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Home / Bay of Plenty Times

United Future's Ben Rickard: Your vote is not like betting a fiver at the TAB

Scott Yeoman
By Scott Yeoman
Multimedia journalist·Bay of Plenty Times·
15 Sep, 2017 05:05 AM3 mins to read

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Ben Rickard is the United Future candidate for Tauranga and, following Peter Dunne's resignation, is now second on his party's list. Photo/Supplied.

Ben Rickard is the United Future candidate for Tauranga and, following Peter Dunne's resignation, is now second on his party's list. Photo/Supplied.

Your vote is not like betting a fiver at the TAB, where you're trying to pick the winner - that is Ben Rickard's message to voters in Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty.

The United Future candidate for Tauranga said each vote was a message to the Government, "telling them to take note of your values, and what you stand for, and what kind of country you want to live in".

The 40-year-old said if that meant being on the losing side then "at least you can be proud that you stood up for your principles".

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Mr Rickard stood as the United Future candidate for Bay of Plenty in 2014 and was then ranked fifth on the party list.

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Now he is second on the list and is a board member responsible for developing the party's strategy.

Mr Rickard said United Future leader Peter Dunne's decision to resign last month "really threw a spanner in the works as far as our party's election strategy was concerned".

"We were campaigning on a platform of 'every vote for United Future counts because we'll be there after the election', and we needed less than 50,000 votes for a second MP," he said.

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"So a vote for us was in many ways worth a lot more in terms of our capacity to influence Government than a vote for a large party that would then sit in opposition or a minor one that wouldn't be at the table."

Mr Rickard said with Mr Dunne now not standing, that goal was no longer achievable.

"Fortunately our new leader Damian Light is a dynamic young 33-year-old and he is actually causing many people to re-evaluate what we stand for."

He said the party has beaten the 5 per cent mark in the past and could do it again.

"Although the odds are stacked against us this time."

Mr Rickard lives with his wife and two young children on a lifestyle block on the outskirts of Tauranga and works for his family's specialist insurance business.

His promotion to second on the party list following Mr Dunne's resignation has meant an increased workload on the national campaign and less time to campaign locally.

Mr Rickard said United Future has practical, rational, evidence-based solutions to the issues New Zealand faces, "and that's why I keep fighting for our message to be heard".

He said they want a better deal for future generations of Kiwis and that there needed to be a long-term vision and plans to solve the country's problems before they become too acute.

"That's why we propose that every new piece of legislation or regulation must pass a future generations test, to assess its long-term impact, further ahead than just the next election."

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