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David Seymour......potential?

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« on: February 07, 2016, 06:17:09 am »

...does this guy have potential?..and yes.. I know he's not a leftie...


David Seymour opens up about love and loss - and his new gig as a columnist
 
ACT leader David Seymour says he has no regrets on giving up a Cabinet post: Once you're in Cabinet "you've kinda got to all stick together".


It is easy to underestimate ACT leader David Seymour. At first appearances he comes across as earnest, a bit of an oddball even, with his quirky humour, buttoned up suits and cowlick that refuses to die. 

ACT's flintier supporters must have been shaking their heads over some of Seymour's more eccentric campaign trail moments; like tweeting selfies of himself at a Miley Cyrus pyjama party, or a campaign video that was so bad it was almost genius, given that it immediately went viral and got something like 40,000 views.

It seemed like a tall order putting the future of the ACT party on the shoulders of such a political greenhorn when you think of the political legends who preceded him  - think Richard Prebble, Rodney Hide, Don Brash and John Banks.

But Seymour keeps surprising on the upside and not just because he is smart, in that showy, kid who has always got his hand up first, kind of way.

READ MORE
* Voluntary euthanasia bill launched by David Seymour
* Euthanasia debate: What's different about Seymour's bill?
* Seymour rejects ministerial role

David Seymour is joined by his father, left, and Act party president (right) to watch the All Blacks vs Argentina match starting in the early hours on Monday morning.
BEVAN READ / FAIRFAX NZ

He was rated politician of the year in the annual trans-Tasman roll call and while that accolade was not universally applauded, no one disputed either that 2015 was a good year for the rookie MP. His bill keeping the booze flowing during the Rugby World Cup was popular, he was offered a Cabinet post but turned it down (more on that later) and he showed a knack for profile-raising stunts (Seymour's famous line about the French loving the Coq also went viral).

This year could be an even bigger one. For a start there is a new love interest in Seymour's life, he's understood to be dating former TV3 reporter Rachel Morton, now a senior advisor in the office of Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce. Seymour and Morton politely declined to comment when approached.

On the work front, meanwhile, Seymour steps into big shoes as the new Sunday Star-Times political columnist, taking over from Judith Collins. And there seems to be plenty of momentum behind his assisted dying bill, ostensibly the reason he turned down the offer of a ministerial post from prime minister John Key in order to pursue it through Parliament.

Seymour says he is championing the bill because it's important to a lot of people and while his own mother died young from cancer, at age 50, that's not the reason. In fact, they never even discussed the issue  - his mother's death came far too quickly for that.

"She was a liberal and an individualist and I think she would have agreed with me on this issue although we never discussed it. [But] we found out in November and she died in March. The prognosis was six months to a year and she just deteriorated far quicker than anyone predicted so she died before she could possibly have even thought about assisted dying."

But the calculation behind Seymour's decision to turn down a Cabinet post left a lot of people scratching their heads - especially once the political anoraks worked out that the odds of Seymour's bill being pulled from the parliamentary ballot and debated this side of the next election were slim at best.

But Seymour is unfazed - though he admits he wasn't aware of just how slender those odds were against his bill being drawn when he turned the prime minister down.

"But so long as there's a chance [of it being drawn] it's the right thing to do," he insists.

Besides, there were other calculations behind the decision to keep the prime minister at arms length.

"Once you're a minister and everyone's calling you minister and you're driving around in a limousine it really feels like the rest of the world is against you and you've kinda got to all stick together. I reckon the biggest obstacle to people voting ACT at the moment is people saying 'we think ACT's alright, but at the moment we've got National and they're bigger and better so what's the difference'."

That's probably the polite version. The less kind explanation for ACT's failure to pick up support is that its leaders have looked like dead men walking in recent years as the party's credibility took a battering.

That has made Seymour's task in getting traction that much harder, and so far even his successes - like the booze bill - have had little impact on the polls.

But he has been a surprising breath of fresh air in pinpointing the reasons for the party's decline and identifying the voters - and issues - it needs to target.

More importantly, he is not above taking the proverbial out of his own party, and with a sense of humour that has been sorely lacking in the party in recent years.

"The big danger is taking yourself far too seriously….I can lecture people for as long as I like about why I sincerely believe decentralised systems of education with greater autonomy do better for the kids, but it doesn't make a sound bite."

