by Geoffrey Churchman
Some 130 people came to hear articulate ACT MP Karen Chhour last night, a respectable turnout, two months out from the opening of voting and for a spokesperson rather than a leader.
Karen is of Maori descent, has been self-employed in the New Zealand made clothing industry, is a mother of four and has lived on Auckland’s North Shore for the past 30 years.
She is the ACT spokesperson on Child Poverty Reduction, Social Development and Children.
In 2020 ACT got 7.1% of party votes in the Otaki electorate, slighly below ACT’s countrywide percentage, but ahead of the Greens. It’s a safe bet that the ACT percentage will be double that this time. I’ve heard several traditional National Party voters tell me that their Party vote will go to ACT because they think National under Luxon will be too soft on ending this government’s racism, among many of the bad things Labour has done. In fact Karen sees one of ACT’s roles in the next government as ensuring National keeps its promises, particularly on dealing to the enormous, inefficient, wasteful public service that has been created under this government.
Although they have the Libertarian label applied to them, unlike the U.S. Libertarian Party, for example, which is driven by ideology, ACT’s approach comes across as more pragmatic, based to a big extent on the results of talking to lots of people. Karen says the aspect she likes most about being an MP is talking to groups of people about their concerns.
The three main subjects in her 30-minute address were: firstly, crime and the disastrous approach to it of this government which has been chiefly focused on enormously expensive ‘cultural reports’ on offenders rather than dealing with causes and helping victims. Perpetrators of senseless theft and destruction who get incarcerated should be improved with education — a minimum is literacy — rather than being let out after serving half their sentences for doing nothing.
Secondly, the cost of living: vast over-government interference is the cause of much of the escalation in prices. Fiscal oversight, prudence and accountability of the hundreds of NGOs and goverment agencies is another thing that the Party is strong on, as is, thirdly: ditching this government’s autocratic and extremely divisive racial policies accompanied by the attacks on those who diagree with them. The first paragraph of their election pamphlet states: “New Zealanders are sick and tired of different groups being given different rights, and race and the Treaty being injected into everything — from health and education to resource management and Three Waters.”
Questions asked sounded like they were from people who read Waikanae Watch: the biggest applause came from someone who said the crazy ‘vax’ mandates for those in the health sector should go. Karen said ACT voted against the legislation that allowed them and holds the position that people have bodily automony.
Opposition by a questioner to the Globalist organisations like the WHO, UN and WEF also drew applause.
15-minute smart cities? They’ll be goneburger.
The Otaki electorate candidate is Sean Rush who has had involvement in Kapiti as Coastal Ratepayers United’s expert on Climatist-driven sea level rise claims and the council’s nutty ‘managed retreat’ notions; he submitted to the Council’s strategy and operations committee in June.
He was a Wellington City Councilor until last October when he did not seek reelection. About the same time he quit the National Party and joined ACT; a ‘waka jumper’ as the saying goes in NZ.
