Politics in Full Sentences: ACT New Zealand

This week on Politics in Full Sentences Max Whitehead is joined by ACT Leader David Seymour and ACT Deputy Leader Beth Houlbrooke. Does the Government have a plan beyond borrowing to spend and hoping for a vaccine? What is their plan to use technology to reopen the border? New Zealanders need certainty. What’s ACT’s economic plan?Free SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics

This week on Politics in Full Sentences ACT Leader David Seymour is joined by former ACT President Ruwan Premathilaka and Ken Shirley, former Road Transport Forum CEO, Labour Cabinet Minister, and ACT Deputy Leader. Just as New Zealanders are getting moving again, the Government’s going ahead with increasing taxes on road users. Is it appropriate in a time of crisis, and how much will it hit hard-working Kiwis getting back to business?  

Max Whitehead joins ACT Leader David Seymour and Deputy Leader Beth Houlbrooke following yesterday’s announcement of 49 talented candidates  standing for ACT from Northland to Southland this election. Who are the candidates, what are their values, and when do they start campaigning? Free SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics

This week on Politics in Full Sentences Max Whitehead is joined by ACT Leader David Seymour and Deputy Leader Beth Houlbrooke to unpack the Government’s Budget. Labour knows how to throw your tax money around and its track record shows it’ll fail to deliver on its promise to rebuild the economy. What’s in the Budget and what’s ACT’s alternative solution? Free SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics 

This week on Politics in Full Sentences, Max Whitehead is joined by ACT Leader David Seymour and Council of Licenced Firearm Owners spokesperson Nicole McKee to discuss the failed "buyback" scheme. The Auditor-General has investigated the "buyback" scheme and has found Police records were incomplete and is unable to say if New Zealanders are any safer. Meanwhile, COLFO are in court seeking compensation from the Government. What's the latest news?https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO2005/S00029/owners-want-compensation-for-property-confiscation.htmFree SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics  

Max Whitehead is joined by ACT Leader David Seymour and Deputy Leader Beth Houlbrooke to discuss the right economic policies for a rapid recovery. What's the Government been doing and are they about to make a big mistake?Free SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics 

Tonight, on Politics in Full Sentences Max Whitehead discusses the lockdown's impact on SMEs with ACT Leader David Seymour and Deputy Leader Beth Houlbrooke. SMEs are unable to operate, but rents and creditors still need to be paid. Is the Government failing to understand the urgency of the situation?Free SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics

The economic pain is starting to become real to more and more people. The most important question is how and when we reopen the Economy. Tonight we talk about what a Government should do for a high-information, high-transparency, hi-tech, resilient recovery.Free SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics

On this week’s episode of Politics in Full Sentences we discuss how you can help us keep democracy strong while Parliament is shut. What is the Epidemic Response Committee, how will ACT offer constructive criticism, and how can you be involved? Free SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics

On this week's episode of Politics in Full Sentences Max Whitehead joins David Seymour and Beth Houlbrooke from self-isolation to take your questions and provide answers on the COVID-19 situation and the government's response. 

In this episode of Politics in Full Sentences Max Whitehead speaks to ACT Leader David Seymour and ACT Deputy Leader Beth Houlbrooke about Abortion Law Reform. A new abortion law could pass as soon as this week. So how's it different to the current law, why does it need changing, and what happened to 'safe areas'?Free SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics

In this episode of Politics in Full Sentences Max Whitehead speaks to New Zealand Property Investors' Federation Executive Officer Andrew King and Young Act Policy Advisor Jackson Graham. Universities are back for 2020 and rents have once again risen for students. Does the rental market need more regulation or reform?Free SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics

In this episode of Politics in Full Sentences, Max Whitehead speaks to ACT Leader David Seymour about the importance of property rights. How are property rights being eroded by the Labour-led Government? It's also an election year. What's in store for ACT and New Zealand in 2020?  Free SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics

