ACT to get young vote out
act-new-zealand
Thu May 04 2017 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
ACT to get young vote out
Thursday, 4 May 2017, 1:45 pm
Press Release: ACT New Zealand
ACT to get young vote out
The ACT Party will be campaigning to get younger voters to the polls, says the country’s only millennial party leader, David Seymour.
“I understand why young voter turnout is low: none of the parties have addressed our concerns at any previous election. Well, in 2017 you have ACT,” says Mr Seymour.
“Take Superannuation. ACT stands alone on this issue. Everybody knows it has to change but nobody, except ACT, will admit it. The National Party’s recent announcement that the age should change in 2037 is meaningless, and offensive to those of us who will pay $58 billion dollars of extra tax due to this delay. ACT asks: why wait? We would address the issue head on by gradually raising the age from 2020, but all other parties have shown contempt for the idea.
“I know what it is like to deal with a housing market with prices at ten times income. I’ve heard all the arguments, that it’s not a problem, it’s the Asians’ fault, there’s a building boom on, things were hard in the ‘70s too and we just need to eat less avocado, et cetera. It’s all lies. The reality is we are building half as many homes per capita as we did in the ‘70s. In January I set out how the next government could fundamentally reform infrastructure funding and land use planning with a replacement for the RMA. That’s what a government serious about millennial concerns would do.
“We are a generation of social liberals. We believe in choice and tolerance. ACT alone has stood up for the right to die, decriminalizing abortion, freedom of speech, while every other party is engaged in some level of immigrant bashing and race baiting.
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“I know what it’s like to graduate and find out what a tax bill looks like with a student loan added on. People a few years out of their studies are finding they pay 33 per cent tax, 12 per cent student loan repayment, and 15 per cent GST. Without even talking about tax on petrol and booze, that’s 60 per cent of your payrise gone. ACT, of course, is the party of low flat taxes.
“We are the first adopters of new technology, but the Government has been hopeless at regulating it. Just look at the Uber example where none of the Members of Parliament on the Transport Committee, yes, the Transport Committee, knew how Uber worked. It’s a debacle but ACT offers forward looking policy on new technology. We have fought not only for ride sharing but for new FinTech and even e-cigarettes.
“The trick to getting us to vote is not civics classes or stupid cartoon advertisements, it’s having someone to vote for who represents our interests.”
ENDS
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