National leader Judith Collins has shot down David Seymour’s Opposition-led select committee proposal, and described ACT’s alternative Budget two years from an election as “silly”.
TDB has been predicting for sometime that ACTs rise is no fluke or protest vote, but instead a seismic shift on the Right which seals National into a political death spiral.
Part of National’s historic loss was the changing demographics, Nationals zeal for self-mutilation and a large chunk of unprecedented solidarity that brought vast female 45+ Vote home to Labour, but a slither of it was ACT becoming a right wing values party.
Freedom of speech, gun rights, cancel culture – these became rallying calls for disaffected right wing vote who were sick of National’s social conservatism and yearned for a modern values based right wing politics.
ACT have stepped into that culture war gap and as debate polarizes, they will cannibalize Nationals vote.
Take the recent attempt by Judith to race bait He Puapua by using segregation and separatism. The truth is NZs next generation is less frightened about co-governance than the older generation and those dog whistles don’t work.
ACTs clever criticism of teaching white privilege in school however is perfect culture war baiting. NZers on the whole will wearily wave co-governance through because decades of poor social stats have worn smooth any pretense that universal social services have worked for Māori. The majority attitude is ‘well you do it then’ rather than a gleeful skipping hand in hand towards a Treaty of Waitangi future designed in woke Twitter world.
So a Maori Health Authority isn’t seen as segregation by anyone other than older men who refer to the Prime Minister as ‘Cindy’.
Making white children feel guilty about being white however is political dynamite in culture war button pushing.
ACT are better at culture war value positions than National whose openly racist dog whistles are ham fisted and banjo twanging.
Don Brash unified the Right as National Leader but ACT intends to hollow National support out and become the de facto Opposition.
While Seymour is Leader, this reactionary right will stay within the spectrum of decency however if one of those vile social climbers beneath him took over as ACT eclipsed National, we are in for trouble.
The magnitude of how far right ACT are isn’t acknowledged while they’ve been fringe but this will come to a head in 2026 when ACT vs Labour-Green are the parameters for a vastly more polarized political debate.
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The only reason Seymour hasn’t been smacked down by MSM is that he dutifully supplies them with so many clickbait headlines. Newshub, especially, seems to run ACT stories daily. As he gets closer to the levers of power, that will change and he and his party will have to answer some pretty difficult questions. Can’t wait for the first Kim Hill interview where David explains his stances: here’s a primer, should the public have access to more or less military style weapons? Will Pensioners be better or worse off? Will charter schools be funded by taxpayers money if they are profit based? Why were charter schools funded at a higher rate per pupil than state schools? What did Brooke mean when she said the elderly will have to sacrificed for the good of the rest of NZ? Has the flat tax been abandoned or not? Is Taiwan still the model for covid response? Why does ACT have such a large proportion of covid deniers and conspiracy theorists? Feel free to add anything else to the list. My cousin, a forthright ACT supporter going back to the early days, can’t even answer the 1st question let alone any of the other ones. I expect Seymour will have the same trouble.
Does ACT have an answer for poverty, the housing crisis, high levels of deprivation in Maori health. Is ACT a party of ten or still really only one based on the appalling state of the National party and its voters jumping ship?
Does Seymour think it’s smart to shake his head at the Maori party leader, when Rawiti is asking questions during question time or does he think being white he is more intellectual than Rawiti?
Can I suggest a celebrity boxing match between Rawiti and Seymour?
David Seymour has Maori whakapapa.
So what?
That makes him Māori just like the rest of us who whakapapa back to marae and / or to our tupuna. Justbecause we don’t follow certain political beliefs or views doesn’t make us any less of a Māori than anyone else. In that view I bow to the wisdom of my kaumatua and kuia, who are far better versed in these things than I am.
Mr White Mayonnaise On White Bread Maori? Get out of here! I agree with Janine so what. ‘Blood’ isn’t everything …Culture, Ideology, Language, Environment all add to mix to make a Maori. Seymor Skinner is not a Maori even if does have some nebulous, tenebrous febrile lineage.
While these two scrap it out the current government can get on with the business.
ACT as a Parliamentary presence would be long gone if not for Key’s “cup of tea” and NZ National’s long standing MMP accomodation in Epsom.
ACT would still be with us of course via the steaming undemocratic pile of Auckland Supercity and the CCOs.
But if ACT and National duke it out for the existing pool of right voters does it matter too much? I guess Martyn is looking at whether they can grow the Incel style insecure male vote? ACT still need to keep up their Party vote to Green level or more. If they look to be doing too well the Epsom deal will be gone, gone gone…
In the latest poll on TV1 both ACT and National gained ground at the expense of tthe left so were not cannabilising votes off each other. If they both keep this momentum up then both Labour and the Greens will be in trouble. To be honest, the government isn’t exactly covering itself in glory and its lack of talent in its Cabinet is going to be harder to hide from the voting public. Contrary to what many on the left believe, your average Kiwi voter is not stupid; in fact they are far from stupid and I remember after the 2014 election reading comments from left leaning people saying how could people be so stupid after we showed them everything etc. Well in 2014 the Kiwi voter saw through you and saw that you had nothing to offer.
You only got the Treasury Benches in 2017 because of Winston Peters and his perpetual hatred for National. Then he shafted you all. If it had been anyone else running NZ First they would have gone with National. Winston is well known for holding a grudge and he never forgives or forgets a slight. He’s always been like that when he’s been in politics.
Current government can continue to break promise after promise and the majority won’t notice.
Broken record. The story is on ACT and National John, your thoughts on them John?
