Editorial: David Seymour's relaunch platform a hard Act to follow

Act leader unveiled a new logo with the tagline "for freedom" at its annual conference in Auckland's Parnell on Sunday. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Opinion

EDITORIAL

Act leader David Seymour has rolled the dice with his party's rebrand, hailing himself as the saviour of free speech in New Zealand.

The "intolerant new left", he told his faithful last Sunday, was working behind the scenes in government to censor New Zealanders' thoughts.

"None of us, nor our ancestors, came here to have our thoughts and speech censored by a state apparatus," Seymour said, in his keynote speech in Auckland's Parnell.

The MP for Epsom's hyperbolic address was backed up by former leader Richard Prebble, who invoked World War II's Normandy landings and told those gathered the re-launch was one of the most important events in the party's history.

Seymour is betting that his Freedom to Speak Bill – which would repeal sections in two laws that makes offensive speech unlawful – will serve to attract and mobilise undecided voters, lifting support for the party leading into 2020's election.

But while Seymour's rhetoric might appeal to those who deem it a birthright to espouse any and all thoughts running through their heads and out of their mouths, free speech is unlikely to be an issue keeping the majority of New Zealand voters awake at night.

Few will believe our right to voice our thoughts are genuinely under threat in this country and - after the Christchurch mosques shootings - many Kiwis will have a desire to confront hate speech and anyone seeking to maliciously sow intolerance and discord.

Act is looking to position itself as an alternative to the political establishment – a formula which has proved extremely successful for many of the world's populist leaders.

Donald Trump's 2016 election and the Brexit campaign tapped into a wave of voter discontent with the status quo.

More recently, the likes of Vox in Spain, Italy's Lega and Austria's Freedom Party have all made huge gains by holding themselves up as substitutes to the ruling political order.

But much of the populist surge around the globe has been fueled by entrenched economic malaise – think the declining fortunes of Rust Belt America or stubbornly high unemployment rates in Southern Europe.

New Zealand's economic growth may be slowing but the country's finances are a picture of health compared to some of populism's most pervasive pockets.

And Act's new policy of a flat income and business tax rate of 17.5 per cent will struggle to resonate with the country's downtrodden or marginalised.

Act's re-brand may also serve as an unwelcome distraction for voters outside the party's base who respected how Seymour led the charge to legalise euthanasia in this country.

His End of Life Choice Bill found support with people across the political spectrum and ardent campaigners for euthanasia found a champion in him.

The Act leader would do well to reflect on that success before he continues on his free-speech gamble.