David Seymour should be ashamed

Written By: - Date published: 8:48 am, August 18th, 2023 - 103 comments
Categories: act, Carmel Sepuloni, Christopher Luxon, david seymour, national, Pacific, uncategorized, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags:

I get the feeling that David Seymour has decided to model himself on Winston Peters.

Peters has made a career of saying really outlandish news worthy quotes and getting publicity for them.  It appears that Seymour is attempting to do the same.

It is one of the features of MMP and the way that some minor parties behave that they can say something that 90% of the population disagrees with and only 10% agree with but this is a win.  10% of the votes in an MMP election gets you a lot of seats in Parliament.

And Seymour and Act have been cultivating the red neck racist vote with a passion recently.

Yesterday he hit a new low, when he hinted at the Ministry of Pacific Peoples should be blown up.

To use his own words:

in my fantasy we’d send a guy called Guy Fawkes in [to the ministry] and it’d be all over”.

This is terrifingly Trumpian.  The Orange buffoon often says the most outlandish things and the problem is that some of his goons will then go out and try and do what he has hinted at.

National Leader Christopher Luxon has attempted to distance himself from Seymour’s outburst.  Sort of.

“I don’t agree with that, right?” said Luxon when the comments were raised by an audience member at [a recent] meeting. “The point is I’m not the leader of the Act Party, I’m the leader of the National Party … Don’t imbue me with comments from him.”

He may be the leader of a different party but those parties are joined at the hip.  National has had Act on life support for a long period of time just so it could maximise the right’s representation in Parliament.

And they have the same donors.  My standards are very low when it comes to Luxon but I expected him to say something stronger than what he did say.

Carmel Sepuloni and Golriz Ghahraman have responded in a more direct manner than Luxon was able to.  From Newshub:

Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni said the comments were unnecessary.

“This is so typical of David Seymour, particularly with Pasifika and Māori, just constantly race baiting and causing division where it doesn’t need to happen,” she said.

Government agencies representing certain groups in society are there because “clearly inequities still exist”.

Sepuloni argued representative agencies are “really important.”

Green Party MP Golriz Ghahraman also took a swipe at Seymour.

“Just a man who received donations from known white supremacists making a ‘joke’ about his fantasy to bomb brown people institutions,” she tweeted.

I am confident that this will blow up in Seymour’s face.  This sort of violent base rhetoric should cost.

I can sense the good people of South and West Auckland and Porirua of Pacific background stirring and getting ready to vote.  In seeking to court the racist vote this time Seymour has overstepped the mark.

103 comments on “David Seymour should be ashamed ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Ad 1
    18 August 2023 at 9:13 am

    Seymour will Benefot Cost Ratio most of government into ash if they allow him a cost-cutting program to afford a tax cut by eradicating multiple public institutions.

    4 months of public glee followed by horror.

  2. Reality 2
    18 August 2023 at 9:26 am

    Nasty, twisted little man. Takes such glee fantasising how many thousands of people he will make redundant.

    • Nigel 2.1
      19 August 2023 at 2:54 pm

      Seymour nailed it.

      Dont take issue with what he said. Try and understand what he was saying.

      Bureaucrats are sucking tbe tax paying productive workers of nz dry…. While they have their saftey "jobs"

  3. PsyclingLeft.Always 3
    18 August 2023 at 9:40 am

    Green Party MP Golriz Ghahraman also took a swipe at Seymour.

    “Just a man who received donations from known white supremacists making a ‘joke’ about his fantasy to bomb brown people institutions,” she tweeted.

    IMO : A fantasy…..of a dangerous man.

    NAct and Winston Fist…..a fucking nightmare. Why we must win.

    NZ wont survive those slime…..

  4. Tiger Mountain 4
    18 August 2023 at 9:56 am

    Mr Seymour’s motley crew want to swing a wrecking ball through many if not all of Labour/Greens incremental reforms since 2017. It will affect the “doing it hard” bottom 50% immediately with attacks on minimum wage, Living wage, FPAs, PPL, Māori Seats, Tiriti o Waitangi, hard won Union/workers rights and much more.

    Act would have been long gone but for the Natzos loyal support in Epsom electorate.
    Don’t forget NZ National ignored the last MMP review regarding lowering the threshold, so they know well the “coat tailing” implications of their assisting Act.

    Media channels have largely given Act a free run and their dodgy MPs like warm gun lover Nicole McKee unbothered by scrutiny.

    Natzos should be hounded on this one, as should Mr Seymour. More voters need to know what Act really means. Guyfawkes?–what a wanker.

    Gloriz got it right…“Just a man who received donations from known white supremacists making a ‘joke’ about his fantasy to bomb brown people institutions,”

    • Anne 4.1
      18 August 2023 at 10:12 am

      "Media channels have largely given Act a free run…."

      Have they ever! Every day without fail on TV1 6pm news, Seymour pops up with some utterly inane comment about something the PM or a minister has said. It is as if the moment a govt. minister dares to open their mouth, the media rush to the pipsqueak for a response.

      • Sanctuary 4.1.1
        18 August 2023 at 11:09 am

        A lot of senior journalists are getting on a bit and haven't moved on from being Roger Douglas's cheerleaders, and the rest only see politics through the lens of the horserace where Seymour offers a reliable one liner for clickbait.