IntroductionThank you Beth and thank you to our wonderful ACT Party volunteers and President. Did you know our online donations averaged a thousand dollars per day for the hundred days before the election was called? ACT has its best momentum and support in a decade.I want to thank Sang Cho and the team at Eden Bistro for opening up especially in Waitangi. Eden Bistro is a new business, and I think it’s going to be a big success. Here in the north of Mt Eden is one of the Epsom Electorate’s most exciting up-and-coming neighbourhoods.Many people here are from the Epsom Electorate. I’m proud to represent you as your local MP. This month marks six years since I started my campaign to represent Epsom in 2014. This year I will be campaigning anew for my neighbours to send me to Wellington for a third time.The state of Our Nation is strong. We are a democracy with a diversified free market economy. We have a rich civil society with voluntary organisations of every kind.We saw in the aftermath of our nation’s tragedy in Christchurch that we may be the warmest people on earth. We are lively, entrepreneurial people who moved further than anyone for a better tomorrow.We live on the greatest piece of physical real estate on earth.The State of our Nation is strong. Our strength has been built up by generations. The question we need to ask ourselves is: Are we adding to or subtracting from the legacy we inherited up until today?I want to talk about some issues we face as a country.Erosion of Rights and FreedomsFree SpeechThe number one political issue is the erosion of freedom under this Government. The foundational freedom of any free society if freedom of speech. It is a good place to start.The ACT Party says it’s a sacred right to think our thoughts and share our views. Freedom of speech allowed Galileo to say the Earth goes around the Sun. It allowed Kate Shephard to say Women have equal rights. Every chance of a better tomorrow depends on people thinking and speaking freely.The current Government thinks free speech is dangerous. It doesn’t want you involved in planning tomorrow. If you are allowed to just think whatever you want, you might think the wrong thing!That’s why they want so called hate speech laws. Someone, somewhere, will be employed by you to decide what you can say. If that sounds nuts, it is. But don’t blame me, I’m just describing their proposal honestly.Normally when the state comes after you, you’re allowed to defend yourself with facts. You can’t be convicted of theft if you didn’t actually take something. When charged with hate speech, no fact can come to your defence. The question is simply whether you said something unpopular, it is mob rule at its worst.It gets worse. Imagine a job that lets you punish the unpopular. Who would apply? Bad people, of course. The worst. We already have a guy called Paul Hunt in charge of the Human Rights Commission who thinks Jeremy Corbyn’s anti-Semitism is okay. That’s the sort of person we’re talking about giving the power to persecute.The ACT Party says hate speech laws are wrong. A government dependent on ACT will never pass laws that restrict your speech. We will expect National to join with us in repealing any hate speech laws introduced in the dying days of this Government.Firearm LawsFree speech allowed ACT to point out that the Government’s firearm laws wouldn’t work, couldn’t work, and haven’t worked. Make no mistake, we are now less safe from gun violence than we were on the 14 March. For three reasons.One. The buy-back failed. It didn’t just fail to get three quarters of the prohibited firearms; it got the least powerful firearms from the most honest people. Incidentally, they took the money and spent it on more firearms. Firearm retailers just had their best Christmas period since Jesus was a boy.Two. Good policing relies on trust. The police are the public and the public are the police. Trust in the law and Police is at an all-time low amongst licensed firearm owners because of the rushed legislation. Most people follow laws they disagree with because they trust the process. They believe in parliamentary democracy. It’s difficult to describe how much our Parliament’s rushed gun laws have damaged the dignity of our democracy.Three. They missed the real problem. How did an Australian weirdo on the wrong side of the Tasman get off a plane and buy an AR-15 with 3,000 rounds of ammo? A single male. Living alone. In another country. Who’d travelled to North Korea and Saudi Arabia. Where were the alarm bells going ding ding ding?Now you understand why the Government and National rushed through their crazy laws. They’d done nothing about the woeful state of New Zealand’s firearm laws for a generation. They knew the public would soon turn on them if they didn’t act immediately, so they practiced collective punishment for the worst crime in our nation’s history on a group of people who’d done nothing wrong.This election will decide whether we fix it, or things get worse. The Government can legislate a register before the election but they cannot implement one. ACT in Government would insist on reversing the second tranche of firearm laws, reintroducing the E-category, and getting the woeful Police out of firearm licensing and administration.That’s the only way to solve the real problems that the Royal Commission will unveil, after the Government’s legislation.The assault on firearm owners and free speech got attention because they made up the Government’s response to the Christchurch terror attacks.Zero Carbon ActThe Zero Carbon Bill give more power to Government Ministers than any legislation since Muldoon. What’s worse, it will do nothing about its stated goal of reducing climate emissions. The legislation is so filled with escape hatches that it will never actually reduce emissions. How do I know this? The British have had the same law for over a decade. Their emission reductions per dollar of GDP have been no better than ours.But it’s given a Minister the undemocratic ability to set plans for whole industries. A Government Minister setting carbon budgets will have the power to effectively decide whether steel, or aluminium is profitable or even if it survives.ACT put up amendments that would remove those Ministerial Powers, making them come to Parliament before setting any kind of industrial plan. We also put up amendments saying New Zealanders should be able to use foreign carbon credits if they’re cheaper.The Parliament, including National, voted against our proposed changes, so we didn’t support the bill.Oil and Gas ExplorationSpeech, firearms, and climate change are issues that get attention, but the erosion of freedom has happened in almost every policy area.New Zealand is already a hostile environment for energy and mineral investment. This is crazy. There are probably more New Zealanders working in Australian mines than New Zealand ones.The ban on oil