David Seymour #3 - What does it mean to be "right wing"?

Following on from the second part of the chat, David mentioned how he met with local farmers at Ruralco. Luke noted that it's a good time to catch farmers given good commodity prices! He also was keen to know what the deputy PM feels it means to be "right wing"? 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
That the number one thing they want is some certainty
so that they can actually use that revenue to invest.
And there's one guy there saying, look, you know, my shed,
my bard's falling over. I should be doing something about it.
I'm worried about what happens next, but that just gives
me more determination. We've got to win this election, show
New Zealand that the alternative is not just worse, it's much, much,

(00:23):
much worse, and also make sure that we have a
good connection with people's concerns and their hopes so that
we can actually not only get more votes, but use
that mandate to improve policy. That's what it's ultimately got
to be about.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
One more heavy question for you. Many consider ACT to
be our most right wing party in this country, and
sometimes it comes with like negative connotations, right, oh, the
good mates with the corporates. It's all about the money.
How do you see it? What does been right wing
mean to you?

Speaker 1 (00:52):
Well, it's interesting because I've just been round at rural
co who are a co op, the last of the
regional co ops.

Speaker 2 (00:59):
Good buddies area.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
And I like co ops because they're a good example
of how free people in a free society will form
all sorts of associations to solve their problems, and I
would include unions in that, even though they're not my
favorite type of association. I would include rugby clubs, which
I like a lot more. I would also include farms

(01:22):
and trusts, and also businesses and businesses of all different sizes.
So the truth is that in a free society, people
will form all sorts of different associations in order to
solve their problems, and the truth is that we need
them all. The real question is do we create an
environment where people are happy with success, where they can

(01:44):
be rewarded for their efforts and feel like, actually, you know,
I can make some change in some difference, I can
leave a better world for my children than I inherited myself.
Because if you feel like that, then things can be better. Often.
That's all I believe. You know, don't separate people by race.
If everyone an opportunity to leave a better world for
their children than they had themselves, that's all we believe in.

(02:08):
If people want to call that right wing, call that
left wing. I mean, you know, we've always been in
favor of things like choice around euthanasia, you know, choice
around abortion. Were actually in some ways. Some people would
say left wing, But what it all comes back to
is fundamental human dignity to make the most of your
time on Earth.