Seymour told The Front Page that working with Hipkins would require him (Hipkins) to be working.
“This guy’s got the opposite of the Midas touch. I think they call him a ‘poo Midas’,” he said.
The comments come before Seymour becomes the 21st person to hold New Zealand’s deputy prime ministership. Jack Marshall held the role twice in the 50s and 60s. Peters has held the mantle three times. Several have gone on to become Prime Minister - the likes of Keith Holyoake, Jack Marshall, Robert Muldoon, Geoffrey Palmer, Helen Clark, and Bill English.
“It’s one of those things you probably didn’t think would happen in your life, but here we are.
“I think it’s good for New Zealand. It shows if you’re a bit quirky but if your heart’s in the right place and you put in the work, as Crowded House say, ‘You can get somewhere’,” he told The Front Page.
Seymour was first elected to Parliament as MP for Epsom in 2014. The Act Party’s sole MP would become its leader. Just over a decade later, he sits beside 10 others after leading the party to its best result ever in the 2023 general election.
His latest tenure in the Beehive hasn’t come without controversy, though. His Treaty Principles Bill, which Act heralds as a “promise of equal rights for all New Zealanders”, has come under fire and has been described as a ploy to undermine Māori rights.
Its first reading prompted a hīkoi to Parliament, where up to tens of thousands of people rallied in protest. It received an unprecedented amount of public submissions, more than 300,000.
Despite it being dead in the water at the start (coalition partners had always intended to vote it down), Seymour said he was not at all surprised it created so much backlash.
“We took on a direction in this country which is toxic and corrosive, but also quite profitable for a lot of people.
“Now, if you are a person who believes that you basically are a parallel state, that you are not accountable to the same government and Crown and taxpayer as everyone else, then of course, when someone comes along with a Treaty Principles Bill that says, ‘Hey, guess what, folks? We’re all equal.’ You don’t like that very much,” he said.
When talking about the negative comments and name-calling he’s been subjected to, Seymour recognised he does get a lot of people blaming him for a lot of the tension the Government faces.
“I don’t do conformity. I unashamedly am me. I’m quirky. I believe I have a good heart and I work hard, but I’m gonna be myself and I’m not gonna apologise.
“Plus, as a bonus, I’m actually providing a huge public service because I’m providing the left, the losers, and many in the media ... with something they desperately need after their election loss, and that is someone to blame. You’re welcome.”
Listen to the full episode to hear more about what Seymour thinks of his coalition partners and the backlash he’s faced.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
