“The ACT Party has today launched a petition to give overseas New Zealanders the right to vote in their own country and to end MIQ for those who are fully vaccinated,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“Overseas New Zealanders are only able to vote if they’ve been home in the past three years. There are thousands of New Zealanders who are desperate to come home but have been prevented by Jacinda’s strict rules.

“There are a million New Zealanders who live overseas. Jacinda talks about the team of five million. We are actually a team of six million.

“Many of the Kiwis are stranded and desperate to return to their homeland, either permanently, to see loved ones or carry out business.

“They have suffered enormously from Labour locking them out, enduing the heartache of missing funerals, Christmases, births, birthdays and other important family milestones.

“Although they may not have lived here for the past few years, this is their home and they deserve the right to have a say on how it’s governed, especially given some parties are determined to keep them locked out.

“Labour was determined to give prisoners the right to vote, so why not law-abiding New Zealand citizens?

“I have written to the Justice Ministry asking them to look at making the rules fair for all New Zealanders.

“The most common-sense solution is to ditch MIQ all together for fully vaccinated people who have tested negative to self-isolate. If it’s good enough for COVID positive people to isolate at home, it should be good enough for low-risk people who just want to come home.

“Local body elections are in just a few months, the general election next year. We need to get this sorted so democracy is restored to all Kiwi citizens. Even if MIQ is ditched – it may now not be convenient for Kiwis to come home to restore their voting rights. I encourage Jacinda to do what’s fair and right for all New Zealanders.”

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