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Free Press: ACT’s regular bulletin

Free Press

ACT’s regular bulletin

Bumper Conference
ACT is on the march and looking forward to our election year conference this Saturday at Orakei Bay. If you have been putting it off, it is not too late to register here. Not only will you be showing your support for ACT’s revival, but the program is filled with excellent speakers, entertainment, and don’t forget food.

The Program
See full details here, but speakers include Leonie Freeman of Goodman Properties on the housing market, Former Labour Party President Mike Williams speaking for the Howard League on how to get smart on crime, and the New Zealand Initiative’s Eric Crampton on the truth about inequality. We expect David Seymour’s keynote speech to be his best yet.

Elsewhere Up and Down the Country
We have said that this year’s election will be the most strategic ever, and ACT’s strategic importance keeps increasing. No party can govern alone and it is impossible to avoid a left wing, regressive government without ACT. This week Free Press tours the machinations up and down the country.

Ohariu
Peter Dunne’s position in has been made challenging by the entry of Greg O’Connor to the race and the withdrawal of the Greens’ candidate. Dunne’s majority is 710, and there are 2700 Green votes up for grabs. At first blush Dunne is 2000 votes under water. We wouldn’t write Dunne off but it’s a big hill to climb.

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The Mana-Maori Deal
Today the Mana and Maori Parties announced that Mana will not stand in the six Maori electorates other than Te Tai Tokerau, where the Maori party will give Hone Harawira a clear run in return. It looks likely that Harawira will win Te Tai Tokerau back off Labour, and the Maori Party will win Tamaki Makaurau and Ikaroa-Rawhiti off Labour in addition to Wairiki, which they already hold.

Who Needs Who the Most?
We have watched Mana’s Hone Harawira and Labour’s Kelvin Davis speak in the north, and now we understand how Davis lost to Harawira four times. Harawira probably didn’t need the Maori Party to pull its Te Tai Tokerau Candidate, but two further seats for the Maori Party just got immeasurably easier. The Maori Party seem to be the winner.

Disaster for the Right
The deal only makes sense for Harawira if he thinks he can bring in another MP on the list, as he would have had he won TTT last time. Harawira will never work with the right so it is a gain for the left (any Maori seats Labour lose will be made up by list seats). Including Ohariu, the right have probably lost a net two seats in the past week.

New Zealand First
New Zealand First should benefit from the level of migration, and the worldwide tide against globalization. The only problem is that even their supporters don’t want them in government, where their track record is hopeless. Winston Peters has been sacked from cabinet by three different Prime Ministers and voted out of two electorates. Both times NZ First has held the balance of power the Government has gone on a spending spree and mortgage rates have hit 11 per cent.

In the Lap of the Gods, the Twist of Fate
Electoral maneuverings are making ACT more crucial to the outcome of this year’s election. If ACT fails, the result will be bad Government. If we do succeed then we will see tax relief, expansion of the Partnership School program, reform of housing market regulations, substantial RMA reform, and confrontation of long term issues such as superannuation, among other things. We will ensure the next Government preserves the Douglas-Richardson legacy of sensible economic policy while forcing the next Government to confront the issues that John Key neglected.

Help Wanted
If you’ve been thinking about helping ACT by joining, donating, and or standing as a candidate, think no longer. Election year has arrived and it’s time to ACT.

© Scoop Media

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