Category: ACT Party

Source: ACT Party

Tauranga-based ACT MP Cameron Luxton can reveal that Tauranga City Council has spent more than $180,000 on a documentary about Te Manawataki o Te Papa, a civic precinct development in Tauranga.

This information was obtained by ACT through a LGOIMA request.

“Instead of investing in core infrastructure or easing the burden on ratepayers, the council has wasted money on a self-congratulating documentary that most people will never watch,” says Mr Luxton.

“Despite hosting VIPs for the documentary’s launch party, the council still hasn’t made the film public. That means ratepayers will have to wait before finding out whether the documentary highlights the civic centre’s $300 million price tag, or its $6.5 million ongoing annual operational costs.

“This is exactly the kind of spending the Government has urged councils to rein in. If the development requires an expensive documentary in order to get the local community on board, perhaps it’s not the best use of ratepayer money.

“Many Tauranga families and businesses are struggling with eye-watering rates bills, fuelled by unnecessary spending locked in by the unelected commissioners like Te Manawataki o Te Papa. If the Council really wants to ‘breathe new life’ into the city, it should focus on slashing waste to reduce rates so that households have money to spend and businesses have the confidence to open, invest and expand.”

Source: ACT Party

Responding to news that 80 percent of buses in Auckland will have protection screens by 2026, ACT MP Dr Parmjeet Parmar says:

“This is good news, but the rollout of protection screens is slow and doesn’t solve the fundamental problem — a culture of entitlement that sees violent people boarding the bus for a free ride.”

In a letter to Dr Parmar this month, Auckland Transport revealed that only 35 buses have protection screens presently.

“Auckland Transport’s removal of cash from buses during COVID gave some people the impression they could ride the bus without paying, and a bus contractor has recently told me they believe this is leading to confrontations with drivers and dangerous individuals boarding the bus and terrorising passengers,” says Dr Parmar.

“Auckland Transport needs to take responsibility for the culture of entitlement it has created. A stronger message needs to be sent that fare-dodging is unacceptable, and public transport officers need the resourcing, training, and powers to crack down on offenders.

“Protection shields are one important step, but passengers deserve to be safe too. I’ll soon be meeting with AT and bus contractors, because there have to be some better, faster solutions here.”

Source: ACT Party

The Haps

ACT’s Dr Parmjeet Parmar made an excellent point about the spate of attacks on bus drivers. It doesn’t help when bus operators like Auckland Transport don’t enforce fares. Instead of someone else’s property that you should respect, the message is ‘you’re entitled, this bus is yours, do what you like.’ Her point was covered widely over the weekend in articles such as this. It’s a very good example of ACT taking a values-based approach to New Zealand’s problems.

Wrong kind of viral

Te Pāti Māori MPs have, in the words of one widely viewed American commentator, made New Zealand a laughing stock. The problem is not the haka, it’s the fact that Te Pāti Māori, and others who should know better, believe reasoned debate and war dances are equal ways to do politics.

Of course we’d rather not be writing about Te Pāti Māori’s antics, so we won’t. Some of the commentary around the antics, though, is so unhinged it requires a response.

At the heart of the problem is the post-modern disease that Free Press rails against. Doing war dances, getting in people’s faces, well that’s just a form of self expression no different from reasoned debate. Worse, it’s Māori expressing themselves, is about what some commentators have said in the last few days.

Free Press is a liberal publication, we believe in universal human rights, free speech, and free markets. So perhaps we’re biased, but we believe there are certain things that are true no matter who you are.

We believe that there are universal truths, some ways of living are just better than others. They lead to longer life expectancies, less violence, better health.

No culture owns these better ways of living, and no culture is immune to barbarism either. It’s only 400 years ago that witches were burned at the stake in England. You can still go to the waterfront in Lisbon and see where the inquisition tortured people, or Paris where the French beheaded each other in fits of madness. Only a few hundred years ago, everywhere was barbarous.

You can study what kinds of rules help people overcome suffering to do better. Europe, North America, Asia, and India, and now green shoots in Africa, show the way.

A system of personal freedom under the law is what works. Governments should be subject to regular free and fair elections by secret ballot. Citizens and their representatives should enjoy freedom of speech. As people in each place have adopted these values, they’ve doubled their life expectancy, from 40 not that long ago, to 80 now.