        • Ngungukai 4.1.1.1
          20 August 2023 at 1:12 am

          Seymour Butt is a child protege of Roger The Rat and Richard Dick Preeble. He is trying to outdo the Racist Little Prick Winston Peters of NZF???

          Niether Seymour not Winston Peters are practicing Maori’s Winston is more aligned to his Italian and Scottish Roots, than his Indigenous Blue Tongue Roots here in NZ. IMHO

    • Nigel 4.2
      19 August 2023 at 3:06 pm

      Im 70 years old. This labour government is the worst government in my life time.

      The labour party kept printing money and this caused inflation.

      Once again the productive tax paying workers in nz are paying the price. I for one have no work because people have stopped spending money.

      People who support labour and the greens are politicaly nieve

      Tbere is no incentive to be a productive worker in nz because so many Bureaucrats are on the pigs back taking advantage of productive tax paying workers.

      Socialism has never worked and kills a lot of people.

      • SPC 4.2.1
        19 August 2023 at 4:43 pm

        You're 70 years of age and you can barely make a cogent argument.

        Back to school …

        Modern nation state governments in the OECD, do not print money. They have an internal currency overseen by a Reserve Bank.

        When they have a budget deficit they borrow money to fund it. Treasury usually organises that here.

        Recently, a new development has come into play – QE (which can be called printing money – well sort of, because it is only temporary and has a redress – called buy back) applied in some nations after the GFC. This was because of a crisis in the money markets.

        The New Zealand RB did this between March 2020 and July 2021.

        In 2022 the RB announced a plan to wind down the QE over 5 years – selling $5B pa to Treasury.

        https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-08/rbnz-to-begin-five-year-exit-from-qe-bond-holdings-next-month#xj4y7vzkg

        The QE during the GFC did not cause inflation.

        The QE here and the delay to return to deposit criteria caused house price inflation in 2021. The pandemic, border lockdowns (here and globally), disruption to the global supply change (pandemic/isolation of China/the Ukraine war and sanctions) and local weather events (here) caused the rest of the inflation.

        It is still lower in New Zealand than the OECD average. As is our debt.

        Tbere is no incentive to be a productive worker in nz because so many Bureaucrats are on the pigs back taking advantage of productive tax paying workers.

        The real problem is the lack of contribution from those making tax free capital gains and the consequent over-taxation of workers and or under-funding of public services. Ignoring the first and acting on the second just results in under funding of public services – such as aged care (don't worry the nice David Seymour will allow you a way out of suffering …).

        Your'e 70 and display no concern about global warming and the de-spoiling of our environment (waterways) … have learnt not so much.

        • Tiger Mountain 4.2.1.1
          19 August 2023 at 5:21 pm

          well put SPC is all I can say!

        • Nigel 4.2.1.2
          20 August 2023 at 9:20 am

          Labour party over spending in unproductive areas has caused inflation and paying people to stay at home.

          The way to decrease inflation is o put people out of work by raising interest rates.

          Thats what the reserve bank does.

          Who cares about the productive worker.

          Nz is broke thats why services are under funded.

          Yes good idea tax the shit out of productive people so that they leave the country close down their business and stop employing people.

          Maybe we should all be bureaucrates

          Governments have tried for years to control inflation eventually they always fail.

          Now governments and greenies are taking on nature… Good luck on that to

          China has about 6,500,000 million cows and over 1000 coal fired power stations

          When cbina. India and russia.. To name a few take global warming seriously then i will.

          • SPC 4.2.1.2.1
            20 August 2023 at 9:32 am

            Labour party over spending in unproductive areas has caused inflation and paying people to stay at home.

            Then why did inflation not occur, until it did at higher rates overseas? And most people paid while at home are on the pension.

            Governments have tried for years to control inflation eventually they always fail.

            There had been little inflation in OECD nations for most of the century (not so much since the 1980's).

            Nations that have a CGT and estate taxation have better funded public services, go figure.

          • Incognito 4.2.1.2.2
            20 August 2023 at 10:57 am

            China has about 6,500,000 million cows and over 1000 coal fired power stations

            Is that right, Nigel?

            Provide a link to back up your factual assertions.

            What is your argument anyway?

            Your opinions are not founded in or on reality.

            You sound like an astroturfing troll.

        • Blazer 4.2.1.3
          20 August 2023 at 11:37 am

          I take issue with this.-'The QE during the GFC did not cause inflation.'

          How could it..not?It stimulates spending,distorts real,market risk and pricing.

          ' the world’s leading central banks, including the Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan, European Central Bank, and the Bank of England, have injected more than $25 trillion into the global economy since 2008, with more than $9 trillion of that amount coming from COVID-19 alone, according to the Atlantic Council’s Quantitative Easing tracker.'

          Major central banks have printed $25 trillion since 2008, data shows (finbold.com)

          • SPC 4.2.1.3.1
            20 August 2023 at 12:01 pm

            Then go and look at the inflation figures for the nations that applied it during the GFC and see what you find.

            Where was the inflation before the pandemic?

            • Blazer 4.2.1.3.1.1
              20 August 2023 at 12:52 pm

              Surely an expansion in credit availability ,incentivises banks to make loans and get people spending.

              There seems an obvious correlation between Q.E and the explosion of property prices around the world.