and gas exploration is nuts. Announcing that the Government will allow no more exploration permits without Cabinet papers or consultation is a sure way to scare away the investment we need to raise worker productivity and wages.The Environmental Protection Agency was supposed to make scientifically robust decisions about who could mine. They’ve been disastrous, preventing environmentally sound projects that could bring investment jobs and growth.This is why we can’t have nice things.The next Government will have to start taking an objective approach to the benefits of the energy and mineral sectors.LandlordsSecond only to licenced firearm owners, landlords are the most persecuted group under this Government.The Government is so opposed to anyone who’s worked, saved and invested, that they have actually hurt tenants in their rush to attack landlords.Landlords perform an incredible service. If you don’t want to save, purchase, do maintenance, pay rates and insurance, and generally be responsible for a property, guess what? Landlords will do it for you. Often they charge rent that doesn’t even cover the mortgage interest rate on the property they’re renting out.You might think that landlords are the greatest benefactors in our society. As a renter myself I’m thrilled that someone is kind enough to do all the work and take all the risk for me. The weekly fee amounts to barely 2 per cent return on equity but hey, that’s their problem.Yet, somehow, landlords have become the whipping boys and girls of this Government. Letting fees are banned, tenants are given even more rights to occupy their property against their will, constant regulatory upgrades add to their cost.The result is predictable enough. If you make it harder to be a landlord, you get fewer landlords. If you raise their costs, they put up rents.Because the Government doesn’t understand the relationship between landlords and tenants, because they see the world through a hundred-year-old lens of class warfare, they’ve kneecapped the very people they’re trying to help.Employment LawEmployment is another relationship this Government fundamentally doesn’t understand. You can either take the risk of putting together capital, ideas, and customers for the privilege of giving other people jobs, or you can just work for someone else made enough to do it.Like landlords, this Government thinks employers are a cash cow, there to be milked for better pay and conditions. That’s why we see the highest minimum wage in the world going up a dollar at a time. That’s why we see the threat of national awards, where wages get negotiated for whole industries from Wellington.What this Government doesn’t understand is that people respond to incentives. If you make it less attractive to employ people, guess what? Less people get employed.We are starting to see the evidence. New Zealand’s terms of trade have never been better, and some industries are desperate for workers, but somehow welfare rolls continue to increase. Since this Government took office, the number of people on welfare has gone up by 25,000. There are over 300,000 working aged New Zealanders on a benefit.ACT stands for the simple idea that employers need workers as much as workers need employers, and bureaucracy is ultimately bad for both of them.The Rural SectorNot so long ago, the farmers were proud to be the backbone of the economy, today the whole of rural New Zealand is under constant assault by Government.Once again the problem is a misunderstanding of the people being governed. Just like firearm owners, landlords, and employers, rural folk are the Government’s ‘bad people.’Bad people, they think farmers are, who want to make money by damaging the environment. They don’t know how to think win-win. It doesn’t occur to them that people who make a living off the land might be the country’s most motivated environmentalists.So they pile on regulations that will drive up costs for little environmental benefit. The one-size-fits-all freshwater regulations will impose costs much larger than the environmental benefits. They will impose standards that urban councils do not meet, and you start to understand why rural New Zealand is angry with this Government.Every Party except ACT supported the Zero Carbon Bill. It may be unavoidable that one day there will be a charge for carbon produced by agriculture. But it remains debatable how a short-lived gas such as methane should be compared with an inert gas such as carbon dioxide. The problem is our Government isn’t debating it. At the very least, our Government should be making the case internationally that methane is not a permanent greenhouse gas and should not be compared with them.None of that is to mention the unending compliance burden placed on farmers, or the Government’s support of a Reserve Bank Governor who has just put up capital costs for no good reason whatsoever.So, the biggest political issue we face right now is a slow erosion of your basic rights and freedoms. We have shown that we are prepared to fight for them.Sleaze in WellingtonIt’s a point of pride that we are the least corrupt country in the world. It’s something we should jealously guard.We should be a country where the rules are the same no matter who you are, and the real process is the same as the advertised one. That’s a fundamental building block of a free and prosperous society.We need to take stock of the sleaze in Wellington. Right now:• Two political parties are under investigation for irregular donations• Two lobbyists have been employed as Ministerial staffers with full access to Cabinet papers while remaining directors of their lobbying firms• The Speaker is being sued over allegations he wrongly slandered a parliamentary staffer as being a criminal• The Deputy Prime Minister can’t competently fill out his Superannuation forms, and there’s the uncomfortable mystery of how this fact -as secret as your tax records- became public• The Provincial Growth Fund is practically an invitation to corruption. There is no real public purpose for taxing some businesses and giving money to others. Shane Jones openly says people must vote for him to get the money, and conveniently forgets he met close associates who applied for the money.In March last year, ACT broke the story about Shane Jones helping to get $4.6 million through the Provincial Growth Fund for an organisation he once chaired. Of course, Jacinda Ardern looked the other way. But what NZ First’s slush fund really means is that you don’t get rich by creating products people want to buy at prices they can afford. No. Instead, you either need connections in the Beehive, or they need to come to Wellington and beg for largesse. These are not the values of a free and prosperous society.This is not a picture of the world’s least corrupt country. The problems lie almost exclusively with the three Governing parties. One reason we need to change the