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Press Releases

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Law

Higher Lawmaking Standards Well Overdue

ACT Party ACT Leader David Seymour. “The Regulatory Standards Bill, drawn from the members’ bill ballot today, is a long overdue addition to New Zealand’s constitutional framework,” according to ACT Leader David Seymour. “The first attempt to pass a similar bill was the introduction of the Regulatory Responsibility Bill

Members Public
Mental Health Wait Times Worsen across DHBs

Mental Health Wait Times Worsen across DHBs

Ballooning wait times for children and adolescents trying to access mental health services should be of serious concern to us all, National’s Mental Health spokesperson Matt Doocey says. “Wait times have increased in 17 of the 18 DHBs that provided data since Labour’s election in 2017 with some

Members Public
Government Needs to Move Faster on Pacific Bubble

Government Needs to Move Faster on Pacific Bubble

National supports the call by Hawke’s Bay orchardists and businesses that are reliant on seasonal work to open a travel bubble with the Pacific Islands, Horticulture spokesperson David Bennett says. “Growers and processors have good reason to be frustrated at the Government for not acting fast enough. This frustration

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NZ

Govt Fails to Support Windblown Timber Recovery Bill

A law change that would enable the harvesting of windblown trees on conservation land following adverse weather events has been voted down by Labour, National MP based in West Coast-Tasman Maureen Pugh says. “This legislation would allow the Director-General of Conservation to authorise the removal of specified windblown trees on

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Government Rejects Greater Transparency for ACC

Government Rejects Greater Transparency for ACC

Labour is putting politics ahead of transparency in voting down a law change last night to increase transparency in ACC decision-making for those dealing with re-injury claims, National’s ACC spokesperson Simon Watts says. “The Accident Compensation (Notice of Decisions) Amendment Bill broadens employers’ rights to apply for a review

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New Zealand Second Last in OECD for Vaccinations

New Zealand Second Last in OECD for Vaccinations

Not only is New Zealand second bottom in the OECD for the number of Covid-19 vaccinations but in information leaked to National we are nowhere near where the Government planned for us to be back in January, National’s Covid-19 Response spokesperson Chris Bishop says. “Leaked data shows that at

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We Were Slow to Secure Vaccines and Now We’re Exposed

We Were Slow to Secure Vaccines and Now We’re Exposed

ACT Party ACT Leader David Seymour. “New Zealand has been left terribly exposed as a slow vaccinating outlier among developed countries, unable to let vaccinated travellers into the country because the Government doesn’t yet know enough about how infectious those protected travellers might be,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

Members Public
Vulnerable People Disadvantaged in Managing Personal Finances
NZ

Vulnerable People Disadvantaged in Managing Personal Finances

Today Shadow Treasurer Andrew Bayly has recommended to the Finance and Expenditure Committee that an inquiry take place to assess whether Government agencies and banks are sufficiently providing services which allow for vulnerable people to continue to manage their financial affairs independently. “The loss of the ability to use cheque

Members Public
Government Mustn’t Let Rotten Apple Pile Get Higher

Government Mustn’t Let Rotten Apple Pile Get Higher

ACT Party ACT Immigration spokesperson Dr James McDowall “It was heartbreaking 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 Island

Members Public
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NZ

National Calls for ACC and Super Fund to Front Select Committee

National will seek support at the next meeting of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Select Committee to call in the New Zealand Super Fund and ACC Investment Fund to discuss the ethical investment parameters they work within, National’s Foreign Affairs spokesperson Gerry Brownlee says. “As a good international

Members Public
Aussie Bubble Takes Us Straight Back to October

Aussie Bubble Takes Us Straight Back to October

ACT Party ACT Leader David Seymour. “Once again the Government is long on self-congratulation but late on delivery with its announcement of a travel bubble with Australia, but Jacinda Ardern couldn’t treat us like lucky little prisoners any longer,” says ACT Leader David Seymour. “In an extraordinary admission today

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Bubble Should Be First Step Reconnecting NZ to the World

Bubble Should Be First Step Reconnecting NZ to the World

The Government should not consider a trans-Tasman bubble ‘job done’ when it comes to reconnecting New Zealand to the world, Leader of the Opposition Judith Collins says. “Today’s announcement was too long in coming for the families who have been kept apart for more than a year and the

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Exhibition Industry Begs for Fairness

Exhibition Industry Begs for Fairness

ACT Party ACT Leader David Seymour. “If the petition I received on the steps of Parliament this morning from Darryl Clarke seeking to have exhibitions separated from mass gathering rules is acted on by this Government it will probably come too late for many in this important sector,” says ACT

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Parker’s Interest Deductibility Policy a Shambles

Parker’s Interest Deductibility Policy a Shambles

After questioning in Parliament today it’s clear Revenue Minister David Parker has no idea how his interest deductibility policy will work, National’s Shadow Treasurer Andrew Bayly says. “Minister Parker was asked some basic questions such as how many people will be affected by his new policy and how

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No Action Taken by Kelvin Davis to Keep Staff Safe
NZ

No Action Taken by Kelvin Davis to Keep Staff Safe

Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis has done nothing to prioritise the wellbeing of frontline corrections officers facing an increasing number of assaults from prisoners, National’s Corrections spokesperson Simeon Brown says. “Under Mr Davis’ watch prisoner assaults on corrections officers have increased by 92 per cent. The Minister’s response to

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Mental Health Reporting Is Failing Kiwis in Need
NZ

Mental Health Reporting Is Failing Kiwis in Need

The handbrake applied by Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Government to mental health reporting is not good enough and warrants a decent explanation from the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition Judith Collins says. “It is not acceptable that health officials have been working behind the scenes to sanitise and slow

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