David Seymour (New Zealand politician)

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David Seymour

MP
David Seymour on the day of the announcement of his selection by ACT in 2014
Seymour on the day of the announcement of his selection by ACT in 2014
Leader of ACT New Zealand
Assumed office
4 October 2014
DeputyBrooke van Velden (2020–present)
Beth Houlbrooke (2017–2020)
Kenneth Wang (2014–2017)
Preceded byJamie Whyte
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Epsom
Assumed office
20 September 2014
Preceded byJohn Banks
Majority9,224
Personal details
Born
David Breen Seymour

(1983-06-24) 24 June 1983 (age 38)
Palmerston North, New Zealand
NationalityNew Zealand
Political partyACT New Zealand
Alma materUniversity of Auckland (BA, BE)
OccupationMember of Parliament

David Breen Seymour (born 24 June 1983) is a New Zealand politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Epsom and Leader of ACT New Zealand since 2014.

A graduate of the University of Auckland, Seymour worked in public policy in Canada,[1] before returning to New Zealand and contesting for election to Parliament. He entered the House of Representatives in 2014 as ACT's sole MP, after which he was elected as party leader, replacing Jamie Whyte. Seymour has embraced libertarian social policies since becoming party leader, such as supporting the legalisation of assisted dying, and introduced a bill on this issue. Seymour has appeared extensively on television during his leadership.

Early life[]

Seymour went to the Auckland Grammar School,[2] and the University of Auckland where he graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical & Electronic) and a Bachelor of Arts (Philosophy).[3]

Seymour is of Ngāpuhi Māori descent on his mother's side,[4][5] with his Māori ancestors coming from the Tauwhara marae of the Ngāti Rēhia hapū near Waimate North.[6]

Before politics[]

Seymour worked in Canada as a Policy Analyst for five years for Frontier Centre for Public Policy and the Manning Centre.[7]

Seymour is a long time member of ACT New Zealand, initially becoming involved in the political party as a leader of ACT on Campus.[8] He first stood for ACT in 2005 in Mt Albert against Helen Clark, who was Prime Minister at the time.[9] At the 2011 election, he stood for ACT in the Auckland Central electorate, which was retained by National's Nikki Kaye.[10] After this election, Seymour worked as a ministerial adviser for ACT's successful Epsom candidate, John Banks, who was appointed an Associate Minister of Education for the John Key-led National government. Seymour assisted with the development of the government's Partnership Schools legislation.[11][12]

In February 2014, Seymour contested and won the nomination to stand as the ACT Party candidate for Epsom in the 2014 general election. This electorate is seen as strategically important for both ACT and coalition partners National; an ACT victory in Epsom was essential to a National-led government after both the 2008 and 2011 elections.[13] Seymour's selection, over former ACT New Zealand deputy leader John Boscawen,[8] was seen by political commentators as "clean slate" choice[14] and a "fresh face",[15][16] At an Epsom public meeting during this campaign he was seen as "the most popular with the crowd" and "the star of the night, intelligent, witty and articulate".[17][18] He was the first confirmed candidate for the Epsom electorate.[19][20]

During the 2014 election campaign, Seymour released a campaign video online which the ACT Party described as going "viral" after it received around 35,000 views. Seymour said of the video: "I think it was just totally real, we didn't set out to make it funny or make it a viral video, it was just me being me, that combination with rather retro production values ... you wouldn't want to watch it standing up."[21]

Member of Parliament[]

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2014–2017 51st Epsom none ACT
2017–2020 52nd Epsom 1 ACT
2020–present 53rd Epsom 1 ACT

Seymour was endorsed in the Epsom electorate by Prime Minister John Key, despite Key's National colleague Paul Goldsmith also contesting the electorate.[22] Seymour was elected to Parliament in the Epsom electorate in the 2014 general election with a majority of 4,500 votes based on preliminary results.[21][23]

