David Seymour, the Leader of the hard right political party ACT, chose to celebrate International Women’s Day in NZs Parliament in an interesting manner…
David Seymour complains to Speaker over Metiria Turei’s clothing
ACT Party leader David Seymour has complained to Parliament’s Speaker about the clothes worn by Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei.
Ms Turei wore a pink Public Service Association t-shirt emblazoned with the slogan “Worth 100%” across the chest, from a campaign for equal pay.
The t-shirt was teamed with a hot pink blazer, an outfit likely chosen to celebrate International Women’s Day.
During a debate on pay equity, Mr Seymour requested a point of order, claiming Ms Turei’s clothing was in breach of Parliament’s dress code.
“Mr Speaker I seek your guidance with respect to Speaker’s ruling 18-1 which refers to members wearing t-shirts and in particular, t-shirts with motifs on them in the House such as Metiria Turei currently is,” he said in the debating chamber.
Mr Seymour was tactfully shut down by Speaker David Carter.
…complaining about what the female co-Leader of the Greens is wearing while she is discussing equal pay on International Women’s Day is the trifecta of fuckwittery.
Seymour will claim that he is a stickler for the rules and he is right about the rules, members have a dress code but surely there is a time and a place to demand the enforcement of those rules. On International Women’s Day, to the co-Leader of a Party while she is discussing equal pay is not one of them.
Grow up David.
The only time ever, this speaker was called tactful.
Seems like complaining about Metiria’s clothing is a practically a full time job for some of these politicians.
Thats right…it was Tolley, then Police Minister, who said Turei lived in a castle and wore ‘designer clothes’. That was a particularly vile episode. But then Seymour is strictly childs play compared to the likes of Tolley.
Though you can always count on the Right wing Politicians to bring a certain ‘Daily Mail’ vibe to political discourse.
Ann Tolley is just a silly b**ch but those other two- Judith Collins and Paula Bennett were in on it too. A pair of hard core bullies I’d say.
If you don’t have even the begins of a counter-argument, attack the messengers! Or in this case her clothes. Just another example of the intentionally superficial strategy that Crosby-Textor et al are using to try for another three years of NatACT government.
Its that ‘H ‘ on Seymours head that has put so much pressure on his brain… hes getting a tad imbalanced as time goes on….
https://cdn.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/seymourrimmer1.jpg?x57220
‘H’… LOL!
He looks like something I have seen at the zoo…but dressed in a suit.
Apparently women are better on the stock market
‘Women are better at trading stock and shares than men: study’
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-08/women-are-better-at-trading-stock-and-shares-than/8337208
If ACT wants to showcase its progressive and libertarian face, then having David Seymour as their sole representative in parliament does them no favours at all.
Martyn, you call this right of Genghis Khan bunch of comedians “hard right”? Most of their policies are off the scale and their behaviour in public more often than not, like this time, is simply chauvinist at best.
A recent reunion with a European university colleague of mine, now retired from the international management circuit, reminded me of how much to the right the political spectrum has shifted in this country. Much of what we call ‘Left’ politics in New Zealand is just part of very normal political thinking that sits well with the majority in most European countries, it would appear. (note to file – deserves some research)
In the course of our conversation covering recent political developments in Europe, I ventured to say that I felt my colleague had moved further to the left than when I had known him in his twenties. This drew some expletives and reassurance that he remained firmly in the centre of the political spectrum, believing in a “Soziale Marktwirtshaft”, an economy in which the market determines the price of goods and services but adheres to rules of common decency and social responsibility.
And that is when the conversation took off as I began to outline the politics of the New Zealand I know today. Leaving aside that we have a State Housing crisis and that we have people sleeping in cars it would seem to many Europeans unconscionable that a family cannot survive on a single income. Our adherence to American and British models of simplistic personality politics, the kindergarten behaviour of many of our parliamentary representatives and rampant elitist exploitation by the major parties over recent years, pales into insignificance against the backdrop of our foolhardy dance with an unacceptable level of national debt. I could go on but here we are just dealing with the bad manners of a nobody who would have difficulty finding a job in European politics as he just doesn’t seem to have the requisite skills.
+100…well said. New Zealand is a sad place compared to its once proud past of egalitarianism and social justice leadership
….the returned and not returned service men would be rolling in their graves
We can blame the National Party , Act and the right wing neolib Labour Party for this
No. We must blame ourselves. Our democratic processes are still largely functional and our communities have allowed this to happen. Wake-up New Zealand.