              Then interest rates had to be lowered to make these huge mortgages 'affordable'.

              ' It is important to realize that QE was an emergency measure used to stimulate the economy and prevent it from tumbling into a deflationary spiral.'

              The counter to deflation=inflation.How it is measured and monitored is a telling factor.The effects will be felt for quite sometime imo.

              Why Didn't Quantitative Easing Lead to Hyperinflation? (investopedia.com)

              • SPC …
                20 August 2023 at 1:19 pm

                You've now answered your own question, there was no inflation because of QE after the GFC because it merely countered a recession/deflationary spiral.

                Then interest rates had to be lowered to make these huge mortgages 'affordable'

                No, low interest rates made larger mortgages affordable so people could afford to pay more for property (allowing those with debts to sell).

                QE did not cause tradeables inflation (pandemic disruption to the global supply chain and division against China, lockdowns loss of labour availability, sanctions Ukraine war and weather events did that).

                The consequence of QE largess is the buy back phase – higher interest rates, then property prices fall back to smaller mortgage affordability levels and otherwise population and market supply.

                • Blazer …
                  20 August 2023 at 2:45 pm

                  '

                  Then interest rates had to be lowered to make these huge mortgages 'affordable'

                  No, low interest rates made larger mortgages affordable so people could afford to pay more for property (allowing those with debts to sell).

                  Very good!wink

                  'higher interest rates, then property prices fall back to smaller mortgage affordability levels '

                  You may not be aware, but central banks all over the globe are raising interest rates to combat inflation.

                  This is where the inflation went-'There seems an obvious correlation between Q.E and the explosion of property prices around the world.

                  –The CPI measures inflation of owner-occupied housing by measuring price change for the purchase of new housing. The 'purchase' consists of the price of buying a newly built house, excluding the land the house is built on.'

                  Can't accept your version at all.

                  • SPC …
                    20 August 2023 at 3:51 pm

                    There seems an obvious correlation between Q.E and the explosion of property prices around the world

                    Yes. But it did not cause any inflation rise, then or now because property value change it is not measured in the inflation statistics.

                    but central banks all over the globe are raising interest rates to combat inflation.

                    Yes, but the cause of this inflation is not rising property value – which is not a component. But tradeables.

                    –The CPI measures inflation of owner-occupied housing by measuring price change for the purchase of new housing. The 'purchase' consists of the price of buying a newly built house, excluding the land the house is built on.'

                    Strange definition as it’s more accurately the cost of building not cost of buying (the difference might be the builders finance costs) and the price of new build housing is the same whether it is owner occupied, or built for rent. Only the rising cost of building is determined – based on tradeables such as gib board, other building material and labour factors.

                    Thus the rising or falling value of market property (because of GE or interest rate whatever) is not in any way involved.

                    • Blazer …
                      20 August 2023 at 4:30 pm

                      strange definition is it!-How housing costs are measured in consumer price indexes at Stats NZ | Stats NZ

                      You seem to have veered off course.

                      I'm saying Q.E lead to property inflation.

                      It's been bubbling away for years and has now spilled over.

                      Do not accept your argument at all-'Thus the rising or falling value of market property (because of GE or interest rate whatever) is not in any way involved.'

                      Your correlations are inconsistent and unreliable.

                    • SPC …
                      20 August 2023 at 4:46 pm

                      You've consistently conflated property value inflation with the CPI inflation that RB's have responded to. The CPI does not measure property value change (investment/land value changes only cost of new building).

                      The strange definition is used – because they assess/measure the annual difference by what those building the new houses charge to buy them (the variable between cost of building and selling is cost of their finance, or the mark up they are trying to realise). It's messy because sometimes people pre-buy and sometimes builders go bankrupt if prices rise while building etc.

                      PS For mine, I think you are way out of your depth on these topics.

                    • Blazer …
                      20 August 2023 at 5:09 pm

                      'PS For mine, I think you are way out of your depth on these topics.'

                      Too funny…you contradict yourself continually.

                      Here educate yourself,try not to cherry pick segments…in your world inflation is transitory and CPI is the only measure.wink

                      'What Causes Inflation? (investopedia.com)

                    • SPC …
                      20 August 2023 at 5:39 pm

                      RB's respond to CPI inflation. There had been little CPI inflation between 1990 and 2020. Property value inflation is not the cause of the rise CPI inflation of late, despite your beliefs.

                    • Blazer …
                      20 August 2023 at 5:45 pm

                      Comprehension required.

                      CPI is not the the gold standard of measuring inflation imo and distorts it.

                      I suppose you believed in 'trickle down 'theory …too.

                    • SPC …
                      20 August 2023 at 6:06 pm

                      If you believe that QE leads to property inflation, and want to convince others to also believe … .

                      Consider providing at least some evidence of the correlation between QE in a nation and the level of property value change in that nation.

                      Show a consistent pattern between the various nations QE and the property value change.

                      Coz it ain't that simple

                      CPI is not the the gold standard of measuring inflation imo and distorts it.

                      Meh. You earlier stated

                      You may not be aware, but central banks all over the globe are raising interest rates to combat inflation.

                      This in response to a rise in the CPI which does not measure property value change.

                    • Blazer …
                      20 August 2023 at 8:11 pm

                      'Yes. But it did not cause any inflation rise, then or now because property value change it is not measured in the inflation statistics.'