He replaced Jamie Whyte as the leader of ACT on 3 October 2014.[24][25] Seymour was re-elected to Parliament, representing Epsom, in the 2017 general election.[26]

Parliamentary Under-Secretary[]

Seymour was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister of Education and Minister of Regulatory Reform by Prime Minister John Key on 29 September 2014, as a result of National's confidence and supply agreement with ACT. Seymour was given responsibility for partnership schools, and reforms to the Resource Management Act 1991 and other regulation.[27]

In October 2015, a Labour Party member's bill to make parliamentary under-secretaries subject to the Official Information Act passed its first reading in Parliament. Seymour accused the Bill of personally attacking him, and said it was not necessary because under-secretaries did not have decision-making powers.[28]

Contracts in the second round of applications for charter (partnership) schools were completed on 11 September 2014.[29] In January 2016, the contract was terminated for a Northland charter school from the first round, Te Pūmanawa o te Wairua.[30] Seymour continued to support the policy and push for more charter schools to be established.[31]

End of Life Choice Act[]

Main article: End of Life Choice Act 2019

On 6 June 2015, Seymour confirmed that he was preparing a member's bill that would legalise assisted dying after Seales v Attorney-General found that only parliament had the ability to address assisted dying laws.[32] On 14 October 2015, Seymour lodged the End of Life Choice Bill into the member's ballot, launched a website promoting his bill, and released an ACT-commissioned poll of 2800 people showing 66% public support in favour of legalising assisted dying.[33]

On 8 June 2017, Seymour's bill was selected from a member's ballot.[34] The bill was debated at its first reading on 13 December 2017, and passed with 76 votes in favour and 44 against.[35] It was then reviewed by the Justice Select Committee. It reappeared before the House for a second reading 26 June 2019 and passed, with 70 votes in favour, 50 opposed.[36][37] An amendment to the bill, which included the requirement that it be approved by a binding referendum before it would take effect, passed prior to its third reading with 63 votes in favour and 57 opposed.[38] The bill reappeared before the House and passed its third reading on 13 November 2019 with 69 votes in favour and 51 votes against.[39]

In an interview on the day of the third reading, Seymour said that he was confident that the public would vote to put the Act into law, noting that "there was overwhelming support and it should easily pass the referendum."[40] The Act was approved in the 2020 New Zealand euthanasia referendum, which was held in conjunction with the 2020 general election, with a majority of voters voting in favour of the Act.[41]

Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Rugby World Cup 2015 Extended Trading Hours) legislation[]

In August 2015, Seymour introduced a member's bill to allow bars and rugby clubs to extend their bar trading hours when they are televising games from the Rugby World Cup. Most games, due to the time difference between New Zealand and England, started between 4 am and 6 am New Zealand Time, meaning that alcohol would not usually have been allowed to be sold. Despite opposition from the Green Party and the Māori Party, Seymour's bill passed all three readings, meaning that bars and rugby clubs were allowed to open for Rugby World Cup games.[42]

LGBTI cross-party group[]

In 2015, Seymour was a member of a cross-party group initiated by Jan Logie to look at and advocate for LGBTI rights. The group consisted of Catherine Delahunty (Green), Chris Bishop (National), Seymour, Denis O'Rourke (NZ First), Denise Roche (Green), James Shaw (Green), Logie (Green), Kevin Hague (Green), Louisa Wall (Labour), Nanaia Mahuta (Labour), Paul Foster-Bell (National), and Trevor Mallard (Labour).[43]

Gun control, 2019[]

Seymour was the sole Member of Parliament to oppose the Labour-led coalition government's Arms (Prohibited Firearms, Magazines, and Parts) Amendment Act 2019, which bans all semi-automatic firearms used during the Christchurch mosque shootings that occurred on 15 March 2019. Although he missed an initial procedural vote on the bill, he still cast a No vote when voting on the actual bill took place with a final result of 119 to 1. Seymour criticised the urgency of the Government's gun control legislation.[44][45][46]

