Press Releases

“New Zealand’s senior citizens haven’t worked hard and paid taxes their whole lives to live in a country where crime is out of control, the health system is in crisis, and those who hope that at least the future might be brighter for their grandchildren are frustrated by the failures of the education system and welfare state,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“Tough circumstances call for responsible economic management. Now is not the time for big spending promises or significant tax cuts. It is time to end the waste and fix the economy,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“New Zealand might technically be out of recession, but the reality is the next few years will be grim thanks to Labour’s appalling economic mismanagement,” says ACT Leader David Seymour. “Politicians need to be honest with New Zealanders and offer realistic policies that will revitalise our economy, not more of the same.”

ACT will: Use information on school attendance and educational progress to prioritise ERO school inspections. Ensure ERO’s school evaluation reports are consistent and based on clear, objective, and relevant criteria. Improve the Ministry of Education’s slow and ineffective approach to managing under-performance by enforcing a clear and structured intervention process for identifying and intervening in under-performing schools. Replace the current practice of appointing a limited statutory manager or commissioner to a struggling school. A tendering process would enable existing school operators to apply to take over schools that fail. Applications would consider the school operator’s track record of success. Where there is more than one school operator interested in the takeover, the Ministry would be responsible for selecting the best candidate based on who would best serve the school community. Evaluate the outcomes of school interventions, as persistent failure is likely to indicate system-wide weaknesses in the education system.

“Improving schools that fail is one of the most important things we can do to give children better lives. ACT is today releasing a plan to reform schools that fail, including allowing successful schools to take them over to give more children access to an excellent education”, says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“The Chrises squabbled about who gets how much of the pie, without articulating a vision for growing it,” says ACT Leader David Seymour. “The Chrises went back and forth over issues which are very real to hardworking New Zealanders, without spelling out what real change would look like. That is why it was a failure not to include all parties in the debate like times past.

“After more than five years of cuddling criminals and ignoring victims, Labour’s sudden pre-election change of heart on crime is hardly believable. It’s too late, there has to be Real Change this election to put law and order in place again,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“Chris Hipkins is gaslighting New Zealanders on co-government,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“With the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research’s (NZIER) latest forecasts showing subdued economic growth for the next two years, it’s clearer than ever that New Zealand’s economic recovery, and eventual economic strength for New Zealand, will require real change,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“Labour says it wants to double the number of houses with solar panels, but like all of their policies it relies on the taxpayer to stump up for yet another subsidy,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“ACT is calling out Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader Deborah Ngarewa-Packer for flagrant misinformation on the Treaty and ACT’s policies,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“New Zealand is at a constitutional crossroad. In one direction is liberal democracy. In the other is co-government; power-sharing between one ethnic group and all others. ACT will end co-government and restore universal human rights in New Zealand,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.