Before entering Parliament, Chris worked for 22-years as a teacher with students who have special learning needs, he trained as an English and Music teacher.
Before teaching he was a police officer for 14 years, including as a Youth Aid officer.
Chris owns a small business that employs 30 people in Nelson where he lives with his partner. He is a father of four.
He has a strong interest in sport and music, being an enthusiastic supporter of the local jazz scene.
Latest Press Releases
A major step backwards for employment law
14 June, 2022
"The Government has taken a major step backwards by re-introducing 1890s style compulsory unionism,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie....
ACT agrees with Helen White - time for action on rising crime
14 June, 2022
“The ACT Party this morning gives its full support to Labour list MP Helen White as she highlights how out of control crime has become under the Labour Government,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie....
ACT calls for higher standards for our teachers
14 June, 2022
“As schools prepare to return for the new year, the ACT Party is calling for higher standards for our teachers when renewing their practicing certificates,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie....
ACT calls for weekly resurgence payments
14 June, 2022
“Businesses are doing it tough through no fault of their own and the Government needs to step up with further resurgence payments,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie....
ACT calls on all parties to commit to police policy
14 June, 2022
“The ACT Party is today calling on all political parties to support increasing Police numbers in line with the population,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie....
ACT calls on Government to be kind
14 June, 2022
“The ACT Party is once again calling on the Government to urgently extend Resurgence Payments to businesses,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie....
ACT opposes unfair FPAs
27 October, 2022
“ACT has supported New Zealand businesses and voted against Labour’s compulsory unionism “Fair Pay” Agreements Bill in Parliament last night,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie.
ACT releases submission on NZ history curriculum
14 June, 2022
“The Government’s New Zealand history curriculum threatens to indoctrinate students in left-wing ideas and requires a radical rewrite,” says ACT Education spokesperson and former teacher Chris Baillie....
ACT urges Tāmati Coffey & Labour to back Easter Trading Bill
04 August, 2022
ACT’s Small Business spokesperson and bar owner Chris Baillie is appealing to Tāmati Coffey to talk to the Labour caucus about the realities of being a bar owner.
ACT welcomes more regular resurgence payments
14 June, 2022
ACT’s Small Business spokesperson and business owner Chris Baillie has welcomed the Government’s decision to double the resurgence support payment and to pay it fortnightly....
ACT welcomes National’s support for ankle bracelets policy
28 October, 2022
“The ACT Party is welcoming support from National for our policy of ankle bracelets for youth offenders,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Ankle bracelets for youth offenders
17 January, 2023
“ACT has heard the cries from New Zealanders about of control crime, we would introduce ankle bracelets for serious youth offenders,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson and former Youth Aid Police officer Chris Baillie.
Antiquated trading laws should go in 2022
14 June, 2022
“After two years of uncertainty and closures because of lockdowns – the Government should give businesses a break and make this the year we scrap our Easter Trading Laws,” says ACT Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie....
April minimum wage increase must be delayed
14 June, 2022
“Having previously ignored advice and failed to take account of economic conditions, this year the Government must delay the 1 April increase to the minimum wage,” says ACT Small Business and Workplace Relations spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Better pay for good teachers? We hear ya!
18 January, 2023
“Good teachers play a huge role in childrens’ upbringing and deserve to be appropriately remunerated. ACT has a plan to ensure the best teachers get paid more,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Budget cuts to Youth Aid resulting in crime crisis
14 June, 2022
“The Government cut Youth Aid budgets by $10m over the past year, and we’re seeing the tragic results with the current youth crime wave,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Crime is not political, it’s time for action
05 November, 2022
“The Prime Minister’s claim on Newshub Nation that crime is only an issue because of politics is an insult to the hundreds of victims of ram raids,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson and former Police Officer Chris Baillie.
Curriculum advisory group excludes almost all of society
14 June, 2022
“The Government’s newly-announced Curriculum Advisory Group boasts that it ‘represents the interests of all parts of the education system,’ but they forgot the rest of society,” according to ACT Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.“The Group has all sorts of people who...
Delay to wage hike the only option
14 June, 2022
“The case for delaying the April 1 increase to the minimum wage is now so loud and clear surely even this Government can see sense and save even more businesses from going under,” says ACT Small Business and Workplace Relations...
Easter Trading Bill’s time has come
14 June, 2022
“Our antiquated Easter Trading laws are ready for an overhaul and my Member’s Bill drawn from the Ballot today will do just that,” says ACT Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Easter Trading Law voted down
04 August, 2022
“The ACT Party is disappointed that Labour and the Greens have voted down our Bill to allow businesses to trade over Easter weekend,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie.