Abortion Legislation Act 2020[]

Seymour has supported the Abortion Legislation Act 2020 but has argued that "safe zones" infringe upon freedom of expression.[47] Prior to the third reading of the Bill on 10 March 2020, Seymour successfully included an amendment eliminating safe zones around abortion clinics.[48][49][50] The bill passed its third reading on 18 March, receiving royal assent on 23 March.[51]

Zero Carbon Act 2019[]

Despite announcing that the ACT party would vote against the 2019 Zero Carbon Amendment Seymour was conspicuously absent from the vote on the bill's third reading. This allowed it to pass into law with unanimous support, 119–0, drawing the attention of local media.[52]

Coronavirus pandemic[]

Since 25 March 2020, Seymour has been a member of the Epidemic Response Committee, a select committee that considers the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[53]

2020 general election[]

During the 2020 New Zealand general election, Seymour contested the Epsom electorate and was re-elected by a margin of 9,224 votes.[54] In addition, ACT won eight percent of the popular vote, winning ten seats in Parliament (with nine on the party list).[55] In the much expanded caucus, Seymour now has the specific portfolios of Finance and COVID-19 Response, while remaining leader.[56]

Public release of Māori vaccination code[]

In September 2021, Seymour caused a public outcry after releasing a special COVID-19 vaccination appointment access code meant for Māori people to his followers on Twitter.[57] The code was intended for a population that is the least vaccinated and most at-risk demographic in New Zealand due to systemic racism.[58][59] The code offered priority access for Māori who wished to be vaccinated by Whānau Waipareira (a Māori social services agency) at the Trusts Arena in West Auckland.[60] It was alleged that he sought to sabotage a campaign to improve vaccination access for Māori.[61][62] The move garnered widespread disapproval, and Seymour faced allegations of being racist.[63][64]

Seymour defended his actions, stating that "access to vaccination has been the same for people of all ethnic backgrounds." He alleged that the code was a move by the Government that suggested "Māori people have trouble making a booking".[65] He told media that "the virus doesn’t discriminate on race, so neither should the roll out."[66]

Personal life and views[]

Dancing With the Stars[]

Seymour appeared on the seventh series of Dancing with the Stars. He competed to raise funds for Kidsline, a youth telephone counselling service. His professional dancing partner was Amelia McGregor.[67] Despite harsh criticism from the judges,[68] he finished 5th.[69]

2019 Hong Kong protests[]

Seymour has defended the rights of pro-democracy protesters in New Zealand during the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests. He criticised the Chinese Consulate-General in Auckland for praising the actions of Chinese students who had allegedly assaulted a Hong Kong student activist erecting a Lennon Wall at the University of Auckland on 29 July 2019.[70] Seymour also spoke at a pro-Hong Kong democracy rally at the University of Auckland on 6 August 2019.[71][72] Seymour's defence of free speech was praised by blogger Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury.[73]

Criticism of hate speech laws[]

In mid-May 2019, Seymour generated widespread criticism, including from MPs from all of the other parties, when he stated in a radio interview that Green Party List MP Golriz Ghahraman was a "menace to freedom in [New Zealand]." Critics suggested Seymour's association of Ghahraman's support for hate speech laws with suppression of free speech by dictators like Mao Zedong and Adolf Hitler was inappropriate. Seymour argued that he had merely "attacked her views".[74][75]

Seymour's concern is that the strengthening of hate speech laws is "divisive and dangerous" since the power of the state could be used by the majority to "silence unpopular views". He believes, if the law is strengthened, that what is considered hate speech will become "too subjective" and open to being abused.[76]

Electoral history[]

2005 election[]

2005 general election: Mount Albert[77]
Notes:

Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list.
Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent.
A Green tickY or Red XN denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party Candidate Votes % ±% Party votes % ±%
Labour Green tickY Helen Clark 20,918 66.55 -1.94 17,501 54.33 +2.53
National Ravi Musuku 6,169 19.63 8,488 26.35 +13.33
Green Jon Carapiet 1,485 4.72 -0.67 2,985 9.27 -1.35
NZ First Julian Batchelor 746 2.37 1,089 3.38 -3.01
ACT David Seymour 746 2.37 651 2.02 -5.09
United Future Tony Gordon 529 1.68 649 2.01 -3.28
Progressive Jenny Wilson 407 1.29 525 1.59 -0.10
Destiny Anne Williamson 337 1.07 157 0.49
Independent Jim Bagnall 83 0.26
Anti-Capitalist Daphna Whitmore 79 0.25 -0.15
Independent Anthony Ravlich 47 0.15
Direct Democracy Howard Ponga 30 0.10 10 0.03
Independent Erik Taylor 29 0.09
Māori   168 0.52
Legalise Cannabis   43 0.13 -0.40
Christian Heritage   40 0.12 -0.89
Alliance   22 0.07 -1.69
Family Rights   20 0.06
Libertarianz   19 0.06
RONZ   8 0.02
99 MP   6 0.02
Democrats   3 0.01
One NZ   0 0.00 -0.01
Informal votes 316 130
Total Valid votes 31,747 32,342
Labour hold Majority 14,749

2011 election[]

2011 general election: Auckland Central[78]
Notes:

Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list.
Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent.
A Green tickY or Red XN denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party Candidate Votes % ±% Party votes % ±%
National Green tickY Nikki Kaye 15,038 45.39 +2.48 14,447 42.24 +2.15
Labour Jacinda Ardern 14,321 43.23 +4.69 8,590 25.11 -9.44
Green Denise Roche 2,903 8.76 -4.66 7,797 22.79 +7.33
NZ First Allen Davies 412 1.24 +1.24 1,403 4.10 +1.81
Conservative Stephen Greenfield 238 0.72 +0.72 280 0.82 +0.82
ACT David Seymour 149 0.45 -1.25 404 1.18 -2.95
Human Rights Anthony van den Heuval 68 0.21 +0.01
Māori   562 1.64 +0.71
Mana   237 0.69 +0.69
Democrats   202 0.59 +0.56
Legalise Cannabis   146 0.43 +0.14
United Future   75 0.22 -0.46
Libertarianz   53 0.15 +0.08
Alliance   10 0.03 -0.002
Informal votes 352 164
Total Valid votes 33,129 34,206
National hold Majority 717 2.16 -2.21

2014 election[]

2014 general election: Epsom[79]
Notes:

Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list.
Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent.
A Green tickY or Red XN denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party Candidate Votes % ±% Party votes % ±%
ACT David Seymour 15,966 43.08 −1.02 1,023 2.72 +0.17
National Paul Goldsmith 11,716 31.61 −6.19 23,904 63.45 −1.07
Labour Michael Wood 3,470 9.36 −1.09 5,045 13.39 −2.16
Green Julie Anne Genter 3,021 8.15 +2.14 4,706 12.49 +0.46
Conservative Christine Rankin 1,725 4.65 +3.70 932 2.47 +1.35
NZ First Cliff Lyon 621 1.68 +1.68 1,308 3.47 +0.86
Mana Patrick O'Dea 106 0.29 +0.11
Independent Grace Haden 59 0.16 +0.16
Independent Matthew Goode 37 0.10 −0.06
Independent Susanna Kruger 31 0.08 +0.08
Independent Adam Holland 21 0.06 +0.06
Internet Mana   312 0.83 +0.67[a]
Māori   174 0.46 −0.13
Legalise Cannabis   76 0.20 −0.12
United Future   61 0.16 −0.16
Civilian   17 0.05 +0.05
Democrats   10 0.03 +0.01
Ban 1080   7 0.02 +0.02
Focus   4 0.01 +0.01
Independent Coalition   3 0.01 +0.01
Informal votes 286 93
Total Valid votes 37,059 37,675
Turnout 37,768 78.09 +2.36
ACT hold Majority 4,250 11.28 +4.98