                      Unbelievable …so cause and effect is not relevant if x,y or Z measure is applied.

                      Hopeless.

                    • SPC …
                      20 August 2023 at 8:45 pm

                      It may have escaped your notice that nations with the highest rates of inflation never applied QE. And those that did, include some with the lowest levels of property value increase.

                      So I can understand your reluctance to make any effort to prove your claims/evidence drought.

                    • Blazer …
                      20 August 2023 at 8:55 pm

                      'It may have escaped your notice that nations with the highest rates of inflation never applied QE'

                      Maybe, but I doubt Zimbabwe is a valid comparison for…your argument.laugh

      • bwaghorn 4.2.2
        19 August 2023 at 6:54 pm

        You do understand that the pension is socialism??

  5. AB 5
    18 August 2023 at 10:06 am

    Hi David – there is a place for violent, private fantasies. It's called 4chan. If you go there, at least we will have some comfort from the fact that the intelligence services are more likely to be monitoring you. Thanks.

  6. Patricia Bremner 6
    18 August 2023 at 10:28 am

    Why is David Seymore saying such obvious racist rubbish.??? .. So Seymore can …

    get a bigger Headline than Winston.

    tell all brown people "you are the problem"

    appeal to the "make NZ ungovernable" group.

    What is alarming to me, Luxon did not say "We will be keeping the Ministry of Pacific People", (so is David Seymore hinting at an agreed list of targets for removal?)

    All Luxon did say was he did not agree "with that" *(comment)? *(Policy)?

    We are left wondering……. Making annoyed noises is not a statement of Nat intent.surprise

  7. Incognito 7
    18 August 2023 at 11:08 am

    @ mickysavage,

    We both dealt with the duplicate comment from Patricia Bremner. Unfortunately, both comments have now been deleted from your Post. Oops!

    • Tabletennis 8.1
      18 August 2023 at 12:01 pm

      "On cue, Seymour's words have consequences:"

      from your link:The incident happened before ACT Leader David Seymour joked in a radio interview that he would like to see the ministry blown up.

      "Green Party MP Golriz Ghahraman also took a swipe at Seymour.
      “Just a man who received donations from known white supremacists making a ‘joke’ about his fantasy to bomb brown people institutions,” she tweeted.

      What evidence of these donors does she has to make such an statement …

      • arkie 8.1.1
        18 August 2023 at 12:03 pm

        ACT Party leader David Seymour has come under fire after accepting a donation from a far-right extremist and characterising the man's threats to destroy mosques as "a silly comment on Facebook".

        In October, Newsroom reported that a far-right extremist who had threatened to "destroy mosque after mosque till I am taken out" had made a donation to the ACT Party by auctioning a hat signed by Seymour.

        Mike Allen is a Christchurch e-bike salesman whose parody Trump hats – which read "Make Ardern Go Away" – went viral after he was temporarily banned from selling them on TradeMe. Newsroom then reported that the proceeds from the hats went towards funding advertisements for far-right Facebook pages, including the now-deleted page on which Allen threatened to destroy mosques.

        https://www.newsroom.co.nz/calls-for-act-to-return-far-right-donation

    • AB 8.2
      18 August 2023 at 12:02 pm

      The media need to hold him to account.

      It's much more likely that Newshub/ZB/NZ Herald will be intent on amplifying Seymour's dogwhistle rather than questioning it. It would not be surprising if the two guys who turned up uninvited at the Ministry were actually 'reporters' from one of those esteemed organs of the 4th estate.

      • Mike the Lefty 8.2.1
        18 August 2023 at 12:35 pm

        "The media need to hold him to account".

        Not likely.

        The MSM love his superficially witty quips and smug smirks

        When they see him its like going up to a comedian and asking him to say something funny, and he usually gives them what they want.

        They aren't going to give that up willingly.

        Seymour is turning into Winston's successor, populism on the hoof, promising whatever looks good at the moment – fixing potholes, higher speed limits for the petrolheads.

        What people don't realise is that the extra money they will have in their pockets after ACT's tax cuts will disappear just as fast as they got it with the inevitable rise in inflation with all the extra money being spent and the higher charges for government services which will be quietly introduced to pay for their promises.

        People need to remember what we had when ACT's predecessors in the Rogernome government were in power in the late 80s – home lending rates and inflation around 16%, and it will happen again.

        If people think inflation and home lending rates are high now, they ain't seen nothing yet.

    • Muttonbird 8.3
      18 August 2023 at 12:54 pm

      They'll be two ACT/TPU henchmen pursuing the narrative Seymour has been promoting.

      It’s not coincidence, Seymour is directly responsible for this.

    • Anne 8.4
      18 August 2023 at 3:36 pm

      From the link:

      David Seymour told Stuff on Friday he does not resile from the comment because to do so would be to give currency to the idea he was being serious.

      “Anybody who’s trying to link the incident to my very obvious joke is politicising the matter for political purposes and that’s part of the problem

      1) Who was dog whistling for political gain? He was.

      2) So it was just a joke eh? Makes no difference. The racist inference is there.

      Dear God, save us from this awful dork!

      • Patricia Bremner 8.4.1
        18 August 2023 at 4:06 pm

        Only racists make such "jokes". It is the classic out to say “just joking ”

        Who was Seymour sharing the "joke" with? Hoskins and his listeners?