ECE food rules should be scrapped
14 June, 2022
“Officials responsible for dreaming up superfluous food rules for Early Childhood Centres (ECEs) should be fired and their salaries used to fund education,” says ACT Education spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Education workforce should be prioritised for vaccination
14 June, 2022
“The education workforce has been put in a precarious position under Alert Level 3 conditions, and should be prioritised for vaccination,” according to ACT Education spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Epidemiologist says orange will make little difference to transmission
14 June, 2022
“It’s time to start following the science and make the move to Orange, it will make little difference to transmission but the world of difference to hospitality businesses, or better yet - scrap the traffic light system completely,” says ACT’s...
Extraordinary Hipkins Didn’t consult Business on Miniumum Wage
08 February, 2023
“Chris Hipkins had a chance to show he understands the pain businesses are feeling by hitting pause on further minimum wage increases, instead he’s shown them he just doesn’t get it. In fact, he didn’t even get their feedback,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Fair Pay Agreements dead on arrival
14 June, 2022
“The Government should stop wasting people’s time and kill off their backwards Fair Pay Agreements Bill, because the next Government with ACT in it is going to get rid of them anyway,” ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie says....
Four horsemen of the regulatory apocalypse
14 June, 2022
“ACT would cut through the red tape that pushes costs and compliance on to hardworking New Zealanders by tackling the four horsemen of bad regulation,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie....
FPA contracts will be gone before the ink dries
26 October, 2022
“ACT has a simple message for unions salivating over Fair Pay Agreements: Don’t bother. Fair Pay Agreements will be gone before the ink dries,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie.
FPAs overwhelmingly rejected by businesses
03 August, 2022
“ACT is supporting the hundreds of businesses across New Zealand who have had their voices heard in opposition to Labour’s backwards “Fair Pay” Agreements (FPAs),” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie....
FPAs will only drive further employment woes
14 October, 2022
“Michael Wood’s assertions that ‘Fair Pay Agreements’ are the solution to the dire driver shortages across New Zealand are out of touch with reality,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Free Press, 31 May 2021
14 June, 2022
Mother Nature is a harsh host. Our thoughts are with the farmers losing stock and those who’ve lost their homes.
Further resurgence payment ‘under consideration’
14 June, 2022
“The Prime Minister has today told Parliament that an extended Resurgence Payment is ‘under consideration,’ showing how removed she is from small business,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Gangs recruiting faster than Police
14 June, 2022
“It’s no wonder organised crime is running amok with new data showing the gangs are recruiting faster than Police”, says ACT Police spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Getting the balance right with youth crime
16 August, 2022
“ACT would introduce instant, practical penalties for young people caught shoplifting, stopping rookie offenders before they escalate to more serious offending,” says former Youth Aid Police officer and ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Good teachers deserve a better deal
14 November, 2022
“If New Zealand’s hardest working teachers don’t receive a pay rise they’re going to stop turning up to school like the kids, the Government should adopt ACT’s Teaching Excellence Reward Fund,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Government bows to pressure on international students
14 June, 2022
“ACT is today welcoming the Government’s decision to allow international students from primary and intermediate schools to continue to enrol in New Zealand,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Government gets a ‘Not Achieved’ for truancy goal
14 June, 2022
“The Government’s new goal to tackle truancy of 70 per cent attendance by 2024 is spectacularly unambitious and speaks volumes about our declining education system,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Government’s spin on gang numbers exposed
14 June, 2022
“The Government has been in overdrive for the past 18-months, desperately trying to take people off the National Gang List after letting it balloon when it came into Government,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Government won’t commit to changes for retail crime fund
24 November, 2022
“Even after the tragic death in Sandringham, the Government continues to drag its feet around changing the criteria for the retail crime prevention fund,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Govt considers ACT's ankle bracelet policy, reconsiders pursuits
20 October, 2022
“Under questioning from the ACT Party in Parliament, the Government has revealed there has been on average one ram raid a day since May 2022, and that a change in pursuit policy is coming as a result and that it's considering our policy of ankle bracelets for youth offenders,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Govt doesn’t hold data on truancy
31 October, 2022
“The Government isn’t keeping track of fines being issued to parents for truancy. How do they expect to address the issue if they don’t know how bad it is?” Asks ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Govt failing to address truancy crisis
10 November, 2022
“New Zealand’s truancy crisis continues to get worse, with another report showing that Kiwi kids are falling behind the rest of the world in school attendance,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Govt planning more minimum wage increases
14 June, 2022
“The Government has shown once again how little it understands the pressures business is facing by signalling there will be more increases to the minimum wage,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Higher standards for educating kids? We hear ya!