Government is to restore the standards of the world’s least corrupt country in Wellington. And by the way, if it’s legal for two companies controlled by one person to donate more than the declaration limit on the same day, then our electoral laws need to change.Spin Over SubstanceUnder Jacinda Ardern we live in the age of gesture politics. One well-meaning policy after another is marketed brilliantly, but does not work.You just have to ask how the Prime Minister got to be the Prime Minister. Marketing. She has a degree in marketing. She became Prime Minister by selling the same policies that David Shearer, David Cunliffe, and Andrew Little couldn’t sell.The lesson she took is that good marketing can cover off bad policy. Jacinda Ardern has invented the politics of gesture.Banning Plastic bags will not reduce the amount of plastic going into the ocean. Plastic bag litter from New Zealand is not the source of ocean plastic – but it is a fantastic gesture.Doing a market study into petrol companies will not reduce the price of petrol -the petrol companies’ slice is tiny compared with the price of oil and government taxes – but bashing big business is a great gesture.Having the Government build houses will not solve the shortage of housing -the real problem is a shortage of land to build houses on – but it is a great gesture.Buying the least powerful firearms off the most law abiding New Zealanders will not stop the next terrorist, but it is a great gesture.Reporting income statistics, as required by the Child Poverty Reduction Bill, will not reduce child poverty. The real problem is child neglect, but passing a Child Poverty Reduction Bill is a great gesture.I’m sure there’s a phrase used to describe people who are content with simply signalling their virtues.Taken together, the Prime Minister is tackling the housing crisis, saving the oceans from plastic waste, making petrol more affordable, protecting us from terrorism, and fighting child poverty. That’s why she has fans.The only problem is that every initiative is an empty gesture. None of it will actually make New Zealanders’ live better.But we shouldn’t place the blame entirely on the Prime Minister. We’re unable to have a serious discussion about policy in New Zealand. The standard of political debate is woeful. There is no substance. We are focussed on personalities rather than policies. At Waitangi, Winston Peters won’t stand next to Simon Bridges, so he got James Shaw to stand between them. Jacinda Ardern and Marama Davidson giggled during Simon Bridges speech. This is the level of debate. We could instead be talking about how Jacinda Ardern ended charter schools and sent Maori students back to the state school system that had failed them. But it is easier not to address the difficult issues. If we didn’t cheekily adopt Donald Trump’s slogan for today’s event, we wouldn’t have the company of our friends from the media!The other political parties prioritise spin over substance. We at ACT have a core set of beliefs and we’re prepared to put them into action. We are principled and we’re effective.This year the whole country will vote on the End of Life Choice Act. If a majority make it into a law, it will be a great triumph for human compassion and human freedom. It will mean that a person suffering at the end of their life need not suffer to fit in with someone else’s reality. It will be your life, your choice. That’s what a single ACT MP can achieve. That achievement is why we need more ACT MPs in Parliament.Confronting our Long Term ChallengesBeing unable to have serious discussions about which policies are best for New Zealand means we’re less able to solve our long-term challenges.ProductivityIt seems like nearly every week another group of patients and their families petition Parliament for new pharmaceuticals. Of course people are upset that their loved ones are dying, but what has made it a political issue? If I was dying Parliament’s the last place I’d spend my time, believe me.It’s a political issue for one very simple reason. The Australians get the good drugs. Maybe they pay higher taxes and give up other stuff to get the drugs? Nope, they pay lower taxes. They just have more money.This issue is one of productivity. So is keeping the next generation in New Zealand. So is inequality, because when people get left behind in a more and more competitive world we’re really saying they are suffering low productivity.Unfortunately we’re in the lower left corner of the productivity charts. Left because we started low. Lower because we’ve made little progress in productivity growth this century.Some countries started high and cruised along. Others started low and grew quickly. We have the worst of all worlds. Low productivity growth from a low starting point.When you look at the priorities of this Government, and the previous one, low productivity growth is no surprise because productivity growth has not been a priority.Successive governments have ignored policies that harm our productivity and favoured policies that do nothing for it.Having a wellbeing budget. Does nothing for productivity.Government building homes in competition with the private sector?Paying people more to stay home? Doesn’t help productivity.Being the highest taxed country in the Asia pacific region? Doesn’t make people want to work, save and invest.Having the fourth highest company tax rate in the developed world? Doesn’t help productivity.Cancelling basic infrastructure projects for two years then admitting they’re a good idea after all because there’s an election? Doesn’t help productivity.Building regulations where getting permission to build something often takes longer than actually building it? Does not help productivity.Cancelling charter schools that were working because other schools didn’t like losing their students? Doesn’t help productivity.Giving taxpayer money to kids from high decile schools wo were going to high school anyway? Doesn’t help productivity.Banning oil and gas exploration with no consultation or even a Cabinet paper? Scares the living daylights out of investors and doesn’t help productivity.This is insane. We have a Government that does everything but help raise productivity, and lots of things that will actively harm it.ACT in government will make productivity growth a priority. We need to stop taxing and regulating for the sake of it. We need to create the environment for investment, jobs and growth. If we fail, the consequences will be more and more serious over time.We will struggle to keep the promise of New Zealand Superannuation. Younger taxpayers will seek greener pastures. Those without skills will be left stranded, competing with those who lack skills in poor countries around the world. It is a recipe for division and conflict in our society.HousingNot far behind weak productivity is housing. Quite simply it is the biggest public policy failure of the