James has owned a number of small businesses throughout his career, and currently co-owns an immigration law firm. Prior to entering Parliament, he worked for a large NGO in the mental health sector. He has a young, multicultural family and is based in the Waikato. At home, James’ family speak a mix of Cantonese, Mandarin, and English.
James is a classical liberal who is highly skeptical of Government intervention in both the economy and in people’s personal lives. His experience in business and the community sector has taught him that Government has a role but when it oversteps that role it becomes part of the problem rather than the solution.
Latest Press Releases
ACT announces James McDowall as Hamilton West Candidate
03 November, 2022
The ACT Party has today announced that Dr James McDowall will stand as our candidate in Hamilton West.
ACT challenges Minister to walk outside
14 June, 2022
“The ACT Party is today calling on Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi to walk just a few hundred metres and have the courtesy to listen to the brave Afghan interpreters currently outside Parliament,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr James McDowall....
ACT thanks National for defence policy support
14 June, 2022
“ACT is pleased to see that National Party members have read ACT’s Real Change Budget and supported a remit to adopt our policy of raising defence spending to 2 per cent of GDP,” says ACT’s Defence spokesperson Dr James McDowall....
ACT welcomes reset of immigration reset
14 June, 2022
“ACT is tonight congratulating Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi for giving up on his so-called Immigration reset – but we need to be sure he’s not culling a years-long queue to simply create another one,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr James...
ACT will protect freedom of expression on campus
14 June, 2022
“A Bill from the ACT Party will soon be debated in Parliament that will require tertiary education institutions to protect freedom of expression,” says ACT MP Dr James McDowall....
ACT will turn off the lights in solidarity with hospo
14 June, 2022
“The ACT Party will today turn off the lights in solidarity with the Restaurant Association who are suffering from a dire skills shortage,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr James McDowall....
Anti-business immigration policy needs overhaul
14 June, 2022
“The Government’s appalling attitude towards entrepreneurs from overseas has been exposed yet again. This time it’s a young French family who have worked desperately to keep their Napier cafe open despite multiple lockdowns and restrictions,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr...
Bill drawn to protect freedom of expression on campus
14 June, 2022
“A Member’s Bill in my name drawn today will require tertiary education institutions to protect freedom of expression,” says ACT MP Dr James McDowall....
Bus and Coach Assn smash Nash
14 June, 2022
“A strongly worded press release from the Bus and Coach Association (BCA) to Tourism Minister Stuart Nash should be a wake-up call to the Government,” says ACT’s Tourism spokesperson James McDowall....
Business surveys show immigration action needed asap
27 September, 2022
“Two recent surveys, NZ Herald’s Mood of the Boardroom and BusinessNZ’s Survey of Business Opinion, show that the biggest issue facing New Zealand businesses is skill shortages and immigration. The Government should adopt ACT’s proposals to make it easier for businesses to attract workers and provide some respite for busine
Can’t find workers? We hear ya!
09 January, 2023
"Businesses can’t access the staff they need to succeed in New Zealand because the immigration tap has been turned off. ACT hears ya, we have a plan for real change in immigration,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr James McDowall.
Chinese spy ship off Australia’s coast a sign of things to come
14 June, 2022
“The presence of a Chinese spy ship off Australia’s coast during their election campaign further demonstrates that security in the Pacific cannot be taken for granted,” says ACT’s Defence spokesperson Dr James McDowall....
Civil Defence tsunami warning fail
14 June, 2022
“Residents in Northland are rightly concerned that neither the Emergency Mobile Alert system nor any Tsunami sirens were activated prior to strong surges that destroyed dozens of boats in the Tutukaka Marina, flooded at least one campground, and put lives...
Coming to the defence of our Defence Force
14 September, 2022
“Numbers are dropping in the New Zealand Defence Force as personnel are faced with poor pay, poor dwellings, and poor leadership from the Minister,” says ACT’s Defence spokesperson Dr James McDowall.
Defence Minister too quick to take offence
14 June, 2022
“The Defence Minister needs to explain whether he’s following the law when he interfered in a staff essay writing competition,” says ACT’s Defence spokesperson Dr James McDowall....