David Seymour in his own words:

"I was born in Palmerston North, learned to walk, promptly left, moved to eventually end up as a boarder at a school in Auckland, studied to be an engineer and philosopher, gave my email address to ACT on campus, got the bug of public policy and politics, went off and worked for think tanks in Canada, got more of the public policy bug, and then came back and some people think that I rose through the ranks in the Act party - actually I haven't changed much since i joined, it's just the party sunk around me. Now I live the life of a politician and nascent political leader.

An engineer and philosopher?

"Yeah I was hedging. Well, what happened was, I did know there were no girls in engineering but I didn't know there were no girls in philosophy. It's the only male dominated arts faculty department."

 
 - Sunday Star Times
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Kiwithrottlejockey
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« Reply #1 on: February 07, 2016, 10:01:20 am »


Tales of the Epsom POODLE…






Yep....the Nats' Epsom POODLE is a stupid dork, alright.

In order for him to win his seat, the Nats candidate had to pretend he didn't want to be the MP for Epsom.

Hahaha....hilarious stuff, eh?   

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Donald
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« Reply #2 on: August 06, 2017, 06:05:22 pm »

...logical policy....very smart guy...and good video....should me PM😜


ACT calls for building of 600K more homes in Auckland - and David Seymour shows his Michael Hill impression  video.

ACT leader David Seymour officially launched his party's housing policy at the foot of Auckland's Waitakere Ranges on Sunday.

But little time was spent on the announcement, with Seymour instead opening with an impersonation of jeweller Michael Hill, then taking a swing at new Labour leader Jacinda Ardern.

The announcement also doubled as the launch of Seymour's book, Own Your Future.

ACT leader David Seymour said current restrictions on Auckland home building were "crazy".
KEVIN STENT/STUFF


Rather than providing too much detail about the housing policy, Seymour said: "If you want to find out more about this, it's in my book".

READ MORE:
* David Seymour comes out swinging in new book
* Pensioner housing a major priority for Labour: Twyford
* Government to build 34,000 new Auckland houses

The land on which the announcement was made belonged to a group of West Auckland property owners who have been in a long battle with local government over the property.

SUPPLIED
A map released by ACT. In blue is the current residential area, bordered by the Rural Urban Boundary. The yellow zones depict where ACT wants to see homes built.

It falls outside of the region's Rural Urban Boundary and so cannot be subdivided, he said.

In a press release put out to accompany the announcement, Seymour promised to scrap the Rural Urban Boundary, paving the way for at least 600,000 homes to be built in Waitakere, Karaka and Clevedon.

He said he would also push the Government to abolish the Resource Management Act and replace it with laws that required councils to free up land as populations increased.

"These areas are not treasured natural landscapes. They are grassy fields with the occasional barn or horse.

"Allowing housing in these areas should be a bare minimum for any Government."

The party would fund the infrastructure to service the new homes by sharing the GST on construction with councils, he said.

ACT's plan does not have the support of the Waitakere Ranges Protection Society.

"He's dreaming," said president John Edgar of the policy.

Edgar said the foothills are a buffer zone between suburban sprawl and the Waitakere Ranges."Sub-divisions would impact the ecology of the ranges."

Edgar said there would have to be a very good reason to change the boundary. "Our fear would be if the boundary changed for one property it would open the flood gate and the boundary would get smaller and smaller," he said.

Waitakere Ward councillor Penny Hulse said the Waitakere area Seymour proposed to sub-divide is different to the Karaka and Clevedon areas because it is protected by the Waitakere Ranges Protection Act.

"Getting rid of the RMA will not help the residents in the Waitakeres impacted by the urban rural boundary, there is a Parliamentary Act in place and unless he plans on repealing it then it won't make a difference."

Hulse points out Karaka and Clevedon both pose difficulties in terms of public transport and amenities.

As to Ardern, Seymour said she was warm and likable, but lacked substance.

He said the New Zealand public would come to the same conclusion as voters in central Auckland, who chose National's Nikki Kaye as their MP over Ardern in both 2011 and 2014.

"They'd be more likely to have a beer with Jacinda but when it came to getting things done they'd choose Nikki Kaye."

He also spoke at length about charter schools, which were introduced under a confidence and supply agreement between ACT and the National party.

Seymour quoted a study from Stamford University's education research centre, saying the study proved charter schools improved educational outcomes.