        If he did not "mean" it, why did he say it?

        He is behaving like a total lying creep who is now blaming the victims of his racism as "not knowing it was a joke".

        Sadly, an overspend, (paid back), has been used to lambast that Ministry, and give Seymore room to grandstand to his followers.

        This is a sick faction he is attracting.

        • Anne 8.4.1.1
          18 August 2023 at 7:31 pm

          It isn't just racism as such in my view. It represents the ignorant viewpoint of the red-necked among us who think they are superior to the Pacific communities on the basis their skin is brown. That means it is okay to make them the butt of humiliating jokes which is exactly what Seymour was doing… using a mistake made by someone in the Pacific ministry.

          I noted in the Herald's letter to the editor section that the current 'question' being asked of readers is "why is Carmel Sepuloni so under-rated." The answer is simple. She is a woman of South Pacific origin. In short, she has a brown skin. No matter her impressive credentials and qualifications etc. “she’s bro-owwn”

      • Ngungukai 8.4.2
        20 August 2023 at 1:18 am

        Dick,dick, and dick IMHO.

  9. bwaghorn 9
    18 August 2023 at 12:37 pm

    "I am confident that this will blow up in Seymour’s face. This sort of violent base rhetoric should cost.

    Wish I was as optimistic as you,

    • alwyn 9.1
      18 August 2023 at 1:51 pm

      Who could possibly say what you have just quoted and expect to be taken seriously?

      "this will blow up in Seymour’s face."

      That can only be taken as calling on someone to bomb Seymour surely? A call to blow him up is at least as deplorable as his own remark.

      • higherstandard 9.1.1
        18 August 2023 at 2:11 pm

        LOL ..Thanks Alwyn you made me snort my afternoon cup of tea over the keyboard.

        • SPC 9.1.1.1
          18 August 2023 at 2:17 pm

          “I don’t agree with that, right?” said Luxon when the comments were raised by an audience member at [a recent] meeting. “The point is I’m not the leader of the Act Party, I’m the leader of the National Party … Don’t imbue me with comments from him.”

        • lprent 9.1.1.2
          18 August 2023 at 3:18 pm

          you made me snort my afternoon cup of tea over the keyboard.

          Ruin a lot of keyboards do you? Snorting tea does seems to be a trait of the right. But you have done that a number of times over the years.

          Pain in the arse to clean if you drink tea with sugar or milk. At one point back in the 1980s I used to clean the odd IBM keyboard because they really didn’t like sugar or milk in tea and coffee.

          Umm.. Does remind me that I need a third keyboard. One for work, one for home, and one for travel (ie for my pack).

          Probably this one as it has the same form factor as my two other current keyboards, just a later model.
          https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/KEYLOG5773019/Logitech-MX-Keys-S-Advanced-Wireless-Illuminated-K

          Expensive, but part of the costs of my profession. And way way cheaper than screwing up my wrists.

          However it sounds like you need something more maintainable like
          https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/KEYLOG5558561/Logitech-MX-Mechanical-Keyboard—Tactile

          Get an airgun and a brush set.

          😈

        • hetzer 9.1.1.3
          18 August 2023 at 4:00 pm

          Gave me a chuckle too!

      • SPC 9.1.2
        18 August 2023 at 2:19 pm

        blow up in someone's face

        idiom. informal. (of an action, plan, etc.) to go wrong in a way that harms or damages the person who did the action, made the plan, etc.: The risk with making such a promise is it could blow up in your face later.

        Learn to comprehend before rushing to throw shit at others.

      • Incognito 9.1.3
        18 August 2023 at 5:58 pm

        Nope, Seymour the Clown is overinflating his balloon and it will go pop! And he won’t even raise an eyebrow like Judith Collins.

        The piercing sound in your ears is not tinnitus, BTW.

    • Ngungukai 9.2
      20 August 2023 at 2:28 am

      Race baiting does not work in NZ everyone will remember Winston Peters famous line “Two Wongs Don’t Make a White” and is rhetoric about abolishing the Maori Seats has seen his share of the Maori Seats from 42% to nearly zero.

  10. Peter 10
    18 August 2023 at 12:38 pm

    Seymour says it because he knows his redneck supporters will be all aboard with it.

    • Mike the Lefty 10.1
      18 August 2023 at 12:53 pm

      If you are right then that marks a significant change in the ACT support base, because up until now at least, ACT has pitched itself as a social libertarian party. They have been socially quite liberal and although you could accuse ACT supporters of being overly obsessed by wealth and gain you couldn't really accuse them of being lynch mob or conspiracy theorist.

      If they are starting to pander to rednecks it is a new development, and one that will inevitably lead to battles with NZ First as the two parties vie for the position as default redneck party.

  11. SPC 11
    18 August 2023 at 12:48 pm

    David Seymour told Newstalk ZB on Thursday he would keep his pledge to abolish the Ministry of Pacific Peoples.

    "In my fantasy, we'd send a guy called Guy Fawkes in there and it'd be all over, but we'll probably have to have a more formal approach than that."

    Guy Fawkes was an English soldier who attempted to blow up Westminster Palace in London in 1605.