Faafoi encourages mediocrity from INZ
14 June, 2022
“Kris Faafoi has shown how out of his depth he is as Immigration Minister in an interview on Q+A this morning,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr James McDowall....
Faafoi to Afghan translators and the world: Can't Trust a Kiwi
14 June, 2022
“The 38 Afghan civilians who assisted New Zealand when we served in Afghanistan deserve our loyalty and support,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr James McDowall....
Freedom of expression on campus Bill needed more than ever
14 June, 2022
“New research showing the apprehension Kiwi academics have to speak freely at New Zealand universities highlights the urgent need for my Member’s Bill requiring tertiary education institutions to protect freedom of expression,” says ACT MP Dr James McDowall....
Freedom of expression on campus must be protected
14 June, 2022
“A Bill introduced to the UK Parliament this week shares the same goal as my Member’s Bill and should be debated here in New Zealand,” says ACT MP Dr James McDowall....
Get them here first, sort out the bureaucracy later
14 June, 2022
“If the Government wants to support Ukrainian families in New Zealand, the Immigration Minister needs to stop getting himself bogged down with hypothetical questions and bureaucracy,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson James McDowall....
Government mustn’t let rotten apple pile get higher
14 June, 2022
“It was heart-breaking to watch a media conference of Hawke's Bay orchardists today revealing, as one put it ‘anxiety and desperation beyond belief,’ at the situation the Government left them all in this season by refusing to let more Pacific...
Government needs to deliver certainty for skilled migrants
14 June, 2022
“Labour's inaction on immigration is creating a humanitarian and economic crisis,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr James McDowall.
Govt chooses cancel culture over freedom of expression
14 June, 2022
“The Government has today said yes to cancel culture and no to free speech as it voted down my Member’s Bill that would have required tertiary education institutions to protect freedom of expression,” says ACT MP Dr James McDowall....
Govt’s anti-science Covid rules halt Queenstown Marathon
14 June, 2022
“The Queenstown Marathon has been cancelled due to the uncertainty created by the Government’s anti-science Covid-19 rules”, says ACT’s Tourism spokesperson James McDowall....
Green list after longest red light
13 December, 2022
“The government’s immigration announcement today should have happened six months ago, not as a result of poor poll results,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson James McDowall.
GST loss for tourism $1.5 billion
14 June, 2022
“New Zealand has taken a massive hit from our closed borders, with a loss of $1.5 billion in GST,” says ACT’s Tourism spokesperson James McDowall....
Hamilton West forgotten in ram raid crime spate
10 November, 2022
“Hamilton West has not had a single business fitted out with protective equipment from the Retail Crime Prevention Programme that the Government announced six months ago,” says ACT MP and Hamilton West candidate James McDowall.
Hamilton West shouldn’t need a by-election for infrastructure funding
18 November, 2022
“Labour just gave Hamilton $150 million three weeks before a by-election, but there’s a much better and less political way to do this” says ACT’s Hamilton West candidate Dr James McDowall.
Immigration Minister boasted 55,000 job checks, but how many actual visas?
03 October, 2022
“Labour’s overly bureaucratic immigration system means that only a fraction of the employers trying to navigate it are successfully bringing in employees,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr James McDowall.
Immigration Minister hopelessly out of touch
14 June, 2022
“Hospitals are overrun and nurses are in short supply, but somehow the Government believes ‘multimedia specialists’ deserve precedence for fast tracked residency,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr James McDowall....
Immigration New Zealand is ‘Faafed’
14 June, 2022
“Incompetent bureaucracy and a failure of leadership from the Minister means that we have to wait another two months before we can open up to the rest of the world,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr James McDowall....
Immigration NZ doing more harm than good
14 June, 2022
“A completely inflexible Immigration New Zealand seems hell-bent on disrupting New Zealand’s food supply chain,” says ACT Immigration spokesperson Dr James McDowall and ACT Primary Industries spokesperson Mark Cameron....
Immigration website crashes as expected
14 June, 2022
“After two years of putting would be immigrants, their families, foreign workers, employers, and basically anyone involved in crossing the New Zealand border through the wringer, Immigration New Zealand has managed to score another own goal,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson...