last thirty years.I try not to fill my speeches with numbers but here are three. Since the early nineties, inflation has gone up 60 per cent. The cost of building per square metre has gone up 240 per cent. The price of the median Auckland section has gone up 900 per cent.Let me put that in context, that’s almost as much as shares in Apple. Apple in that time revolutionised the music industry, the personal computer, and the cell phone. Auckland sections were just made scarce by red tape and regulation.Anyone who doesn’t think there’s a problem needs to ponder those numbers. They need to ponder how a country that’s practically uninhabited can run out of sections because of bureaucracy.The consequences are many and dire. Overall home ownership rates are falling, but taking the overall rate masks the much greater declines that are occurring amongst younger, poorer, browner New Zealanders. If we wanted to set up a divided society of haves and have nots, our RMA, Local Government Act, and Building Act are the right way to go about it.It’s also a problem for productivity. It’s hard to attract global talent to your firm if they can’t afford to live here. Every New Zealand firm is paying a hidden tax. That’s the extra wage bill going to its employees’ mortgages.Unless we change our land use planning, our infrastructure funding, and our building consents, we will become a poorer and more divided society.ACT has the answers. People in the building industry quietly tell me they’re the only answers that will get more houses built.First we need to replace the Resource Management Act in urban areas. The Productivity Commission has already produced an excellent report ‘Better Urban Planning’ that lays out how planning could be done in urban areas if we wanted to actually build homes.Second we need to give councils a cut of the central Government’s taxes on new builds. If councils have to give consent and build the infrastructure for new developments, then they need money and they need incentives. ACT’s policy of giving the consenting council half the GST on new builds in their territory would not only give them money, it would dramatically change their incentives.Third, we need to get councils out of the building consent business. They should have been sacked from this role after leaky buildings. Instead, ACT would implement a regime of mandatory private sector insurance on new builds.Our goal should be that anyone who does the right things, works hard and saves their money, can own their own stake in New Zealand. It’s in all our interests to live in such a country.EducationThe final big issue facing this country is education.We spend $15 billion dollars on education, and we have some of the best schools in the world. But overall our education outcomes are highly unequal and slowly declining.The PISA study, which compares the reading, maths and science abilities of 15-year-olds across the world, shows our test scores are falling. A 2014 government report found 40 per cent of Year 12 students failed to meet literacy and numeracy standards even though they had NCEA Level 2.Large numbers of our children are leaving school unprepared for work and life. This is a disaster for our society and our economy. When it comes to the students who leave school without basic skills, our education system is – to borrow a phrase – a moral and fiscal failure.ACT wants to break up the government’s monopoly on education by giving educators freedom, and by giving parents choice.A one-size-fits-all education system doesn’t work and cannot work. The needs of students are diverse and our schools must also be diverse. All children - not just the well-off - should have a choice in education.Partnership Schools were an example of this philosophy in action. Schools had the freedom to innovate and families could vote with their feet by taking their children to a school that better met their needs.Any future government that ACT is part of will bring back Partnership Schools in even greater numbers.But freedom in the classroom is just the start. We also need to put power in the hands of parents.The issue of who should control education funding comes down to this: Do we trust the bureaucrats or the parents?Taxpayers will spend $250,000 on education over the life of every baby born this year, but parents have little control over how it is spent. We could get much better value for that money for all children - but especially disadvantaged children - if it was used to empower families to choose their school, public or private.ACT says that taxpayer education funding should be placed into student education accounts to be controlled by parents. Those who want to continue at their current school will be able to do so, however those who don't will have greater choice.ACTThe good news is ACT is in place to push back the incursions on our freedoms, push out the sleaze, and replace the politics of gesture with the politics of real policy that actually solves real problems.Every poll in the last three months has shown that, if an election were held tomorrow, Beth would be an MP. She’d make a great MP. She is an award-winning businesswoman. A former sheep and beef farmer. A mother of two. A three times elected member of the Rodney Local Board and elected Chair of that Board. Beth would be a better MP than 90 per cent of them on her first day.But there are other polls that haven’t been widely reported. When I tell you what they say you’ll understand why. Multiple sources have told me that Labour’s poll at the end of last year, Labour’s poll had ACT on 3.5 per cent. That’s five ACT MPs.Why is this happening? Because ACT is the only party working hard for a better New Zealand. If that sounds simple, it is.ACT is constructive. We worked with every party to pass the End of Life Choice Act.ACT is also principled. When it matters, we stand alone against every other party.The common theme is that ACT alone works issue by issue for a better New Zealand. Every other party is operating on the politics of gesture.The ACT Party stands to hold the balance of power after this election. How would we use that position?Again, very simple. We stand for people who want to make a difference in their own lives and the lives of those they care about. We stand against politicians with grand Government schemes to buy us a better tomorrow, with our own money.Let me put it his way. The ACT Party stands for those who do. We believe that the world is made a better place by human action. We oppose the marketing led gesture politics that makes us feel good but leaves us all the poorer.We are campaigning to roll back government incursions on our freedom and deliver practical policies that solve real long-term problems with productivity growth, homebuilding, and educational inequality.I hope you will join us in this fight for a Free New Zealand.Free SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics

In this episode of Politics in Full Sentences, we look back at ACT’s achievements in 2019, including the passage of the End of Life Choice Bill, being the only party to hold Labour to account on free speech, rushed firearms law and the flawed Zero Carbon Bill, and helping to defeat Labour’s capital gains tax and radical education proposals.Free SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics

In this episode of Politics in Full Sentences, Max Whitehead speaks to ACT’s Deputy Leader Beth Houlbrooke about Labour’s election year bribes, the worsening economic outlook, and asks if New Zealanders are overtaxed. Free SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics

We speak with new Young ACT President Felix Poole and ACT Leader David Seymour on how ACT is connecting with younger voters and whether free speech on campus is under threat.Free SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics

This week on Politics in Full Sentences, we speak to former ACT MP and President of Federated Farmers Owen Jennings and ACT’s Deputy Leader Beth Houlbrooke. Why does the current Government not understand the rural sector? How damaging will the Zero Carbon Act and other red tape be for the economy? And is the National Party missing in action on rural issues after voting for the Zero Carbon Bill? Free SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics

This week on Politics in Full Sentences, we talk to ACT Leader David Seymour and Deputy Beth Houlbrooke. What does the NZ First scandal mean for its political future? Will changes to rental laws do anything to help fix the housing crisis? And are Police now admitting that the gun ‘buy-back’ has been a complete failure?Free SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics

David Seymour talks to Max Whitehead about the End of Life Choice Bill after this week passing its final reading. What does the Bill actually do, and where to from here?Free SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics

This week, Max Whitehead speaks to ACT Deputy Leader Beth Houlbrooke and the author of a wonderful open letter to Jacinda Ardern on behalf of small business owners, insolvency lawyer Brent Norling. Why don’t Labour, the Greens and NZ First understand small business? Which government policies are doing the most damage to SMEs and what can be done?Free SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics

This week, Max Whitehead interviews Beth Houlbrooke and Damien Grant. We discuss National’s welfare manifesto which adopts a couple of ACT ideas, but is mostly Labour-lite. The National-Labour political duopoly: what are the consequences for New Zealand and how do we break it? And, it’s been two years since Labour took office. What has been the Government’s most damaging policy?

