ACT leader blames identity politics, previous government for setting NZ 'against each other'

ACT Party supporters are calling on their party to stick to its values as it takes stock during the halfway point of the political term.

It comes as party leader David Seymour blames identity politics, and the previous government, for setting New Zealand "against each other".

Those who attended the party's annual rally in Auckland on Sunday told RNZ they wanted the party to continue focusing on a "fair and equal" society in the leadup to the election, lower government spending and the cost of living.

Addressing the crowd of about 450 people, Seymour spoke of the need to problem-solve rather than point fingers, and highlighted those he thought the previous government had used as a scapegoat.

"We tried it with the landlords. Tried it with oil and gas tried it with farmers, employers, licensed firearm owners."

Asked after the event whether these were the voters the party was going after, Seymour told reporters he never spoke about what sort of person he wanted to vote for ACT.

"I talk about what kind of attitude I want to vote for ACT."

What the audience had to say

RNZ spoke to some of those in the crowd, and asked what they liked about ACT and what they thought the party needed to do in the leadup to the next election.

Mike - who had driven from Taranaki for the event - said "we can certainly do with somebody in government who doesn't pander to the minority".

He wanted the party to focus on "getting the country sorted out", including getting "the guys in the jail" out "fixing the roads" and for those who don't work, to "get them paying tax instead of holding their hand out every day."

Scott said the party had done "very well, considering that historically, a lot of third parties have collapsed being in government".

He wanted the party to "keep focusing on economically liberal stuff".

"I think it's very good in this current environment to have a party that stands for lower taxes and lower government spending."

He also thought the current set up of the coalition was "quite good" and hoped it would stay together in the next election.

Kelly told RNZ she had friends who voted "on the other side" who were "very, very negative" about Seymour.

"My request to people before they become personally aggressive towards people is to actually hear what they have to say."

She thought the Ministry of Regulation was a "good thing" and felt sorry for the criticism Seymour received about school lunches.

"Did you hear about in China, all those kids that got poisoned because they used paint for food colouring at the school, 200 kids got sick because they used paint as food colouring.

"I just thought, here we are in New Zealand complaining because they're not warm enough."

Kelly suggested the party avoid attacking New Zealand First in the leadup to next election. "I think that hurt them last time.

"Keep on focusing on policy and not people."

Jaspreet from the New Zealand Indian Business Association said the party did not mince words and was straightforward. He was keen to see ACT focus on loosening up regulations for small business.

Richard said Seymour was a brave and tenacious man, and wanted the party to focus on fairness, equality, a colour blind society, and what was best for New Zealand as a whole.

Another supporter said he supported the vision the party communicated of the "freedom of the individual".

He also acknowledged cost of living was a "big deal" and spoke of the need to "get the cost of living tackled", or risk degrading the "standard of living year by year".

"Our supply chains are really expensive.

"We pay carbon taxes embedded in pretty much everything from food to energy, and it's very, very difficult and expensive to get anything done."

Lesley said it was upsetting Seymour and the ACT party were so "polarising".

"I think he speaks for everybody. It's not an elitist party, if you actually listen to what he says."

She wanted the country to get back to "common sense", for everybody to work hard and have equal opportunity.

"No matter what their race, what their ethnic background is, their education, where they come from.

"I'm an immigrant, and I just think if everybody works hard, then it's to the benefit of the country."

She was also concerned about the flow of people heading overseas.

As for the coalition, she thought it was a good mix, but wished the prime minister would be a bit stronger and "get off the fence."

Louise said she was there on a "fact finding mission", and hoped the party stuck to messages about not advantaging one group over another.

"Equal rights for all, equal advantages, depending on the needs of the people involved."

International guest speaker

American author Dr James Linsday told the audience to uplift "universal principles" such as the government governing less, the securing of private property rights, and equality before the law.

He spoke of the No.8 wire mentality in New Zealand as a means of solving problems, and doing so without depending on others.

"You need efficient solutions to problems. You need problems solved. You need economical solutions to problems. And what you need actually, are also people who are not dependent."

He also encouraged the audience to reject "woke", and go against the pattern of other Western countries who had "crapped the bed" and elect left leaning governments, rather than "fight back against this woke."

He suggested New Zealand had an opportunity to do the same.

"Trump might be an anomaly, but if a second country stands up and says, we're not doing woke anymore, that's the beginning of a pattern.

"And the beginning of a pattern is the beginning of a wave, and we can put this behind us, and we can get on with freedom, with liberty and with success."

He suggested that instead of individual rights being secured under the law, governments had decided to "muck around and create fairness" rather than "allowing fairness to arise as the just desserts for people's effort that they put into a system that they have a reasonable expectation to get out of."

"You do not get out of the system according to how much you put into it. You get out of the system according to how much value and utility you provide to other people."

Protesters rally outside event

A small group of protesters stood outside the event, raising the war in Gaza and attacks on Te Tiriti.

Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Leeann Wahanui-Peters told RNZ they wanted to stand up for Te Tiriti and oppose the Regulatory Standards Bill. They also wanted to educate ACT supporters about the war in Gaza, and an attempt to refer government to the International Criminal Court.

Wahanui-Peters said claims about wanting everybody to be equal were "misleading".

"It's actually disingenuous."

She said people knew the inequities that existed through a structurally racist system, oppressing Māori and Pasifika.

"Everyone knows what needs to be done - more public investment.

"We want a more socially progressive future for our mokupuna."

The group also condemned the ACT party's choice to host Dr James Lindsay, an American author, mathematician, who Seymour said was a "prominent advocate for free speech".

Kaiāwhina Tāmaki, Palestine Collective and Matika mō Paretinia said he was a "far-right conspiracy theorist" and said the party had "deliberately chosen a speaker that will incite more hateful political division."

Seymour was asked about Lindsay's arguments, in particular a Soviet programme which Lindsay argued had been adopted throughout the West since the 1970s, "Korenizatsiya", or the integration of non-Russian nationalities into their Soviet Republic governments.

Seymour said he did not believe there was "some sort of scheme out there by mysterious powers", but that there were some similarities to what he had been describing.

"That you can be judged not on what you say and what you do, but rather who you are."

While he might not share all Lindsay's beliefs, Seymour said "that identity politics idea, I think, is worth discussing".

Seymour also said the party had paid for its own security during the event, but had not been informed if there were any specific security concerns.

"None that I'm aware of, unless it's so bad they're not telling me," Seymour said chuckling.

He revealed he and deputy leader Brooke van Velden had been employing security during street corner meetings.

Asked if the issue had escalated this year, Seymour said he thought the main driver was the conflict in the Middle East.

But he did not think it was a party specific issue. He referenced the difficulties of the past six years - the terror attacks, the Covid pandemic - and said there was a lot of "fraying out there in the community".

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