International education revenue loss for 2021 expected to reach $480 million
14 June, 2022
“The ACT Party can reveal that the loss to the international education sector for 2021 is expected to reach $480 million,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson James McDowall....
Labour letting fruit rot on the vines
03 August, 2022
“Even with the borders open and the rest of the world moving on, New Zealand businesses are suffering from Labour’s immigration incompetence,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr James McDowall....
Labour still clinging on to Covid travel bureaucracy
19 September, 2022
“Labour still won’t properly move on from Covid, as it continues to make people fill out the pointless Traveller Declaration Form to travel to New Zealand,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr James McDowall.
Labour’s expensive ideological experiment blows up
12 October, 2022
“Labour’s cruel attempt at an ‘immigration reset’ has unequivocally failed and it has been forced to reopen immigration categories it previously shunned,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr James McDowall.
Nash away with the fairies on immigration
14 June, 2022
“Economic Development Minister Stuart Nash must have been away with the fairies when he insulted employers who take migrant workers, says ACT’s immigration spokesperson James McDowall....
Nash has no idea how big the tourism hit is
14 June, 2022
“Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has admitted he has no idea how much revenue has been lost as a result of his Government’s policies” says ACT’s Tourism spokesperson James McDowall....
Nash intent on taxing the life out of tourism
14 June, 2022
“Be warned, the Labour Government looks set to break more promises with Tourism Minister Stuart Nash saying in Parliament today on the potential for introducing bed taxes that would hit New Zealanders, ‘there’s a whole lot of work going on...
Nash needs to explain tourism comments
14 June, 2022
“Tourism operators are rightly freaking out about comments made by Stuart Nash about when the borders will reopen and he owes us an explanation,” says ACT’s Tourism spokesperson James McDowall....
New Minister, same old excuses
03 August, 2022
“We need to be doing everything possible to get nurses into the country, but successive Immigration Ministers have failed to accept the problem or provide a solution,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr James McDowall....
New Zealand economy needs tourism
14 June, 2022
“The Prime Minister needs to open New Zealand up for tourists and international visitors and she should do it tomorrow,” says ACT’s Tourism spokesperson Dr James McDowall....
New Zealand remains the weak link in the Pacific
14 June, 2022
“Labour has cemented New Zealand’s position as the weak link of the Pacific with today’s underwhelming Defence announcement,” says ACT’s Defence spokesperson Dr James McDowall....
Non-visa waiver travellers still being forgotten
14 June, 2022
“Today’s expected announcement of a full border re-opening date will be met with disappointment from residents of non-visa waiver countries, who are still being shut out for no reason,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr James McDowall....
PM and Immigration Minister wouldn’t meet SMC criteria
15 October, 2022
“Labour has made the criteria for the Skilled Migrant Category residency visa so difficult that even their Ministers wouldn’t succeed in getting one,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr James McDowall.
PM left on ice as planes fail again
29 October, 2022
“Instead of stealing gold in Mini Coopers the latest version of The Italian Job has the Italian Government transporting New Zealand’s Prime Minister in a Hercules. It’s time New Zealand increased its defence spending,” says ACT’s Defence spokesperson Dr James McDowall.
Productivity Commission shows that Faafoi is still asleep at the wheel
14 June, 2022
“The Productivity Commission has released its final report into New Zealand’s immigration settings, and their findings yet again totally undermine Kris Faafoi’s ‘immigration rebalance’ and show that there’s no justification for the Minister’s anti-immigration agenda,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr...
Real change to take Defence seriously
14 June, 2022
“ACT’s Real Change Budget would increase our defence spending to put us in line with our allies and protect us in a dramatically changing geopolitical environment,” says ACT’s Defence spokesperson Dr James McDowall....
Real Change to the immigration system
03 August, 2022
“New Zealand businesses are suffering from workforce shortages caused by an inflexible and illogical immigration system, we need real change to ensure employers can access the workers they need and hard working immigrants can contribute to New Zealand society,” says...
Resetting the immigration reset
14 June, 2022
“ACT would dump Labour’s ‘once in a generation’ immigration reset. Immigration reform may be needed in the future, but right now we need certainty,” say ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr James McDowall and Primary Industries spokesperson Mark Cameron....