Why is business confidence down and what effect is it having on the economy? What does a coherent, business-friendly political agenda look like? We talk with former EMA boss Kim Campbell and Deputy Leader Beth Houlbrooke. Plus, what’s ACT’s vision for the economy? We discuss a flat tax, slashing red tape, reversing the oil and gas ban, and bringing back 90-day trials.Free SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics

Tonight on Politics in Full Sentences, Act Leader David Seymour is joined by Stephen Berry to discuss what on earth happened in the local body elections.Stephen Berry ran a very popular guide to the Auckland local body elections this year and will give us his analysis of last weekend's results.Free SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics

Tonight on Politics in Full Sentences ACT Leader David Seymour is joined by Speak Up For Women spokesperson Ani O’Brien. Massey University is standing up to backlash in the name of free speech to allow controversial Canadian feminists to speak on campus. In 2019, how did feminists become controversial and who’s doing the protesting? Last year in the UK, feminist academics received threats of abuse from students and fellow academics, threats of being barred from campuses and talks cancelled. Lecturers are silencing their own opinions in fear of losing employment. What happened to academic freedom and civil debate and could the same thing happen here?In fear of offending, are our own media at risk of silencing views? Free SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics

Tonight on Politics in Full Sentences, ACT Leader David Seymour is joined by Employment Law Expert Mac Whitehead. Massey University is allowing controversial feminists to speak on campus, and the Vice Chancellor of the University of Auckland has defended the right for objectionable material to be displayed on campus. Are Universities finally standing up for free speech? This NZ First Minister Shane Jones was caught soliciting votes in exchange for Provincial Growth Fund Money. Was the Minister speaking out of turn or is the policy something more sinister? Finally, the National Party want to tax parents. What’s up with that?  Free SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics 

In this episode, Jonathan, co-founder of VAPO and Alt NZ (with Ben Pryor), is joined by Act Party Deputy Leader Beth Houlbrooke and Employment Law Expert Max Whitehead. They talk about how the Government has signaled new regulations could be on their way to limit the flavours of vapes and e-cigarettes. Are these regulations necessary? Would they hinder smokers switching to a healthier alternative? Is vaping even the healthier alternative? What regulations, if any, would our panel support and what effect would they have on the economy?

Ruwan, David and Stephen Rainbow discuss the undermining of Western values and institutions, and what effect this is having on the mental wellbeing of individuals. Why and from whom are Western values under attack? How are we seeing this manifested in our institutions? How does this relate to mental health and suicide? What can be done? Stephen Rainbow is three-term Wellington City Councillor, founding member of the Green Party, and has blogged extensively on gay issues.Freedom to Speak - ACT's campaign for Freedom of Expression:Free SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics 

In this episode of Politics in Full Sentences, Max Whitehead talks to Dr David Cumin about the Free Speech Coalition’s legal action against Auckland Council after its decision to deny a venue to Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux. Why was legal action taken, where’s the case up to, and what are the implications for free speech in New Zealand?Freedom to Speak - ACT's campaign for Freedom of Expression:Free SpeechACT New ZealandPolitics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZSchool of Practical Politics

Ruwan and Beth discuss KiwiBuild and 'no jab, no pay'. What went wrong with Labour’s flagship housing programme and can it be saved without reforming our planning rules? What is ACT’s plan to improve housing affordability? Also, ‘no jab, no pay’. Is it fair to reduce or remove welfare payments for parents who don’t vaccinate their children, and has it worked overseas? Freedom to Speak - ACT's campaign for Freedom of Expression: Free Speech ACT New Zealand Politics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZ School of Practical Politics

This week in Politics in Full Sentences, businessman, entrepreneur and humanitarian Kenyon Clarke talks about business, housing, and succeeding against tough odds. He recovered from the Great Financial Crisis by building a world class company to tackle the housing crisis. Kenyon shares how he came through those tough times, and what is needed to get more New Zealanders into homes now. He also opens up on why he supports the End of Life Choice Bill, and others should too. Added in is all the usual reviews of the political week, the Rugby World Cup licensing hours, and why David Seymour doesn’t get invited to the Police Minister’s birthday. Freedom to Speak - ACT's campaign for Freedom of Expression: Free Speech ACT New Zealand Politics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZ School of Practical Politics

David, Ruwan and former Finance Minister Ruth Richardson discuss Fonterra’s recent performance and what should come next for the dairy giant. Also, Ruth gives her view on how the current Government is performing and how we get better public policy in New Zealand. Freedom to Speak - ACT's campaign for Freedom of Expression: Free Speech ACT New Zealand Politics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZ School of Practical Politics

