ACT Party
With COVID-19 back in the community, it’s more important than ever that ACT is here to make constructive criticisms where necessary and helpful suggestions where possible, while asking the questions New Zealanders need answered.
We know that lockdowns impact everyone differently. If you need help or support, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
During Lockdown
David Seymour is leading our COVID-19 response and has questioned why vaccinations were paused as we went into lockdown. We are bottom of the OECD for vaccinations. Our low rates of vaccinations is what has put us most at risk of a Delta outbreak.
The Prime Minister acknowledged that an outbreak at some point was inevitable, so why hadn’t she planned for this? Other countries have had drive-through vaccinations in place for months. You can watch David on 1News here.
ACT has also questioned the Government’s spending of the $50 billion COVID-19 Fund. The Government has been dipping into the $50 billion COVID fund, with $515 million on school lunches, $26.6 million for cameras on fishing boats and the day we went into lockdown it announced $17.1 million from the fund for ‘creative spaces.’
Other spending includes: delivery of a business case for the replacement of Te Papa’s Spirit Collection Area, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Royal New Zealand Ballet and the implementation and the Housing Acceleration Fund.
There was $5.1 billion in the fund three months ago, but the Government has been doing its best to shovel that out the door. Now, when we really need this fund, the Government needs to answer why it’s been throwing the money around on non-COVID related spending. You can read more on this story here.
If you’re interested in the media releases ACT is sending to journalists – you can find them all on the news section of our website. We’ll keep asking the questions you want answers to.
Before Lockdown
Before lockdown our MPs were out and about over the Parliamentary recess.
David Seymour has signed up again to play in the Celebrity Slam Basketball game. For those who missed his first appearance last year, he shot the winning goal.
It’s for a great cause, the Make A Wish foundation. We just hope there’s not a repeat of what happened in training on game day.
India 75th Independence Day
David and Brooke celebrated with the Indian Association 75-years of independence for India.
Meanwhile, Karen and Simon attended K-FEST, the Korean pop-culture event in Auckland.
Party News:
Nominations opened this week for the ACT Council Regional representative positions to be elected in mid-September. Check your emails for the information pack and nomination form which was sent on Monday afternoon.
On Social Media:
If you’re looking for some longer-form content, check out this video of David Seymour on our Freedom Tour earlier this year.
David will also be doing Facebook Lives if lockdowns continue, we will advertise these on his Facebook Page in advance, we welcome all questions.
Please share so others can discover The BFD.