RSE change: too little, too late, just remove the cap completely
27 September, 2022
“The Government’s change to Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) numbers is too little too late, the sensible policy change would have been to remove the cap on the number of RSEs completely, like Australia’s scheme,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr James McDowall.
Scrap the Traveller Declaration form
14 September, 2022
“ACT is calling on the Government to use common sense and scrap the burdensome Traveller Declaration form,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr James McDowall.
Sky high maintenance costs for Air Force clunkers
03 August, 2022
“New Zealand’s ancient Boeing 757s are falling to bits because the Government is underinvesting in Defence,” says ACT’s Defence spokesperson Dr James McDowall....
Strong result for ACT in Hamilton West
10 December, 2022
“The ACT Party keeps going from strength to strength with our Hamilton West candidate taking 10 per cent of the vote in the by-election,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.
The exodus continues
12 October, 2022
Today’s net migration figures from Stats NZ show that the brain drain is well and truly on and New Zealand needs real change to turn things around,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr James McDowall.
The war will be over by the time the Government makes a decision
14 June, 2022
“The Government’s shambolic approach to Ukraine is descending into farce, with the Prime Minister arguing with herself about the definition of “lethal” or “non-lethal” aid,” says ACT’s Defence spokesperson James McDowall....
Tourism NZ advertising a locked door
14 June, 2022
“Overseas New Zealanders are rightly confused and dismayed that Tourism New Zealand is advertising New Zealand as a holiday destination overseas when the border is closed,” says ACT’s Tourism spokesperson Dr James McDowall....
Ukraine need firepower not excuses
14 June, 2022
“Cabinet’s decision to refuse Defence Minister Peeni Henare’s request to provide lethal aid to Ukraine is incredibly disappointing”, says ACT’s Defence spokesperson James McDowall....
When will tourism’s long hibernation be over?
14 June, 2022
“What the tourism industry is facing is all about a policy choice from Government, how and when to open the border to Australia and then other relatively safe countries – one it isn’t yet able to have a grown up...
Where did this ‘proactive approach’ come from, Minister Faafoi
14 June, 2022
“This Government is happy to rush through bad laws under urgency but when it comes to something as important as split families and livelihoods it moves at snail like pace,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr James McDowall....
Where the bloody hell are they?
14 June, 2022
“Tourism providers in New Zealand don’t have to ask 'where the bloody hell are ya,' they know they’re across the ditch as today Australia welcomes vaccinated travellers from around the world to enter the country without self-isolation,” says ACT’s Tourism...
Why does Labour always wait until it’s a crisis?
14 June, 2022
“The Labour Party has left business owners in a state of distress for far longer than was necessary with some going to the wall or suffering from mental health problems as a result of the Government preventing workers from coming...
Green light for health roles far too late
11 April, 2023
“Today’s announcement that more health professionals have been added to the Green List is far too late, New Zealand is losing the global war on talent because Labour is so far behind the rest of the world,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson James McDowall.
Michael Wood’s immigration comments don’t stack up
24 March, 2023
“Immigration Minister Michael Wood’s grandstanding about how he wishes he could intervene in the Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull case is nothing more than performative politics. The law says he could have intervened if he wanted to,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson James McDowall.
Recovery Visa applications need 48 hour turnaround
25 February, 2023
“Minister Michael Wood should be requesting Immigration NZ processes each application for the new ‘Recovery Visa’ within 48 hours, instead of the proposed seven days,” says ACT’s Immigration spokesperson Dr James McDowall.
Corporate Gravy-train Needs To Stop
17 April, 2023
“Since 2019 Callaghan Innovation has wasted $5.2 million of taxpayer money by doling it out to failed organisations. The corporate welfare gravy train isn’t helping everyday Kiwis and needs to stop,” says ACT’s Research, Science and Innovation spokesperson James McDowall.
Labour’s hidden defence cuts
21 May, 2023
“Labour bragged about increasing Defence spending in their pre-budget announcements but forgot to mention that Defence spending won’t keep up with inflation in the last three years of the budget,” says ACT’s Defence spokesperson James McDowall. “That’s a cut.”