David Seymour ACT Leader The Government needs to stop holding fun hostage and give us a Freedom Day. This morning Minister Kiri Allan said Rhythm and Vines would not go ahead if the Tairawhiti DHB did not reach 90 per cent vaccination in time, when projections are the DHB won’
David Seymour ACT Leader ACT can reveal Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield has attended Cabinet 17 times this year, a breach of Cabinet’s own rules. Ashley Bloomfield probably speaks more in Cabinet than most Cabinet Ministers. He almost certainly attends Cabinet more than Ministers out of Cabinet, such
David Seymour ACT Leader A survey by the Restaurant Association of over a thousand members shows the grim toll the lockdowns are taking on those in the industry. This Government talks about “being kind” and “governing for all New Zealanders” and yet the health and wellbeing of people in hospitality
David Seymour ACT Leader The Government is now either making it up as they go or completely detached from reality with its suggestion that people will need to book a slot to get through checkpoints heading out of Auckland. Chris Hipkins’ suggestion is the Government’s most unworkable idea yet,
David Seymour ACT Leader A little honesty from Andrew Little on Q+A this morning shows why Kiwis are stuck offshore waiting for MIQ, with Little saying “we expected to be in this position in probably six weeks to two months’ time.” Health Minister Andrew Little explained that home-isolation is
David Seymour ACT Leader The Prime Minister should reactivate the forgotten ‘roadmap’ and move Auckland to Step 3 of Alert Level 3. As of last Tuesday, Auckland as a city was at 90 per cent single and 77 per cent fully vaccinated. If it makes sense to move to the
David Seymour ACT Leader The Government has given an impossibly complicated version of the Freedom Day that ACT, and later National, have advocated. We hoped that the Government would admit its errors and give a clear way forward based on building resilience against endemic COVID. That has been half delivered
David Seymour ACT Leader The Government’s announcement today hasn’t even considered the international border, simply saying “soon we will be on a pathway to reopening the border.” If we’re going to be on a ‘pathway’ soon, where on earth are we now, off-roading? Jacinda Ardern talks about
David Seymour ACT Leader It’s hardly surprising that the Chief Ombudsman is investigating the shonky MIQ booking system – it’s time to stop the cruelty and restore fairness. There are thousands of Kiwis trying to return home their own country. Many are separated from their family, desperate to be
David Seymour ACT Leader ACT is today launching a new tax incentive policy that would see fully vaccinated New Zealanders receive a $250 tax credit. I hear every day from people who say ‘I’ve done my bit, followed the rules, paid my tax, and got my vax. When do
David Seymour ACT Leader Jacinda Ardern is New Zealand’s biggest party pooper, it’s time for her to cut the events industry some slack before they give up and stop organising things. • Christmas in the Park = Cancelled • Bay Dreams = Cancelled • Wellington Marathon = Cancelled • Canterbury A&P Show = Cancelled
David Seymour ACT Leader With 55 new cases and the inevitable extension of Northland and Waikato lockdowns, Jacinda Ardern needs to admit the Government has made mistakes and reset the response. Like the short sharp beginnings of the nationwide lockdown announced on August 17, four days for Northland was always
David Seymour ACT Leader Record taxation of $97 billion shows Grant Robertson taxing New Zealanders harder than even we could have imagined. The previous record was also set by Robertson, taxing $86 billion in 2019. However, Robertson has now smashed his own record by 13 per cent in just two
David Seymour ACT Leader The Ministry of Health couldn’t order a pizza, let alone contract saliva testing, as new revelations surface that it is still trying to work out if its contracted saliva tests are reliable. It’s time for the Government to finally get real, put the Ministry
David Seymour ACT Leader The leaky boundaries in and out of Auckland lead to many questions about how the Government is administering them. Either an official document was obtained under false pretences, an official document was faked, or the loopholes are so large that anyone can go anywhere without breaking
David Seymour ACT Leader Uncertainty about whether workplaces can require vaccination certificates under the status quo is creating great anxiety in workplaces. Government needs to deal with this uncertainty by giving clarity on how health and safety, privacy, and discrimination laws interact. ACT has a plan that would deliver certainty
