ACT’s List

ACT have announced their party list. The top seven are:

1 – David Seymour
2 – Brooke Van Velden
3 – Nicole McKee
4 – Chris Baillie
5 – Simon Court
6 – James McDowall
7 – Karen Chhour

In 2018 I would have said the range of possible MP numbers for ACT was one to two. But now I think they are looking to get somewhere between three and five MPs. They could even end up higher with a good campaign.

Please to see Brooke in a high winnable place. She’ll make a great MP and is the future of the party. Brooke comments:

“I switched from being a Green Party voter to an ACT supporter while studying economics and international trade at Auckland University. The ability for free markets to lift countries from hardship was a revelation for me,” says Ms van Velden.

Something they don’t teach that much at university!

New candidate Nicole McKee has been ranked at number 3. Nicole is a small business owner having delivered firearms safety education in rural and isolated communities for New Zealand Police. She also has a background in law, firearms component imports, was the co-ordinator of the nation’s volunteer firearms safety instructors for the Mountain Safety Council and the spokesperson for the Council of Licenced Firearms Owners and its Fair and Reasonable Campaign.

The law abiding firearms community feel betrayed by NZ First and no doubt will be pleased that Nicole has a winnable ranking.

Chris Baillie is a small business owner, full-time secondary school teacher, former policeman of 14 years. He currently owns a local hospitality venue employing 30 staff. He has a strong interest in sport and music, being an enthusiastic supporter of the local jazz scene. Mr Baillie has been ranked at number 4.

“I believe in personal responsibility and personal freedom, in particular the right to free speech, and believe that less bureaucratic and government intervention in our lives is the way forward for New Zealand,” says Mr Baillie.

Simon Court is ranked number 5 on the ACT list. Simon is a civil and environmental engineer with 23 years’ experience in roles for the private sector and local government. This includes ten years leading engineering, planning, tendering, and construction teams primarily in Auckland, Wellington, and Fiji. Simon has three boys at high school. They share a love of loud music, fast cars, biking, fitness, good science, and good ideas. His youngest son has Down Syndrome and Simon intends to take a disability perspective to Parliament.

“I believe in the principles of the Party where communities, individuals and businesses lead the way. ACT promotes innovation, not regulation – reducing waste to landfill, bringing real sustainability in construction and building, and clean water in towns and country are critical issues. One way of solving them is replacing the RMA, which is not fit for purpose and needs to go.

Dr James McDowall has been ranked at number 6. He owns several small businesses. He also works for a large NGO in the mental health sector. James lives in Hamilton with his wife and young daughter. He has led the development of ACT’s firearm policy in the wake of the Government’s 2019 Arms Amendment Act.

“I have supported ACT for 15 years. Being a member of two pistol clubs in the Waikato is a part of my life. I was proud that ACT stood for common sense when it mattered most. I’m a libertarian who is sceptical of big government. My experience in business and the community sector has taught me that government has a role but when it oversteps that role it becomes part of the problem rather than the solution,” says Dr McDowall.

Karen Chhour is a self-employed mother of four who has lived on Auckland’s North Shore for the last thirty years. She strongly believes that, with the right tools, anyone in this country can make something of themselves. Karen is ranked at number 7 on ACT’s list.

“We have spent way too long trying to make a broken system work. I love this country but we have slowly taken away people’s ability to think for themselves without them even realising it. We have forgotten what hard work and choices mean as there is always someone else to blame. This does not do anyone a favour if we are no longer responsible for ourselves,” says Mrs Chhour.

All of them stand a chance of becoming MPs.

It is highly unlikely NZ First will be back in Parliament. So New Zealand will have a stark choice between a National/ACT Government or a Labour/Green Government.

We’ve just seen what a Labour/Green Government will mean – an $8 billion tax grab not just on your income, but also your assets.