19 January, 2023
“As New Zealand’s once-great education system is in sustained decline, surely we should get teachers back to focussing on the basics that will set children up for life? ACT hears ya,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Hipkins must act on ankle bracelets
31 October, 2022
“With reports that most ramraids are being carried out by the same group of around 80 youth offenders, ankle bracelets are the clearly the best solution,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
History curriculum sent to the future
14 June, 2022
“The ACT Party today welcomes the New Zealand History curriculum being delayed a year, we just hope it means there’ll be a significant rewrite,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie....
History curriculum takes us backwards
14 June, 2022
“The new history curriculum leaves huge gaps in our true history, excluding science, technology and the women’s movement – it’s all about colonisation,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Hone abuses Police, Minister silent
14 June, 2022
“While Hone Harawira abuses police officers doing their job, the Police Minister has turned her out of office on”, says ACT Police spokesperson and former police officer Chris Baillie....
How Labour and National let zealots experiment with kids
20 September, 2022
“The expensive and dangerous experiment on children using “Modern Learning Environments” has now been exposed for what it is, it’s time to dump this policy and put schools in charge of their property choices,” says ACT's Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.
How many cops have been delivered?
14 June, 2022
“It’s a simple question: how many police officers has the Government delivered?” Asks ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
International students at primary schools too valuable to shut out
14 June, 2022
“Consultation about whether to stop international students at primary schools and intermediates could have devastating effects,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Labour continues to attack small businesses
03 August, 2022
“Michael Wood has launched yet another attack on New Zealand businesses, this time blaming hospitality businesses for chronic workforce shortages caused by his government,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie.“Minister Wood told the NZ Herald that businesses struggling with...
Labour Party drops Labour Party Bill
14 June, 2022
“Only the Labour Party could come up with a policy so bad that even the Labour Party rejects it,” says ACT’s Education and Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Labour putting petty politics ahead of small businesses
03 August, 2022
“Labour should let their MPs vote with their conscience, instead of using a block vote to prevent them from supporting my bill to reform Easter Trading laws,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Labour refuses to give workers choice over FPAs
20 October, 2022
“Labour has continued to push through “fair pay” agreements (FPAs) that amount to compulsory unionism while refusing amendments that would allow workers to choose,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Leaked briefing shows co-government for education
08 December, 2022
“There’s yet another fight brewing inside the Labour Party, with Chris Hipkins refusing to rule out the Māori Caucus’ aspiration for a separate Māori education system”, says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Matariki a $450 million burden on businesses
14 June, 2022
“The Labour Government’s disdain for business will again be on show today as the Matariki public holiday due to become law,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Matariki public holiday another burden for businesses
14 June, 2022
“Business owners will be cringing as the Government’s Bill to create another public holiday passed its second reading last night,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Matariki Tax no holiday for businesses
14 June, 2022
“The new Matariki public holiday represents a $450 million tax that will be the final straw for some businesses,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Michael Wood tried to further increase minimum wage against advice
14 June, 2022
“Papers presented to Cabinet by Workplace Relations Minister Michael Wood showed he tried to inflict even more pain on Kiwi businesses, with a much higher proposed minimum wage increase,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Minister won’t say how many retail businesses helped
15 November, 2022
“Police Minister Chris Hipkins refuses to say how many of the 27,759 retail businesses in New Zealand have had a completed installation of protective equipment through the Retail Crime Prevention Programme, it’s seems likely the answer is not a single one,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
More consequences for youth offenders? We hear ya!
16 January, 2023
“ACT would introduce instant, practical penalties for young people caught shoplifting, stopping rookie offenders before they escalate to more serious offending,” says former Youth Aid Police officer and ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
More leadership needed from Commissioner in light of tragic event
14 June, 2022
“The Police Commissioner needs to front up and prevent an information vacuum from occurring in light of last weekend’s tragic shooting in New Plymouth,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie....
More ram raids than businesses accessing fund
09 August, 2022
“More businesses are being hit by ram raids nightly than benefitting from the Government’s $6 million fund for vulnerable small retailers,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
MPs to vote on Easter Trading Law reform
03 August, 2022
“Members of Parliament will have the opportunity to make meaningful change for small business owners in New Zealand by voting for my Member’s Bill to reform Easter Trading laws at first reading today,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie....