Another day, another lie from the PM
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2105/S00211/pm-in-la-la-land-on-white-privilege.htm
Compared to National’s lies, spin, broken promises and shame, our P.M. is a saint!
https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/14-01-2017/nationals-index-of-shame-and-the-other-issues-the-left-need-to-focus-on-this-election/
John and Robbie,you must be able to see China with your heads so far down in the sand. The article is on the hard right leadership, any comments?
@ john…? Another logical fallacy spouting Machiavellian confederate? Yawn.
While I personally have little confidence in labour, as yet, it’s a world of confidence more than I have in awful national.
The natzo’s have an unbroken record for public deceit and manipulative in-house back stabbing spanning generations and as a result of that we have homeless people living in the streets and hungry kids trying to learn at school.
It was the natzo’s sand pit play boys who slithered into Labour back in 1984 in an extraordinary tactical move of sheer criminal brilliance and as a result of that we must live in fear of each power bill, phone bill, food bill, rent demand and lunatic house price upward-spiral making it almost impossible for many on modest, working person wages to pay fucking rent much less save to buy a house.
Your sentiments @ John out you as one of them, not one one of us. Are you here because whaleoil sunk under the weight of its blogger’s own fat arrogant arse and you now have nowhere to go?
Labour? You have the easiest job in the world to do. The hard work’s been done for you by national. All you have to do is be respectful to us who pay your wages and to be honest and truthful.
You would be a lot wiser to have NO confidence in ANY of them -as per zero.
ALL political parties are firmly welded to financial, economic, social and environmental polices that cannot possibly work in the long term and which are falling to pieces even as I write this comment.
That’s somewhat arrogant. People do notice and whilst they may not say a lot about it at the time, come election time, they certainly remember broken premises, deceitful politicians, useless politicians, useless governments etc., regardless of political party, when they are in the voting booth. I have been around long enough to see a few governments punished at the ballot box for those sins.
So what’s Martyn saying here. Act is cannibalising National and so labour will be in government forever because Act will too radical. Or is Act a threat when they’ve dealt to National. Or are Act and National both threats to a Labour Government only a minority is Happy with. Labour won’t be in government for ever so the people better start looking at the opposition. I think Martyn’s done that and is now worried. I think. I’m confused.
‘a Labour Government only a minority is happy with’? LOL. Guess you were out of the country at the last election. You are right about a few things though, you are confused and Labour will not be in Govt forever. The question is, does National have to move to the centre to try and capture that vote or to the right to recapture the ACT vote? Should national continue its ‘gentleman’s agreement’ to not contest Epsom? Martin’s point is that Seymour is fairly benign in comparison to some of the rest of the ACT crew. It must be hard to have a meeting with supporters to talk about freedom of speech, only for the meeting to hijacked by conspiracy theorists, gun enthusiasts and covid deniers. Kudos to Seymour for holding it all together (so far).
I guess I was preempting the possibility that by the time the next election comes around Labour voters may be the minority if the labour government keeps disappointing them, but I take your point. National has to move to the centre because Act would likely be happy to form a Government with National anyway if they could. Those Nat voters that went to Labour is what they will want most. I just thought Martyn’s thoughts were all over the place.
Stand back Sir, we have a David vs Juliath situation here!
Broken record or not it’s true.
Don’t believe any other political party would be so consumed by the lust for power to break almost every promise they made.This government has?
Every reference to 1984 is in reference to the sitting government of the day,Labour?
Evidence of every promise broken please John, EVERY ONE!
As for your myths about other parties John…
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1111/S00331/national-s-growing-list-of-broken-promises.htm
Your lazy posts are just pure rhetoric.
An irony of Act is many supporters are conspiracy theorists that think (or not) that their world is being ruined by Bill Gates and the 1 percenters. They know nothing of the Neo Liberal politics that are seeing their dreams destroyed and they are voting for the party with the most neo liberal agenda of the lot. Idiots voting for idiots.
Interesting.
The Right now have a similar scenario to the Left, where the fortunes of 2 parties (Nat/Act for the former, Lab/Green for the latter) will wax and wane over various election cycles as the electorate responds to various dog whistles and lurches from (perceived) side to (perceived) side, and further bounce within these fractured sides of the Parliamentary chamber.
Of course, the fundamentals never change. Good reason to explore alternatives e.g. Social Credit 😉
Now that a Republic is on the agenda, this plays well for the 2023 general election.
It’ll galvanise the right, conservatives and nutty right.
Labour could be in for a hiding now they’ve let the Mowrees infiltrate them and their policy.
Even the middle class labourites won’t like them Mowrees getting a Republic so those bigots and racists in Labour will desert them in droves! Same for the gweens!
So I guess Cindy 1 will be off to the UN to be crowned the widdle princess of the UN.
Act are to the right of National, just as the greens are to the left of Labour.
Act fires out a policy proposal and National see the voters taste for it. No different to the greens and Labour.
Although the greens environmental policies only seem to see the light of day in the 6mths leading up to an election. Cameras on fishing boats and Kermadek sanctuary should be top of their environmental (green) hit list now Peters is gone, unfortunately just silence since last election.
“One of them not one of us.”
Thanks Country boy but doesn’t that run contrary to Jacinda Arderns mantra team of 5 million etc.
What please is one of us?
How can you be “one of us” if you’re in Melboure picking up Mike Hosking?
Being against authoritarian hate speech laws and the devolution of our liberal democracy into an apartheid state doesn’t make one “Right Wing”.
Instead it means one is a freedom loving, classical liberal.
Good point Bert
Even better point Andrew.
Said almost every Bert.
Would think all comments are rhetoric?
Lazy? How did you reach that view or are you just being mean?
Remember kindness Bert.
All the best anyway.
Just not freedom loving enough to accept a free speech supporter who Seymour says doesn’t meet his own values, now there’s an oxymoron!
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