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/08/deputy-pm-sepuloni-blasts-seymour-s-guy-fawkes-joke-about-ministry-for-pacific-peoples.html

    A telling comment – the Waitangi Tribunal, Human Rights Commission, Ministry of Pacific Peoples, Maori Health Authority – and a re-write of the TOW.

    His NACT government is a return to 1950's assimilation polity, our version of little England Brexit retreat from modern society, sans the 1935 Labour government – with full blown neo-liberalism: PLUTOCRACY (more wealthy New Zealanders and a regime based around serving the interests of those with capital).

    • bwaghorn 11.1
      18 August 2023 at 12:50 pm

      Gotta wonder if national a regretting taking in the little lap dog now it's turning into a mangy rabid mutt.

    • Mike the Lefty 11.2
      18 August 2023 at 1:01 pm

      Remembered a question from a recent episode of "The Chase".

      Q:Who has been termed as the only person to have entered the (British) parliament with honest intentions:

      A: Guy Fawkes.

      • SPC 11.2.1
        18 August 2023 at 1:06 pm

        A bit of a dupe, I suspect. The plot was not to kill, but to imply risk to a whole ruling class if their King remained a Protestant (the Catholics had no other candidate for the Crown – in France they assassinated one Protestant King and then had his Protestant successor convert for fear of the same).

  12. higherstandard 12
    18 August 2023 at 2:09 pm

    Won't anyone think of the children ?

    What a humourless country NZ has become.

    • SPC 12.1
      18 August 2023 at 2:21 pm

      Grown ups will think of the Riechstag.

    • PsyclingLeft.Always 12.2
      18 August 2023 at 2:38 pm

      Just jokes aye? You wouldnt think there had already been a massacre of brown people..in a NZ Mosque. By a white supremacist. Well..you wouldnt.

    • Muttonbird 12.3
      18 August 2023 at 5:11 pm

      "It's just banter," defence. Problem for this little oink is that he asks for serious discussion about the public service while acting in the most childish way possible. People then see he's not serious about the discussion at all.

      Seymour said the "joke" surrounding Government departments is met with those attending saying "'hahah'."

      "Then we talk about serious stuff about how you actually restructure the public service. Unfortunately, now you can't have the joke and you can't have the serious discussion."

      https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/08/act-leader-david-seymour-refuses-to-apologise-for-clearly-not-serious-guy-fawkes-joke.html

      Seymour relies heavily on these quips and one liners as part of his political style. They’re part of his armoury and important to his image and popularity so if he wants to use them to his advantage, his opponents should be able to use them to his disadvantage.

      When he makes a mistake he should own it and the media and public should show no mercy.

    • Ngungukai 12.4
      20 August 2023 at 3:30 am

      Looks like Seymour and ACT are going full on Nazi to secure the right wing red neck vote ???😇☺️🥹😡🥲🤣

  13. Corey 13
    18 August 2023 at 2:20 pm

    He may be trying to emulate Winstons public persona but Winston on a good day has a charm, charisma and sense of humour that are impossible to fake.

    Seymour always comes off as an edgy head boy perfect with limited life experiences.

    Winston love him or hate him, is a rockstar, we don't call him Winston Peters we call him Winston.

    Love him or hate him (I love him and hate him) we'll be talking about Winston in a century.

    Seymour and Acts party support will drop like a led balloon if they ever make it to a coalition with national, a lot of people voting don't realise Act is a neoliberal, open borders, free trade party they think act is a populist protectionist party.

    As for Luxon saying "I don't agree with that, right?" That sounds like he's asking his campaign team "is that our position"

    Weak and pathetic. He makes Jeb Bush look charismatic

    • weka 13.1
      18 August 2023 at 2:30 pm

      If Peters gets his way, the only people that will be talking about him in a century will be living in the remnants of civ, and they won't be talking kindly about his climate action blocking insanity.

  14. Muttonbird 14
    18 August 2023 at 5:33 pm

    I see his mother died of cancer aged 50. Blessed relief for her to not have to witness the evil spectre her son has become.

    • Geoff 14.1
      18 August 2023 at 7:00 pm

      Reading through all the horrible comments, including insulting David's mother, it's clear that Labour supporters are struggling with themselves. They all behave like the type of people they say they don't like. Nothing left in the tank.

      Like it or not, there's a new government in 56 days. They won't be perfect, but at least we'll stop dismantling democracy, stop with the endless money printing, and maybe actually get something done for the first time in six years.

      • Muttonbird 14.1.1
        18 August 2023 at 7:53 pm

        It's a reaction to David Seymour's disgraceful abuse of his position. Holding a mirror to dangerous behaviour, and you don’t like it, right?

        As for David Seymour, I blame the parenting.

      • SPC 14.1.2
        18 August 2023 at 8:14 pm

        Where do you get your fact free drivel?

        New Zealand began QE in March 2020 and it ended in July 2021.

        In 2022 the RB announced a plan to wind down the QE over 5 years – selling $5B pa to Treasury.

        https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-08/rbnz-to-begin-five-year-exit-from-qe-bond-holdings-next-month#xj4y7vzkg

        Dismantling democracy … dancing cossacks, kiwi or iwi – each decade a new bunch of "high school diploma" inbreds … Muldoon Brash Seymour embarrassing.