New cop promise like old cop promise
14 June, 2022
“The Government’s promise of more cops on the beat has been made to cover for the fact it’s failing to meet its last promise”, says ACT’s Police spokesperson and former police officer Chris Baillie....
New Year, new rewards for teachers
14 June, 2022
“As school prepare to return for the New Year, ACT is calling on the Government to adopt our Teaching Excellence Reward Fund (TERF), says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie....
New Zealand averaging 43 ram raids a month
22 September, 2022
“Despite the Prime Minister ‘disputing the suggestion’ there was a youth crime problem only a few days ago in Parliament, the Government has confirmed that ram raids committed by young people are out of control,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
No data, no responsibility for truancy
23 November, 2022
“Failures right across the board have contributed to the truancy crisis in New Zealand, it will take real change and real responsibilities to get kids back in class,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.
No support for Police in today’s announcement
13 September, 2022
“If the Government wanted to do something in today’s youth crime announcement, it could have backed the police. Instead, it has backed everything but Police, who are working double time to clear the backlog of youth offending after COVID took them off normal duties,” says former Youth Aid Police officer and ACT’s Police spo
Not another minimum wage hike!
14 June, 2022
“As if small businesses haven’t had a tough enough time as it is, the Government is piling a bit more misery on them with another minimum wage hike on Friday,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie....
NZ history curriculum threatens left-wing indoctrination
14 June, 2022
“The Government’s New Zealand history curriculum threatens to indoctrinate students in left-wing ideas and requires a radical overhaul,” says ACT Education spokesperson and former teacher Chris Baillie....
Police let down again by Minister
14 June, 2022
“Police Minister Poto Williams has graduated from the Jacinda Ardern school of spin following her latest media release about Police numbers,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Police Minister admits failure, PM can't
14 June, 2022
“The Prime Minister’s refusal to admit the Government failed to increase Police numbers by the promised 1800 is yet another example of failure to deliver covered up by spin, says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Police Minister invisible on gangs
14 June, 2022
“The current approach to gangs isn’t working and Police Minister Poto Williams needs to take action,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson and former Police officer Chris Baillie....
Police Minister victim-blaming dairies
03 February, 2023
"New Police Minister Stuart Nash needs to realise that taking a ‘victim-centric’ approach to crime doesn’t mean victim-blaming,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Police pay offer less than inflation
14 June, 2022
“It’s no wonder the Police are heading to arbitration over their pay offer when it’s less than half the rate of inflation,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Police tells victims to greet their offenders
30 October, 2022
“Shop owners are terrified they’ll be the next ram raid victim, and people are questioning whether it’s safe enough to go the shopping mall. Telling potential victims to greet offenders at the door is not the action Kiwis want to see from NZ Police,” says former Police officer and ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Politicians take over parenting
14 June, 2022
“Control freak politicians are now taking over the job parents used to be expected to do”, says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Potentially unlawful Fair Pay Agreements must be scrapped
14 June, 2022
“Labour’s compulsory unionism Fair Pay Agreements have drawn the attention of the International Labour Organisation, they surely must go,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Poto Williams has no idea
14 June, 2022
“Poto Williams today learnt a harsh lesson in being across the detail of her portfolio, attempting to brag about increases in police numbers in Parliament without realising only four new recruits had been added last month,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson...
Poto Williams throws Jacinda Ardern under the bus
14 June, 2022
“Just over a year ago Jacinda Ardern told New Zealanders she had achieved her goal of 1800 new Police, today Poto Williams broke ranks and said she was wrong,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Real Change for good teachers
14 June, 2022
“ACT’s Real Change Budget released today would reward our best and hardest working teachers,” says ACT’s education spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Resurgence payment for hospitality needed in L2
14 June, 2022
“The ACT Party has today released a range of measures the Government should take to help take the pressure off businesses and the hospitality sector,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Resurgence payment should be weekly
14 June, 2022
“The Government’s resurgence payment announcement will barely touch the sides for most businesses and more needs to be done,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Retail NZ’s Radar Report makes for grim reading
14 June, 2022
“More than two thirds of retailers being unsatisfied or very unsatisfied with the Government’s Response to COVID-19 should be a massive wake-up call to Jacinda Ardern and her Government,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie....
