ACT's Simon Court

Recently, the government has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Mayors of Auckland, Otago, and Western Bay of Plenty Councils over the government’s expectations of City and Regional Deals. These deals aim to tighten the partnership between central and local governments.

For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, speaks to MP Cameron Luxton about what to expect heading forward regarding the relationship between local, regional, and central government.

They also discussed last week's Youth Parliament.

Youth Parliament provides the opportunity for 143 rangatahi aged 16-to-24 as Youth MPs, representing MPs across the political spectrum, and Youth Press Gallery members, to understand the country’s political processes, understand how government works, and replicate the Parliamentary process.

Youth MPs had previously accused event organisers of ‘censoring’ their speeches. This follows the MPs being asked to remove elements of their speeches that were critical of government policies, such as the Treaty Principles Bill and pay equity.

However, The Ministry of Youth Development has come out saying the way they communicated their wishes with Youth MPs could have been clearer and more concise. The general manager of the Ministry, John Robertson, says reviewing speeches and suggesting changes was a part of the process, but these recommendations are not enforced.

They also spoke to Luxton about these accusations, and whether they are tantamount to censorship.

Finally, they discussed calls by over half of the Youth MPs represented in this year's Youth Parliament, from across the political spectrum, renewing calls for the voting age to be lowered, to allow 16-to-17-year-olds the right to vote.

5 ACT Youth MPs, including the Youth MP representing Cameron Luxton, Fletcher Brown, had signed a letter calling for the voting age to be reduced.

This follows the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that found the current voting age is unjustified age discrimination and goes against the Human Rights Act 1993.

They also discussed these renewed calls to lower the voting age.

Associate Health Minister, David Seymour, has recently announced changes to Psilocybin and Melatonin availability.

Psilocybin, the compound found in magic mushrooms, will be available for certain patients suffering from poor mental health outcomes. Melatonin, which is used for insomnia and jetlag, is set to be available over the counter.

For our weekly catchup with the ACT Party’s Simon Court, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to him about this move, and the potential accessibility concerns with accessing these medications.

They also discussed taxpayers set to be funding newly-funded cancer medicines for private facilities.

Finally, they discuss opposition parties criticised Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, over a lack of transparency regarding the effectiveness of boot camps for youth offenders, especially as boot camps have received a boost of $30 million, despite the pilot programme still being ongoing.

But first, they discussed Psilocybin and Melatonin.

As per coalition agreements, ACT Party Leader, David Seymour, has been sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister, taking over from NZ First Leader, Winston Peters.

For our weekly catch up, News and Editorial Director and Monday Wire Host, Joel, spoke to the ACT Party’s Simon Court about Seymour’s new position, and what this means for the party.

They also discussed accusations Seymour made regarding submissions to the Regulatory Standards Bill.

In an interview with Guyon Espiner, Seymour claimed that 99.5% of the submissions against the Regulatory Standards Bill were driven by ‘bots’ and were ‘fake’ submissions.

Seymour later clarified to RNZ that by bots, he was meaning “online campaigns” creating “non-representative samples” that do not represent the public’s opinion.

The Ministry of Regulations received roughly 23,000 submissions on the bill. Of the submissions. Of the submissions, 0.33% were fully or partially supporting the bill, with 88% being against the bill.

Finally, they discussed the recommended suspension of Te Pāti Māori MPs’ Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi, and Hana Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke standing.

But they, we discussed David Seymour as Deputy Prime Minister.

The Waitangi Tribunal review into the controversial regulatory standards bill has found that the Crown would be in breach of Treaty principles if it were to introduce the regulatory standards bill to Parliament without more consultation with Māori. 

Because of this the tribunal has called for an immediate halt to be put on the bill. 

Despite this, the bill is set to be introduced to Parliament today. 

The recommendation came after following a one day urgent hearing from the Waitangi Tribunal last week, which was pushed forward from June 6, after it was revealed the bill would be introduced to Parliament today. 

Critics of the bill fear it will work against Māori rights and interests. However, the ACT Party, fronted by Minister for Regulation, David Seymour simply say the Tribunal is ‘incorrect’. 

For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, Producer Evie spoke to Simon Court to unpack this further. Discussing why they contest the tribunal’s review, and where they plan to take the bill from here. 

We also spoke about the government launching a review into the Waitangi Tribunal, which is heavily backed by ACT - David Seymour saying the tribunal needs to be ‘put in its place’.