      • Anne 14.1.3
        18 August 2023 at 8:43 pm

        Money printing? What money printing? Making up tall stories to suit what you want to believe? I haven't read any "horrible" comments. Just people telling it as it is whether you like it or not.

        As for the comment "insulting David's mother". What an over the top response to a fairly benign statement "I blame his parents". I think it might also be true.

      • Incognito 14.1.4
        18 August 2023 at 9:00 pm

        Like it or not, there’s a new government in 56 days.

        Yup, a caretaker government.

        • Ngungukai 14.1.4.1
          20 August 2023 at 1:54 am

          Seymour is too busy playing with his sausage. It is going to be a real bun fight the next 8 weeks hope you have all stocked up on plenty of popcorn???

      • Patricia Bremner 14.1.5
        18 August 2023 at 10:42 pm

        Geof, it is not Labour supporters wanting to end human and workers' rights. Nat/Act will do away with most structures which support our democracy.

        They intend to rule for the rich, by taking huge quantities of tax for themselves and we will get crumbs not bread and butter.

        It will be back to user pays and laws of the jungle. You wonder at our sadness. We see the "system" is so engrained, of class and wealth, that like lemmings we are rushing to a bad end. David Seymour is an example of that clique of self interest.

  15. SPC 15
    18 August 2023 at 6:42 pm

    I've made a big investment in you, Peter. Time and money, and it's not working. Now, I could just shake my head and smile. But in my house, when a turd appears …

    Let me tell you what justice is. Justice is the law, and the law is man's feeble attempt to set down the principles of modesty, decency. It isn't an angle, or a contract, or a hustle! Decency is what your grandmother taught you. It's in your bones! Now you go home. Go home and be decent people. Be decent.

    https://www.moviequotes.com/s-movie/the-bonfire-of-the-vanities/

    The King's Men was the acting company to which William Shakespeare (1564–1616) belonged for most of his career. Formerly known as the Lord Chamberlain's Men during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, they became the King's Men in 1603 when King James I ascended the throne and became the company's patron.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Men_(playing_company)

    It was November, 1605, and high treason was on the mind of every English subject. A small group of angry Catholics, fed up with ongoing persecution at the hands of the Protestant monarchy, hatched an elaborate plot to blow King James I and his government to smithereens. As luck would have it, a warning letter surfaced at the last minute and James ordered a search of his Palace. The most notorious conspirator, Guy Fawkes, was discovered in the cellar, match in hand, ready to ignite twenty barrels of gunpowder "all at one thunderclap."

    To say that Shakespeare would have been familiar with the conspirators is an understatement. These traitors of the realm had some deep connections to Shakespeare and his family. Shakespeare's father, John (undoubtedly a covert Catholic) was friends with William Catesby, the father of the head conspirator, Robert Catesby. John Shakespeare and William Catesby shared illegal Catholic writings that eventually wound up in the attic of John's home in Stratford. Moreover, the Mermaid Tavern in London, frequented by Shakespeare and owned by his closest friend and confident, was a preferred meeting spot of the turncoats as they schemed to obliterate the Protestants once and for all.

    And so on to MacBeth 1606.

    A master of details, Shakespeare wove direct references to the Gunpowder plot right into Macbeth. To commemorate the discovery of the heinous scheme, King James had a medal created picturing a snake hiding amongst flowers. Lo and behold, we find a nod to the medal right in the play when Lady Macbeth tells her husband to look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it. Even more significant is an obvious allusion to a Jesuit priest named Father Henry Garnet, who had concealed his knowledge of the conspiracy. When Father Garnet finally confessed, he insisted that his previous perjury was not really perjury because he lied for God’s sake. For this bit of spin doctoring he became known as the great “equivocator” and was promptly hanged. Sure enough, in Act 2, when Macbeth’s Porter wonders what kind of people would enter the gates of hell, he declares:

    Faith, here’s an equivocator, that could swear in both the scales against either scale; who committed treason enough for God’s sake, yet could not equivocate to heaven. O, come in, equivocator. (3.2.9-12).

    http://www.shakespeare-online.com/biography/gunpowderplot.html

    • Shanreagh 15.1
      19 August 2023 at 12:42 pm

      Thanks SPC. I had studied Shakespeare at University level and had not come across the Father Garnet ref in Macbeth, though I knew about Father Garnet. Reading Shaekspeare and following all his literary and political refs and comments is an education in itself. smiley

  16. Notasocialist 16
    18 August 2023 at 9:27 pm

    This stupid lefty website won't let me comment on @realitys post keeps on saying duplicate comment

    Who is being made redundant? by making these so called public service jobs not exist these people who work in a useless enterprise which creates nothing of value, can free up tax money to pay your choice of police officers or doctors or something a lot better the govt does. Unless you wanna start establishing ministries for indian people or ministry for asians or how about ministry for whites, that is how stupid the ministry for pacific peoples is

    [we hold back new comments to make sure that spam and trolls don’t get through. They have to be released manually. It also gives us an opportunity to point people to the site policy, so that they know we expect a high level of political debate here.

    https://thestandard.org.nz/policy/ Please read before commenting again – weka]

    • weka 16.1
      18 August 2023 at 10:16 pm

      mod note above for you.

    • SPC 16.2
      18 August 2023 at 10:37 pm

      The first minister in 1990 was Richard Prebble former head of ACT. Later Don McKinnon 1991-1998.