We acknowledge many Māori have specific problems to overcome. Actually, most people do. But the fact individuals have problems doesn’t change the best framework for overcoming them.

The idea that Māori are completely different people, and that the system that’s doubled life expectancy around the world doesn’t work for us, is absurd. For one thing there’s just no reason to think that Māori would be the only people on the planet for whom liberal democracy doesn’t work.

For another, most Māori, like the seven in the current Cabinet, actually do believe in liberal democracy. We shouldn’t need to say it but the idea that all Māori think the same is not only incorrect but also, well, racist.

That all brings us back to the Haka. Te Pāti Māori don’t represent a Māori way of doing things. They represent a minority within Māoridom who believe they are truly different from everyone else on the planet without any evidence.

These are the basic facts that should form New Zealand’s public narrative, and our job is to keep articulating them until they do.

Source: ACT Party

Responding to the news of a stabbing at Westfield Newmarket, MP for Epsom David Seymour says:

“This behaviour is unacceptable. My thoughts go out to the victim of this senseless act and his family.

“Newmarket’s security guards are local heroes. They calmly and professionally put themselves in danger every day to protect Newmarket’s businesses and visitors. I urge people to support the police by responding to their call for information.”

Police ask that any witnesses who can assist with enquiries to update them online or contact 105. Please use the reference number P060688447.

Source: ACT Party

ACT’s Building and Construction spokesperson Cameron Luxton is welcoming the passage of legislation to extend to remediation timeframes for earthquake-prone buildings, but says the 2016 legislation needs to be revisited in its entirety and scrapped.

“The looming remediation deadlines have created enormous uncertainty and costs,” says Mr Luxton, who is also Parliament’s only licenced builder.

“ACT was the only party to vote against the earthquake regulations back in 2016. The rules were developed in response to the tragic loss of life in the Christchurch earthquakes, but in policymaking real respect for life means making the rules work for the people who have to live with them.

“Good law making should be risk-proportionate, but an arbitrary, inconsistently interpreted standard of 34 percent NBS has been applied across the country, creating tremendous cost, stress, and uncertainty, not just for building owners but for ordinary people needing space to live, work, or gather.

“The Government was warned at the time that the rules would cost New Zealanders billions of dollars, including compliance costs of tens of thousands per building in parts of the country with low earthquake risks. The standards don’t even reflect building occupancy, meaning a historic church used a handful of times a year can face the same standard as an apartment block occupied day and night.

“The coming review of this legislation is welcome, but it needs to go further than tinker. We should scrap 2016’s legislation entirely and develop workable, risk-proportionate regulation. This debacle is a lesson in just how badly ACT’s Regulatory Standards Bill is needed.”

Source: ACT Party

ACT is welcoming new Ministry of Health rules restricting the use of puberty blockers for gender identity issues.

“Adolescence can be challenging and confusing, but using medication to deal with gender identity issues can have permanent effects that do real long-term harm. We should support young people to love themselves, not change themselves with experimental medication,” says ACT MP Karen Chhour.

“There was a day when we accepted that electric shock therapy was helpful for wellbeing of our young people. Look how that turned out.

“Internationally, there is increasing concern that there is not good evidence for the safety of puberty blockers for young people grappling with their gender identity. It’s great to see New Zealand now coming into line with countries around the world.

“New Zealand is moving toward a more precautionary approach that puts the safety of young people first, and Kiwis concerned about the role of puberty blockers in our health system have the chance to be heard in consultation that will inform future regulations.”

Source: ACT Party

With public submissions now open on the Treaty Principles Bill, ACT Leader David Seymour is encouraging all New Zealanders to have their say.

“Since 1975 when the Waitangi Tribunal decided the Treaty has ‘principles’, the job of interpreting those principles has been left to unelected judges. That changes today,” says Mr Seymour.

“For the first time, Kiwis of all backgrounds are now able to tell Parliament what they think the Treaty means for future generations of New Zealanders.

“Are we a ‘partnership’ between two different groups with different rights? Or are we a modern multi-ethnic democracy united by common humanity, where each person has the same rights and duties?

“This fundamental question needs to be answered if we are to move forward and solve our problems together.