School boards should be able to govern how they see fit
14 June, 2022
“ACT supports school boards to decide how to their run own schools without interference,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Small businesses need certainty
14 June, 2022
“The pressure and uncertainly placed on small businesses this lockdown has been enormous and the Government needs to do more to offer certainty,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Speech: David Seymour – Honest Conversations
14 June, 2022
Thank you very much to the organisers of ACT’s 2021 rally. It's great to be here with a crowd of 500 people....
Still no consequences, just bureaucratic tinkering
08 December, 2022
“Labour’s latest youth crime policy won’t bring about the change needed for concerned New Zealanders because it is focussed on bureaucratic changes rather than consequences for offenders,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Taking the politics out of Policing
14 June, 2022
“ACT will ensure there are always enough Police on the beat instead of recruitment being a political football,” says former Policeman and ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Three new gang members a day under Labour
19 September, 2022
“New figures reveal that gangs are continuing to grow in New Zealand, recruiting three new members a day over the past two months,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Time to back down on student ban
14 June, 2022
“ACT is calling on the Government to employ common sense and bury their ludicrous proposal to ban international students from primary and intermediate schools when they consider it in Cabinet next month,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Time to scrap Easter trading laws
14 June, 2022
“Our antiquated Easter trading laws are ready for an overhaul and the Government needs to adopt my Member’s Bill to do just that,” says ACT's Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Truancy figures show need for real change
08 February, 2023
“Almost every aspect of someone's adult life will be defined by the education they receive as a child. If we want better social outcomes, we can’t keep ignoring the truancy crisis,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Want Polytechs To Stay Local? We Hear Ya!
24 January, 2023
“Labour’s costly attempts at centralisation have not worked. The Government should get the centralised bureaucracy away from polytechnics and let them focus on what the community needs,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.
We need real change in education, not NCEA tinkering
25 October, 2022
“When even the PPTA disagrees with Labour’s changes to NCEA, you know it can’t be a good idea,” says ACT’s Education spokespersons and former high school teacher Chris Baillie.
When is the pursuit policy changing?
25 October, 2022
“Police Minister Chris Hipkins needs to start backing the Police to do their job,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Where is the support for our Police?
14 June, 2022
“Our Police officers are being confronted by increasingly dangerous situations thanks to this soft on crime Government and they feel like the Government doesn’t have their back,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Where’s the truancy data?
03 February, 2023
“Education Minister Jan Tinetti’s first job in her new role should be asking her officials where the truancy data is for the second half of last year,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.
White Privilege training should be rejected
14 June, 2022
“The ACT Party is calling on teachers and Ministry of Education staff who feel uncomfortable being forced into Critical Race Theory training to reject it,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Who’d want to be the boss with Labour’s policies? We hear ya!
11 January, 2023
“Labour has made it so difficult to be an employer many Kiwis just won’t bother. ACT hears ya,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Will the Minister of Police please stand up?
14 June, 2022
“With so many things going on affecting New Zealand Police, we should be hearing from Police Minister Poto Williams every day, but most officers don’t even know who their Minister is,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie....
Window washing saga shows Police priorities all wrong
05 October, 2022
“The Police have shown how out of touch they are with the public with their undercover stunt to try to catch people on mobile phones,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Youth criminals breaching their bail
09 December, 2022
“One fifth of bail checks on youth criminals are resulting in breaches of conditions, the reason New Zealand is experiencing a youth crime wave is because offenders don’t think there are any consequences,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Easter Trading Laws should be scrapped
07 April, 2023
“New Zealand’s archaic Easter Trading Laws are a pain for business owners and consumers alike. It’s time to get rid of them,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Ideological maths teaching a cruel distraction
05 April, 2023
“The Government giving students a heavy helping of ideology with their maths lessons is a good example of why New Zealand is falling behind. We have a Government that indulges in ideological experiments while failing the basics”, says ACT’s Education spokesperson and former teacher Chris Baillie.
More consequences for youth offenders
03 April, 2023
“Recent retail crime data shows it is past time for a change in attitude on youth crime, there needs to be real consequences like instant fines and ankle bracelets to deter youth offenders from terrorising small business owners who deserve better,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Real solutions for disruptive teacher strikes
29 March, 2023
“If New Zealand is ever going to tackle the productivity challenges it faces there needs to be real solutions for the ongoing teacher strikes,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Education policy mustn't make same mistakes as before
22 March, 2023
“National’s return to a focus on the hard measurement of reading, writing and maths should be welcomed, but any future attempt must avoid the mistakes of the past, where high targets were set, but the education system was not equipped to achieve them,” says ACT's Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Good teachers deserve more money, ACT would give it to them
16 March, 2023
“Today’s strike is what happens when you have a rigid, centrally-planned wage structure. ACT would pay good teachers more with the Teachers Excellence Reward Fund,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Is Nash a one-off, or is this just Labour’s standard?