      The Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs was first established in 1990 to look after New Zealand's growing Pasifika population. Prior to that, Pacific communities living in New Zealand fell under the responsibility of several government departments including the Te Puni Kōkiri (Ministry of Māori Development) and the Department of Internal Affairs's Pacific Affairs Unit. In 1975, Pacific communities established the Pacific Island Advisory Council to address their socio-economic needs. The council established education resource and multicultural centres while the Pasifika communities lobbied for a stand-alone ministry.[1]

      On 22 December 2015, the Ministry announced it would be changing its name to the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, to reflect the growing number of Pasifika children born in New Zealand.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_for_Pacific_Peoples

      The ACT Party of David Seymour is rejected by Roger Douglas the party co-founder.

      It wants to abolish the Ministry of Women's Affairs, the Human Rights Commission, Maori Health Authority, Waitangi Tribunal.

      Abolish David Seymour as Epsom MP.

  17. Reality 17
    18 August 2023 at 10:53 pm

    Notasocialist – perhaps instead of belittling public servants you could spend time improving your sub-standard grammar, jumbled expression and lack of punctuation. Then you may be able to make your point more worthy of commenters' entering into discussion with you on the merits or otherwise of thousands of public servants being made redundant.

    • Notasocialist 17.1
      22 August 2023 at 11:19 pm

      Fair point about my grammar, but you still didn't answer my question, and the same goes for all of you supporters of big govt. I have to ask you all a question though, when does it stop? When does the ministry for pacific peoples or the minister for racing, or the ministry for women. Or minister for youth.

  18. roblogic 18
    18 August 2023 at 11:24 pm

    If Seymour is the most presentable and sane one in his nasty little party, I hate to think what the others are like. They need to keep a lid on their actual beliefs but sometimes the hate and bile just leaks out and you see a glimpse of the reality

    • Ngungukai 18.1
      20 August 2023 at 1:58 am

      Seymour is too busy playing with his sausage. It is going to be a real bun fight the next 8 weeks hope you have all stocked up on plenty of popcorn???

  19. Thinker 19
    19 August 2023 at 10:14 pm

    "I can sense the good people of South and West Auckland and Porirua of Pacific background stirring and getting ready to vote. In seeking to court the racist vote this time Seymour has overstepped the mark."

    Of course, Seymour knows most people from these areas aren't likely to have voted for ACT…

    Sometimes I wonder what has happened to politics in New Zealand of late (or maybe I just didn't understand it in my youth). However, policy decisions never seem to be based on a cohesive ideology, even neoliberalism. Now, it's all about sound-bites, dog-whistle outbursts.

    ACT, the party that was largely founded on less government involvement in people's lives, for example, seems increasingly opinionated and critical of others who don't share its own – more than might be expected.

  20. Ngungukai 20
    20 August 2023 at 2:00 am

    Seymour is a real doosie!!!

  21. Notasocialist 21
    22 August 2023 at 11:38 pm

    Look I gotta ask all of this 'left leaning' page, If the NZ GDP is 385 Billion and the Govt Budget is roughly 144 Billion, that means that more than 1 in every 3 dollars is a govt dollar, the way one person might view the 'essentials' health, education and emergency is 24B, 17.4B 2B+ defence force 4B. So these are essentials feel free to add anything else that materially improves New Zealander's lives and don't say the DOLE that costs 30Billion or something and last I checked Maccas was still hiring ? NZ has 180 Billion of Debt David Seymour is serious in reducing that so future generations don't get hit with the Bill + interest + no currency value + no real public services + a socialist dystopia. So where do we cut ?

    • SPC 21.1
      23 August 2023 at 2:31 am

      If you had checked the facts

      https://budget.govt.nz/budget/pdfs/estimates/v9/est23-v9-socdev.pdf

      You would note that the $30B includes over $20B (21.6B) for super payments and under $10B (8.7B)for income support (unemployed, sick, disabled and sole parents).

      So these are essentials feel free to add anything else that materially improves New Zealander's lives

      Educate yourself. Housing. Tax credits for low income family support. Accommodation Supplements.

      https://budget.govt.nz/budget/2023/by/vote/index.htm

      There is $6B in debt repayments, $2B in NZSF contributions (allocating for a future cost).

      https://budget.govt.nz/budget/pdfs/estimates/v4/est23-v4-finan.pdf

      • Notasocialist 21.1.1
        28 August 2023 at 9:36 pm

        Ok so even if you add in that 30B you get 75 Billion, ish the rest is waste who needs and who gets that much extra money? the nz govt seems to want it. And also, lets just pose a moral question, if you work you whole adult life 18-65 and you don't save any money for when you leave the workforce on the belief that the Goverment is gonna come and pay you out?? how stupid can you be, thrive on free will, save some money on your own not dependance

        • SPC 21.1.1.1
          29 August 2023 at 12:36 am

          Educate yourself, look through the vote allocations – the link was given to you. Transport etc look through it.

          And see if you can determine the actual cuts ACT is proposing.

          Super History.

          Labour proposed a contributory model back in the 1970's. National rejected it for the tax paid model. NACT is continuing with super.

          And both their tax cut plans would increase the amount paid out – it is fixed to the average net (after tax) wage.

          For a laugh, see whether the extra cost to super is greater than their proposed spending cuts.