2017 election[]

2017 general election: Epsom[80]
Notes:

Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list.
Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent.
A Green tickY or Red XN denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party Candidate Votes % ±% Party votes % ±%
ACT Green tickY David Seymour 16,505 43.17 +0.09 696 1.78 −0.94
National Paul Goldsmith 10,986 28.73 −2.87 22,875 58.64 −4.41
Labour David Parker 7,067 18.49 +9.13 9,575 24.55 +11.16
Green Barry Coates 2,785 7.28 −0.87 3,263 8.37 −4.13
NZ First Julian Paul 657 1.72 +0.22 1,229 3.15 −0.32
Conservative Leighton Baker 230 0.60 −4.05 80 0.20 −2.27
Opportunities   1,043 2.67 —
Māori   124 0.32 −0.14
Legalise Cannabis   38 0.10 −0.10
People's Party   34 0.09 —
United Future   24 0.06 −0.10
Ban 1080   9 0.02 0.00
Democrats   7 0.02 −0.01
Outdoors   7 0.02 —
Internet   6 0.02 −0.81[b]
Mana   6 0.02 −0.81[c]
Informal votes 317 76
Total Valid votes 38,230 39,008
Turnout 39,092
ACT hold Majority 5,519 14.44 +3.16

2020 election[]

2020 general election: Epsom[81]
Notes:

Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote.
Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list.
Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent.
A Green tickY or Red XN denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.

Party Candidate Votes % ±% Party votes % ±%
ACT Green tickY David Seymour 19,500 46.97 +3.80 4,355 10.36 +8.58
Labour Camilla Belich 10,276 24.75 +6.26 15,078 35.87 +11.32
National Paul Goldsmith 6,397 15.41 −13.32 15,668 37.27 −21.37
Green Kyle MacDonald 3,101 7.47 +0.19 4,596 10.93 +2.56
Opportunities Adriana Christie 889 2.14 — 822 1.95 +1.75
TEA Noel Jiang 337 0.81 — 112 0.26 —
New Conservative Norman Sutton 231 0.79 +0.19 211 0.50 +0.30
Advance NZ Faith-Joy Aaron 166 0.39 — 147 0.34 —
Sustainable NZ Shannon Withers 72 0.17 — 30 0.07 —
Outdoors Maia Prochazka 31 0.07 — 7 0.01 −0.19
Not A Party Finn Harris 24 0.05 —
NZ First   609 1.44 −1.71
Māori   108 0.25 −0.07
Legalise Cannabis   38 0.08 −0.02
ONE   27 0.06 —
Social Credit   8 0.01 —
Vision NZ   8 0.01 —
Heartland   6 0.01 —
Informal votes 484 203
Total Valid votes 41,508 42,031
Turnout 42,311 82.84
ACT hold Majority 9,224 22.22 +7.78

Notes[]

  1. ^ 2014 Internet Mana swing is relative to the votes for Mana in 2011; it shared a party list with Internet in the 2014 election.
  2. ^ 2017 Internet Party swing is relative to the votes for Internet-Mana in 2014; it shared a party list with Mana Party in the 2014 election
  3. ^ 2017 Mana Party swing is relative to the votes for Internet-Mana in 2014; it shared a party list with the Internet Party in the 2014 election

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  77. ^ 2005 election results Archived 31 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  78. ^ 2011 election results
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  80. ^ "Official Count Results – Epsom (2017)". Electoral Commission. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  81. ^ "Official Count Results – Epsom (2020)". Electoral Commission. 17 October 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.

External links[]

New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by
John Banks 		Member of Parliament
for Epsom
2014–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
New office Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister of Education
2014–2017 		Office abolished
Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister for Regulatory Reform
2014–2017
Party political offices
Preceded by
Jamie Whyte 		Leader of ACT New Zealand
2014–present 		Incumbent
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