“Thousands of New Zealanders are marching in Wellington today to make their feelings known. I hope they will now read the Bill and engage in the substance of the debate via the select committee process.

“Many more New Zealanders in the rest of the country are going about their day as normal, working to provide a better future for themselves and their loves ones. I hope they will also make their voice heard by making a submission when they have the time.”

Submissions to the Justice select committee close on 7 January.

Source: ACT Party

An RNZ host is exploiting her taxpayer-funded platform to support protests against ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill, says ACT Public Service spokesman Todd Stephenson.

“Mihingarangi Forbes is a co-host of RNZ’s Saturday Mornings and hosts the RNZ podcast Mata. She has joined the hīkoi, posing for photos with protest leaders and using official RNZ social media channels to post in support,” says Mr Stephenson.

“Much of the media has already dropped any pretence of impartiality when it comes to reporting on the Treaty Principles Bill and the hīkoi. TVNZ chief content officer Nevak Rogers has also joined and supported the hīkoi.

“The difference with RNZ is that it’s funded by the taxpayer, and Forbes’s show Mata has received close to a million dollars in additional funding from NZ on Air.

“As a public sector agency, RNZ is subject to integrity and conduct standards, including those of impartiality.

“It’s time these standards were enforced. RNZ bosses should give Forbes an ultimatum: stop your political campaigning, or face the same sanctions anyone else would.”

Notes to editors: If the Instagram posts are removed, screenshots are captured here and here.

Source: ACT Party

ACT is calling on Auckland Transport to stop tolerating fare dodging, with a major contractor saying lax enforcement is leading to antisocial behaviour and even serious assaults on buses.

“Antisocial fare dodgers discourage Aucklanders from using public transport. They deprive AT of revenue and load costs onto rule-abiding ratepayers. They are threatening, stealing from, and assaulting bus drivers and passengers,” says Auckland-based ACT MP Dr Parmar.

“In September, I met with a bus driver seriously assaulted by fare dodgers and relayed his concerns to AT. Since then, I have been told by a bus contractor that AT has been repeatedly warned that its lax policy on fare dodging is leading to violence.

“In 2020, AT introduced a de facto ‘travel for free’ policy when it removed cash from buses and advised operators that passengers without balance on their HOP cards should be allowed to travel regardless.

“The contractor tells me AT’s policy means some people now believe they are entitled to take the bus for free. This results in disputes with bus drivers, and it means that unstable or intoxicated individuals use the bus as a free ride or shelter. These situations increase the risk of attacks on drivers and passengers.

“We shouldn’t expect bus drivers to be responsible for dealing with fare dodgers. AT needs to take responsibility for a culture it has created that invites free riders to take advantage of the rest of us.

“When we turn a blind eye to repeated fare-dodging, we send a message that rules – and basic respect – don’t matter. Is it any wonder this then leads to violence?

“There are many possible solutions here. First, AT needs to publicly change its free ride policy. Next, whether it’s sterner ‘no fare, no ride’ signage, a mobile squad of AT officers responding to fare dodgers, or greater support Police and private security guards, it is clear we need stronger security measures. AT needs to sit down with bus contractors, drivers, and Police to agree on firm actions.

“I have requested a meeting with AT to discuss these issues, and I am ready to facilitate a meeting between all affected groups if that’s what’s needed.”

Source: ACT Party

“ACT has been approached by parents and students who are alarmed at school leadership abandoning political neutrality and pushing children into protest activity,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“We are aware of several schools, particularly in Wellington, formally endorsing the hikoi and encouraging students to participate, to the point of organising buses. Some students are missing exams to attend hikoi activities with the approval of school leadership.

“Schools are funded by all of us to equip young people with the knowledge to face the world with an intelligent and open mind. The school system should never be weaponised for indoctrination or to prop up one side of a political debate.

“If the Treaty Principles Bill passes into law, every young person can hope to grow up in a society that recognises them above all as a person with equal rights, not as a member of an ethnic group.

“The Bill does not harm anyone, but taking kids out of school and exams will harm their future prospects.

“ACT understands the Ministry of Education is reminding schools of their obligation to be politically neutral. We also encourage concerned parents to write to their school board reminding them of these obligations under the public service’s Integrity and Conduct standards.

“Parents may also consider whether their representatives on their school’s board deserve re-election.”