By the way, if anyone is reading this in Christchurch, there’s a Housing Action Canterbury – Public Meeting on today, Thursday 9th March, 7pm, Cardboard Cathedral. This public meeting launches the campaign to stop the government selling 2,500 state houses in Christchurch. The meeting will express Christchurch’s widespread, resolute opposition to selling state houses and the government walking away from the housing crisis for low and middle income families.
re “Housing Action Canterbury – Public Meeting on today, Thursday 9th March, 7pm, Cardboard Cathedral.”
I would be there if I could but i am a long way away
….which political parties are jumping up and down about this selling off of state houses?!
Just back from the meeting. Both the Labour and Green spokespeople were there and did a good job. Minto pulled it together well. The DHB rep was compelling as were the State Housing tenants that had their say. National’s policies are immoral and callous, myopically focused on efficiency of service it would appear. We need to find back to a New Zealand that has social conscience. We must rebuild the fabric of our society by supporting those in our communities who cannot afford a house to live in by providing healthy State Housing.
+100…there needs to be nationwide street demonstration on this issue
I guarantee that will not put humpty dumpty back together again and the reasons is structural. There is just no way of braking down these dillion dollar contracts. To actually achieve what you want we would have to rebuild small banks and inturn entrepreneurship
Martyn, you call this right of Genghis Khan bunch of comedians “hard right”? Most of their policies are off the scale and their behaviour in public more often than not, like this time, is simply chauvinist at best.
A recent reunion with a European university colleague of mine, now retired from the international management circuit, reminded me of how much to the right the political spectrum has shifted in this country. Much of what we call ‘Left’ politics in New Zealand is just part of very normal political thinking that sits well with the majority in most European countries, it would appear. (note to file – deserves some research)
In the course of our conversation covering recent political developments in Europe, I ventured to say that I felt my colleague had moved further to the left than when I had known him in his twenties. This drew some expletives and reassurance that he remained firmly in the centre of the political spectrum, believing in a “Soziale Marktwirtshaft”, an economy in which the market determines the price of goods and services but adheres to rules of common decency and social responsibility.
And that is when the conversation took off as I began to outline the politics of the New Zealand I know today. Leaving aside that we have a State Housing crisis and that we have people sleeping in cars it would seem to many Europeans unconscionable that a family cannot survive on a single income. Our adherence to American and British models of simplistic personality politics, the kindergarten behaviour of many of our parliamentary representatives and rampant elitist exploitation by the major parties over recent years, pales into insignificance against the backdrop of our foolhardy dance with an unacceptable level of national debt. I could go on but here we are just dealing with the bad manners of a nobody who would have difficulty finding a job in European politics as he just doesn’t seem to have the requisite skills.
The man is incapable of accepting others as he doesn’t understand them. A very narrow and restricting view of life remains his lot.
His rigid fixation on self and personal security shows he is a timid little man afraid of many things and particularly those with empathy for others.
Unfortunately there are many like him.
Ayn Randites.
Erm… Um… I have searched all over the interweb and I am simply unable to find any reference to David Seymour’s expertise in fashion.
Maybe we should just ignore this turkey…
‘ Maybe we should just ignore this turkey…’
I think so… he and his party are a bit like a fading blip on the radar of NZ politics now ,… so … it wont be long before he falls off that radar…
Come to think of it,… the fascination that there actually still IS an ACT party is more to do with them being such a peculiar anachronism… a kind of negative relic ‘ novelty ‘ … an exhibit of a former age of sheer madness and the manipulation of the naive ,… rather than any real political proposition to actually be taken seriously anymore ….
But the worst thing about this quaint , almost irrelevant anachronism,… is that it is being artificially kept alive by the National party for their own spurious ends… and nothing to do with having a particular like for David Seymour or ACT … a little like Peter Dunn…
you should have gone to the zoo for the chimps’ tea party
Where has been David Seymours’ ‘voice’ when it comes to the female National MPs choice of clothing? Many years ago a work colleague saw Paula Bennett walking through a Newmarket shopping area on her way(he saw her enter it)to a high priced fashion shop. She was probably about to purchase an outfit that could/would have fed a low income family in South Auckland for over a month.
But then David Seymour is selective as to whom he attacks in parliament. He is unlikely to want to rattle the National government cage as he is onto a good thing financially i.e pay packet and perks of the job.
No woman should be made to feel guilty for what she wears. But it takes a dysfunctional male like Seymour to want to belittle a woman who is standing up for the rights of other women. Seymour may resort to the usual male statement of “She was asking for it….” And if so and if that is his attitude and bias towards women who are NOT members of the National government that he is part and parcel of then God help the idiot.
Lets apply the adage of show us a man and we will respect him. Show us an idiot and we just need to look at David Seymour.
Nice to know Seymour’s priorities when it comes to women’s issues.
Silly little man.
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