However, Seymour did not acknowledge the fact the research showed charter schools had varying degrees of success between different US states.

 - Stuff


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Donald
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« Reply #3 on: August 07, 2017, 01:55:33 pm »

.....the sort of policy that would lower housing costs...😉



It’s a bit wonkish, but finally Act delivers a sensible policy.


David Seymour is a policy wonk, but he’s finally latched onto a policy which will do more to solve Auckland’s housing crisis than any other party…removing red tape and stupid arbitrary boundaries.

ACT’s leader, David Seymour, wants to scrap the Rural-Urban Boundary and build houses in rural areas such as Waitakere, Karaka and Clevedon.

He said it was crazy to ban people from building homes during a chronic housing shortage.   

Mr Seymour said land use restrictions were now responsible for 56 percent of the average Auckland house price, according to a recent government report.


“ACT says it’s crazy to ban people from building homes during a chronic housing shortage.”

He said that by making two currently restricted rural zones residential, and building 27 houses per hectare, ACT would add more than 600,000 new homes to Auckland.

Mr Seymour said those areas were not treasured natural landscapes.

“They are grassy fields with the occasional barn or horse.”

He also wanted to introduce a planning law requiring all councils around the country to free up land as their populations increase.

The party also planned to spend some of the GST from construction on building the infrastructure required for the housing developments.

“[The policy] will allow homebuilding on an epic scale, restoring per-capita building rates to what we achieved in the ’70s,” Mr Seymour said.

“A landowner’s market will become a buyers’ and renters’ market, improving prices and quality across New Zealand’s entire housing stock.”

They’ve produced maps to show where they are talking about?

Blue: Current residential, bordered by Rural-Urban Boundary
Yellow: Where ACT would allow homebuilding (Mixed Rural, Countryside Living)

Removing the RUB and freeing up land is the single most important thing that can be done to make more housing available.
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aDjUsToR
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« Reply #4 on: August 07, 2017, 03:21:31 pm »

Not another crazed "libertarian" I hope. Like the loony left, they live in an alternate universe 😁
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« Reply #5 on: August 07, 2017, 03:32:04 pm »

.....so you don't think his policy of making more land available would help reduce housing cost😳
...or are you just against it because he does not fit with your political philosophy?
...even though the policy may be quite logical....
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« Reply #6 on: August 07, 2017, 08:15:43 pm »

NZ has become a very mean spirited country. I'm not sure ACT gives a fcuk about those who can't afford a house. A significant proportion of the voting public have been brainwashed by the "if I'm doing OK I must be onto it, and those who aren't OK must be losers
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« Reply #7 on: August 07, 2017, 08:19:25 pm »

...type ethos. Key was a master of "wedge" politics. Throwing a significant section of the population under the bus is never going to end well. Key of course flew off like every good seagull manager, before the shit hits the fan.
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« Reply #8 on: August 07, 2017, 08:20:46 pm »


ACT only exist in Parliament because the Nats told their supporters in Epsom to NOT vote for the Nats candidate.

Kinda says it all about how ACT is unable to stand on its own two feet without being propped up by the Nats.

I reckon all the Labour and Greens supporters in the Epsom electorate should use their heads and vote for the Nats candidate.

That'd shove one right up that stupid “boy-wonder” David Seymour's clacker!!

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aDjUsToR
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« Reply #9 on: August 07, 2017, 08:25:40 pm »

Only trouble is Epsom has no clown pants lefty voters at all. It's wall to wall property infestors.
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« Reply #10 on: August 07, 2017, 08:29:49 pm »

Jacking up house prices by turning NZ property into an international lolly scramble is great for those feeding off that Ponzi scheme. It's fcuked for everyone else. THAT BS needs to be knocked on the head and people should be incentivised to invest in industry.
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« Reply #11 on: August 07, 2017, 08:33:03 pm »

....so which political party do you think would be most likely to make that happe?
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« Reply #12 on: August 07, 2017, 10:56:04 pm »

Only trouble is Epsom has no clown pants lefty voters at all. It's wall to wall property infestors.


Go and take a look on the NZ Electoral Commission's electorate-by-electorate figures for the last two general elections.

It's all on the website.

Take a look at the number of votes the Labour candidate got for the Epsom electorate in the 2011 and 2014 general elections.