16 March, 2023
“New acting Police Minister Megan Woods has an immediate task of confirming whether Stuart Nash’s indiscretion was a one-off, or whether other Labour Ministers have tried to interfere in Police matters,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
ACT would pay good teachers more
12 March, 2023
“Next week’s teacher strike is what happens when you have a rigid, centrally-planned wage structure. ACT would pay good teachers more with the Teachers Excellence Reward Fund,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Ministry of Education setting kids up to fail
06 March, 2023
“Calls from the Ministry of Education to make NZQA tests easier and to let kids use spellcheck shows how far education standards have fallen under Labour,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Enough of the blame game, send in Defence Force
28 February, 2023
“Now that he has admitted he was wrong about the escalation of crime in flood-affected areas, the Prime Minister needs to start listening to local leaders and send in the Defence Force to help communities besieged by crime,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Wood joins Coster in gaslighting cyclone victims
22 February, 2023
“Government Minister Michael Wood has jumped on the gaslighting bandwagon, telling the victims of Cyclone Gabrielle that he knows better than them,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Tinetti absent on attendance details
21 February, 2023
“Education Minister Jan Tinetti has showed that she has been absent from her portfolio and receives a fail for her knowledge of the truancy crisis in New Zealand,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Labour cuts police holding cells at victims’ expense
17 April, 2023
“There are 2,274 less prisoners than when Labour took office, yet Police are being encouraged to reconsider arrests when crime is out of control. Part of the problem is that Labour has scrapped police holding cells,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Class sizes already smaller because of truancy
17 April, 2023
“Labour’s announcement that it is going to reduce class sizes ignores the fact that so many kids are truant they can’t get that many kids in the classroom anyway,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.
MOE needs stop micromanaging and start measuring
27 April, 2023
“New Zealand is facing a slow-moving train wreck as students just disengage from school. A lack of accountability from a bloated education ministry means New Zealand kids won’t receive the opportunities in life they used to,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Ministry of Education doesn’t count how many days kids are missing
04 May, 2023
“The more than 4,000 bureaucrats at the Ministry of Education don’t even know how many teaching days have been lost due to strikes. Obviously student attendance is not a priority for this government,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Schools standing up against Ministry curriculum
12 May, 2023
“ACT supports St Cuthbert’s for swimming against the tide and saying that the Government’s curriculum isn’t good enough for students. If it’s not good enough for St Cuthbert’s it isn’t good enough for other schools either,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Russia overtakes New Zealand in reading
17 May, 2023
“The latest Progress in International Literacy Study (PIRLS) report should be a wake up call for New Zealand. It is time to end our country’s decline, and there is no place better to start than in teaching kids to read,” says ACT Education Spokesman and former teacher Chris Baillie.
Police Minister all excuses, no solutions
21 May, 2023
“When confronted with specific evidence of how out of control crime is on Q+A this morning, all that Police Minister Ginny Anderson could come up with was excuse after excuse,” says ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Assaults on police triple under Labour
24 May, 2023
In response to a question from ACT’s Police spokesperson Chris Baillie, the Government has been forced to reveal that assaults on police have more than tripled since Labour was elected.
Assaults (excluding spitting) have gone from 307 a year in 2017 to 1001 in 2022. That’s nearly three a day! In total, since Labour was elected there have been 11,300 assaults on police.
Finally, Labour admits crime is a problem
30 May, 2023
While Chris Hipkins wriggled and squirmed and would only call crime a ‘challenge’ this morning on RNZ, his Police Minister Ginny Anderson finally admitted that crime was a problem in Parliament today.
“That’s progress”, says ACT’s Police Spokesperson Chris Baillie, “now we need action.”
1 in 5 schools haven’t reported attendance data
31 May, 2023
“The 439 schools that haven’t bothered to report their attendance data to the Ministry of Education should lose their funding until they do”, says ACT Education Spokesperson Chris Baillie.
Real issue is no focus on attendance at all
08 June, 2023
“Education Minister Jan Tinetti has been focussed on all the wrong things. While her office was massaging the release of attendance data, she should have been focussed on fixing the truancy crisis so evident in the data,” says ACT’s Education spokesperson Chris Baillie.