In this episode of Politics in Full Sentences, David, Brooke and Ruwan discuss why Jacinda Ardern is overseas lecturing other countries when our economy is in trouble. Also, why did Andrew Little call ACT's three strikes law “fascism”, and will he give prisoners the right to vote? In contrast to this Muldoonist approach, ACT has consulted the community to generate a new firearm law. Freedom to Speak - ACT's campaign for Freedom of Expression: Free Speech ACT New Zealand Politics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZ

Ruwan and David are joined by former Reserve Bank Governor and ACT Leader Dr Don Brash to discuss yesterday’s decision by the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates. What does this mean for borrowers and savers? How should the Government respond in terms of fiscal policy? Freedom to Speak - ACT's campaign for Freedom of Expression: Free Speech ACT New Zealand Politics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZ

This week, Ruwan, Beth and Villa Education Trust’s Alwyn Poole discuss Partnership Schools. Will the model reemerge under a future government now that National has pledged its support for the ACT policy? Also on the agenda is ACT’s plan to give parents control of their child’s share of education funding through Student Education Accounts. The Government’s imminent plan to remove powers from community-run schools is also debated. Why is the Government planning to impose bureaucratic Education Hubs on schools when most of them perform well?

This week, Ruwan and David sit down with Chris Simpson from the Waikato Chamber of Commerce. Why does good government matter? Jacinda Ardern was in Australia last week and tried to answer that question. Is there anything to her philosophy of "Wellbeing". And is she doing anything to improve wages for working New Zealanders or is she too focused on trendy issues like banning plastic bags? The Government has signaled it will overhaul the Resource Management Act. What does it mean for people who want to own a house and why has it taken so long to cut planning red tape? Freedom to Speak - ACT's campaign for Freedom of Expression: Free Speech ACT New Zealand Politics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZ

ACT Leader David Seymour and Kiwi Gun Blog’s Mike Loder discuss the Government’s gun ‘buyback’. Has it been a failure, how many guns will go underground, and will this make us less safe? Our guests also discuss whether the Government should instead be targeting gangs and criminals. And with more firearms legislation on the horizon, Seymour and Loder consider whether a gun register can work. After two recent cases of missing firearms, we ask whether Police are equipped to carry out the gun ‘buyback’. We also look at ACT’s firearms policy. Freedom to Speak - ACT's campaign for Freedom of Expression: Free Speech ACT New Zealand Politics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZ

Brooke van Velden reports back from a recent debate on criminalizing free speech in New Zealand. The Government targets cheap, reliable cars with a new tax. What happened to Labour’s promise of no new taxes? And two recent incidents call into question Police’s ability to carry out the gun buyback. Has Parliament thrown the cops a hospital pass? Freedom to Speak - ACT's campaign for Freedom of Expression: Free Speech ACT New Zealand Politics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZ

This week, Ruwan, David and Beth discuss the Government’s ban on plastic bags. What will the unintended consequences be? What is ACT’s alternative? And Amazon, run by the richest man in the world, is set to film the Lord of the Rings TV show in New Zealand. But taxpayers may need to fork out about $375 million Jeff Bezos’ company to make it happen. Is it worth it? Or should that money be put to better uses? Freedom to Speak - ACT's campaign for Freedom of Expression: Free Speech ACT New Zealand Politics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZ

This week, we discuss the Israel Folau saga. Is his right to free speech being denied or is this the marketplace of ideas at work? Also, the Government’s gun buyback scheme is going from bad to worse. Why is it rushing the process, ignoring the experts, and failing to pay gun owners what their firearms are worth? And what risks does this approach carry? Hosted by Ruwan Premathilaka and featuring regular guests ACT Leader David Seymour and Deputy Leader Beth Houlbrooke. ACT New Zealand Politics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZ

This week we take a break from our usual schedule to introduce ACT’s newly elected President Tim Jago and sum up the party’s relaunch. We’re talking about a flat tax of 17.5 per cent, the free speech debate, and putting parents in charge of the nation’s education budget. How do these polices work, why are they important, and how have people reacted? We point our media commentators whose brains have exploded in the face of a policy discussion, and update the rankings of ACT’s external fundraising team with a new entrant in the form of Labour’s Chris Hipkins. www.act.org.nz Politics in Full Sentences - Podcasts NZ

The inaugural episode of the ACT Party’s weekly podcast for those who love free markets and free minds. Each episode covers off the week in politics and one big idea for a better tomorrow. This week discusses the 2019 Budget and thoughts on improving education in New Zealand - along with shocking words from the PM Jacinda Ardern about the control Unions have over Government policy. Hosted by Ruwan Premathilaka with regular guests ACT Leader David Seymour and Deputy Leader Beth Houlbrooke. https://www.act.org.nz/ Hosted by Podcasts NZ