Add those votes to the number of votes for the Nats candidate in each of those elections, and the total is considerably greater than what the ACT “boy wonder” got.

It's all there in black & white in the Electoral Commission's documentation of the past two elections.

Which kinda shows just how FULL-OF-SHIT you are, eh?

Basically, you DON'T KNOW SHIT, 'cause you're STUPID.
 
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« Reply #13 on: August 07, 2017, 10:56:33 pm »

Well yes, that's the problem in NZ isn't it. A fine selection of same same numb nuts to choose from.
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« Reply #14 on: August 07, 2017, 11:00:12 pm »

I know Epsom reasonably well. What percentage voted green or left?
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« Reply #15 on: August 07, 2017, 11:38:39 pm »

Drink much KTJ? Your abuse levels seem a little out of kilter.
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« Reply #16 on: August 07, 2017, 11:51:44 pm »

....yup...but on the bright side...Winnie wants to cut the numbers back😉
...so at least number of public service troughers will be cut back...
...but don't expect the ones left will have to work harder😳
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« Reply #17 on: August 08, 2017, 12:11:02 pm »

One thing that both sides do is throw the baby out with the bath water. It's dumb and wasteful. It means a dumb pendulum of wrecking ball then rebuilding stuff that shouldn't have been dismantled. Mindlessly smashing the public service for the sake of near religious ideology is not smart.
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« Reply #18 on: August 08, 2017, 05:19:21 pm »

One thing that both sides do is throw the baby out with the bath water. It's dumb and wasteful. It means a dumb pendulum of wrecking ball then rebuilding stuff that shouldn't have been dismantled. Mindlessly smashing the public service for the sake of near religious ideology is not smart.
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« Reply #19 on: August 08, 2017, 06:38:53 pm »

"Take a look at the number of votes the Labour candidate got for the Epsom electorate in the 2011 and 2014 general elections."

Looking at wackopedia (which in this instance quotes a credible source) in the 2014 election less than 20% of Epsom voters voted green/left.
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« Reply #20 on: August 08, 2017, 07:57:41 pm »


That 20% combined with the die-hard Nats who couldn't tear themselves away from voting for the Nats candidate would have actually pushed the Nats candidate over the line in Epsom ahead of the “boy-wonder” ACT candidate. The numbers are all there on the Electorate Commissions official results on their website.
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« Reply #21 on: August 08, 2017, 08:54:54 pm »

...ahhhhhhh....the joys of mmp......tactical voting.....wow....didn't see that coming🙄

.....all perfectly legal....and to be expected😉
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« Reply #22 on: August 09, 2017, 01:16:16 am »

Mixed Member Fustercluck 😁
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« Reply #23 on: August 09, 2017, 02:01:14 am »

Haha...yes...
...not normally a Winnie supporter...but I admit I like his idea of cutting out a few mp's...and one less party😜
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« Reply #24 on: August 25, 2017, 02:10:00 pm »

....yeah...this is the problem with Peters and NZ First....they are economically incompetent 😳...Seymour makes Peters look like the idiot he is....but I still like his anti apartheid NZ olicy😉

Act Party leader David Seymour blasts NZ First MP over Contact remarks

Act Party leader David Seymour has hit out at a NZ First MP - calling him a "f***ing idiot" during a speech to a business audience.

Seymour's attack came after NZ First MP Richard Prosser earlier advised the audience to sell shares in Contact Energy if they had them.

Prosser was part of a political panel at the Business NZ conference at Te Papa, and said his party would bring electricity assets back to a simple state-owned, state-controlled umbrella.

"That means if you have shares in Contact [Energy] - get rid of them now."

A representative from Mercury Energy asked Prosser after the session how he proposed to fund such a buy-back of electricity companies, given it would cost at least $11 billion.

Prosser said that would be done over time, but NZ First's stance was the institutions would be purchased back at the price they were sold for.

Seymour addressed that statement early in his own speech to the conference, saying it was an example of how reliable economic management could crash down in four weeks' time.

"The idea that you would have somebody who pretends to hold the balance of power - to come and tell you that a stock trading at $5.85 is going to be nationalised at $3.10 and you better all sell it.

"Well, I realise in a role such as mine you are supposed to have a certain amount of decorum. But that makes me really angry - what a f***ing idiot."

That comment drew applause, but the next was met with groans by some in the audience.
...herald
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