The NZ First files - they want to believe

New Zealand First voters are especially prone to belief in conspiracy theories, according to a Sunday Star-Times survey of Kiwis' beliefs.

In a week when a wave of political, legal and public opprobrium has been dumped on the party's colourful and controversial leader Winston Peters, the online Believe It or Not survey shows his followers are more likely than those of any other party to believe in conspiratorial explanations for a range of key historical events, from the 9/11 attacks to the death of Princess Diana.

Almost 6000 readers entered the online survey, and were asked about religion, the paranormal and superstition, as well as 10 common conspiracy theories. They were also asked to state which political party they favoured.

New Zealand First voters were more likely to believe that. . .

* New Zealand is constantly manipulated by big business (70 percent believed this);

* The All Blacks were poisoned before the 1995 world cup final in South Africa (47 percent);

* The US government knew about or planned the 9/11 attacks (52 percent);

* A secret elite cabal controls world affairs (38 percent);

* Princess Diana was assassinated (38 percent);

* World governments are hiding evidence of alien visits (35 percent); and

* Elvis Presley faked his own death (5 percent).

The three conspiracy theories on which NZ First voters were out-conspired were. . .

* The Iraq invasion was about oil and not democracy (93 percent of Greens voters believe this, and 85 percent of NZ First voters);

* Nasa faked the moon landings (26 percent of Maori Party voters consider this likely, and 23 percent of NZ First voters); and

* There is a political conspiracy to suppress rights of minorities in New Zealand (popular among 32 percent of Maori Party voters, but only 13 percent of NZ First voters).

Just 60 people said they were New Zealand First supporters, but according to the survey's creator, Marc Wilson, this figure is still sufficiently large to draw sound statistical conclusions.