statement clarifying that he was not severing relations with Advance NZ but was instead restoring its "autonomy."

Public Party director Michael Stace also said they had been locked out of a joint bank account and has asked police to investigate to recover funds (worth NZ$60,000), but Advance NZ's lawyer Graeme Edgeler stated that the bank account in question was always in Advance's name only and that it did not owe the Public Party any money.

Stace labelled the party "a cult", while Hood stated Te Kahika was "more interested in a rock and roll lifestyle than politics".