January 23, 2025 • 6 mins
David Seymour is making it clear the country can't just wait around for change.
The ACT party leader is delivering his State of the Nation address in Auckland today.
Our newsroom understands he will use his speech to ask whether New Zealand should move towards privatisation in the health and education sectors.
Seymour told Ryan Bridge it's time to be asking the bigger questions.
He says the government owns $570 billion worth of assets and yet can't afford the core infrastructure to build more homes for the next generation.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Acts today is going to deliver its own State of
the Nation's speech while other political parties gather forward Artana
celebrations at Arthon and Parkes understood, one of the key
themes will be around the idea of privatization. For example,
around six thousand dollars has been spent on health care
per citizen each year in this country. Could there be
an option? David Seamore will ask to put that money
(00:22):
directly into kiwi's pockets to free up space and the
public system. It's an interesting question, David Seamoa is ZACH
party leader, David, how are you great?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Thanks? David.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Let's art with privatization because that's one of the big
themes of your speech.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
What do you want to sell?
Speaker 3 (00:36):
I don't think it's a big theme of my speech.
I see as soon as you mentioned the P word
people get completely hooked on it. I just make the
point in my speech that New Zealand's ad a tipping
point one hundred and sixteen thousand people leaving.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
That's two percent of the population.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
That's early nineteen eighty kind of numbers, highest numbers on
record according to statsien Z. We need to start asking
bigger questions like the government owns five hundred and seventy
billion dollars worth of assets, and yet we can't afford
the core infrastructure and cities to build more homes for
the next generation. Now do we need to ask ourselves
(01:11):
do we own the right stuff? So I'm not there
to tell you exactly what to sell. I'm just there
to say over the next year or two, we're going
to have to start asking some bigger questions. Otherwise people
are going to keep leaving and the net result of
that politically, as we end up with a majority for mediocrity.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
I think that you know, cases like Landcorp and TV
and Z. I mean, there are clear cases to be
made for the starte of some assets. Isn't your problem
going to be if you have to get back in
bed with Winston he doesn't want any of this to happen.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Well, ultimately it won't be about any politician. It will
be about do we want to remain a first world
country that attracts and retains the people that grow up
here with first world expectations.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Because we're at a tipping point.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
You know, things are going to get better this year
thanks to lower interest rates, and that's welcome and The
govern'sing a lot of hard work on that, but cast
your mind out a few years. We're at a point
where if we don't make this place more attractive to stay,
then the people who are motivated leave. And that's where
I talk about that majority for mediocrity. It's not far off.
(02:16):
I'll be voting for Chloe Swarbrook, who says your problems
are caused by someone else, and if you vote for me,
I'll text their house to solve your problems.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
It won't work, but it sounds good.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
You talk about the public service, and you in the
election promise to cut fourteen thousand public sector jobs. We
know we're near that number, and we've still got the
likes of the Ministry for Women, around which you promise
to get rid of. How are you going to convince
national to go further with that if you haven't already.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
I think it's ultimately the circumstances that persuade people.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
The ACT Party is pretty clear on where it stands.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
We published a fully costed alternative budget every year in opposition,
we said there's no point in these ministries, there's no
point in there's extra sixteen thousand people. You can probably
guess we make those argument it's within government, and I'd
say the government hasn't gone as far as we'd goes,
but it has gone further than it would go without us.
The next thing that changes as people recognize we've got
(03:11):
to fish or cut bait.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
In this country. It's not good enough just to say
that everything's fixed. It's not. We've got a huge amount
of work to do.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Have we caught you on a run, David?
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Sounds like your little brain. No, I'm just I'm walking.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
If it sounds like I'm running, I must be even
less fit than I realized.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Hey, we're all allowed a little leeway in the new year.
Health and education. You talk about those we spend a
lot on individuals. You've broken the cost down per person,
and you're saying, well, maybe we should just give you
the cash.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
I think again, it's an example of a kind of
bigger thinking that we need if we want to make
this whole dream of first world country island paradise kind
of thing work out. I just make the observation. You know,
thirty billion dollars on health five years ago it was
twenty billion dollars, So you know we've gone up ten
billion in the last five years and yet health has
(04:05):
one of, if not the biggest political issues these days.
Clearly what we're doing is not working. I mean, I
see Shane Ready move on on papers. Probably the best
health minister we've ever had, and he couldn't make it work.
So I just say to people, look, thirty billion bucks,
five million people.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Do the maths.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
That's six thousand dollars each. How many people if I
said you have the option of saying no more entitlement
to publicly funded healthcare, but here's six thousand dollars that
you can take to a private insurance company, I think
a lot of people might say, well, we need to
explore that option. What would the rules be around it?
You know, obviously the healthcare companies would have to take
(04:45):
any patient that applied.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
They couldn't reject anyone.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
And I know that we'll be saying this guy's nuts,
it's privatization, it's a secret conspiracy out of Washington.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
D C.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Well, actually what I'm describing is not too far off
the way they do healthcare in France.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
David Seymour, thank you very much to your time this morning.
Please go and have a sit down and arrest after that.
David Seymour, the Act Party leader who was on a walk.
For those who've been texting and saying, why is he panting?
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Why is he breathless?
Speaker 1 (05:10):
He's out on a walk this morning, getting in some
steps in, some kick kazin before he gets into his
state of his alternative State of the Nation address which
he is delivering today, some quite interesting suggestions there. We
do own as a country half a trillion dollars in
public assets. That includes things like land Corp. Land Corp
worth two billion dollars to us if we flicked it
(05:32):
off last year made a loss of twenty six million.
A report from a couple of years ago showed that
outfit is performing way under what it could if it
was if it was potentially privatized. I mean, why not
If we've got farmers who do a good job of
their business, why wouldn't they do a good job with
that one? Why do we own a farm? For more
from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to news talks
(05:55):
the'd be from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
Acts today is going to deliver its own State of
the Nation's speech while other political parties gather forward Artana
celebrations at Arthon and Parkes understood, one of the key
themes will be around the idea of privatization. For example,
around six thousand dollars has been spent on health care
per citizen each year in this country. Could there be
an option? David Seamore will ask to put that money
(00:22):
directly into kiwi's pockets to free up space and the
public system. It's an interesting question, David Seamoa is ZACH
party leader, David, how are you great?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Thanks? David.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Let's art with privatization because that's one of the big
themes of your speech.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
What do you want to sell?
Speaker 3 (00:36):
I don't think it's a big theme of my speech.
I see as soon as you mentioned the P word
people get completely hooked on it. I just make the
point in my speech that New Zealand's ad a tipping
point one hundred and sixteen thousand people leaving.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
That's two percent of the population.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
That's early nineteen eighty kind of numbers, highest numbers on
record according to statsien Z. We need to start asking
bigger questions like the government owns five hundred and seventy
billion dollars worth of assets, and yet we can't afford
the core infrastructure and cities to build more homes for
the next generation. Now do we need to ask ourselves
(01:11):
do we own the right stuff? So I'm not there
to tell you exactly what to sell. I'm just there
to say over the next year or two, we're going
to have to start asking some bigger questions. Otherwise people
are going to keep leaving and the net result of
that politically, as we end up with a majority for mediocrity.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
I think that you know, cases like Landcorp and TV
and Z. I mean, there are clear cases to be
made for the starte of some assets. Isn't your problem
going to be if you have to get back in
bed with Winston he doesn't want any of this to happen.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Well, ultimately it won't be about any politician. It will
be about do we want to remain a first world
country that attracts and retains the people that grow up
here with first world expectations.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Because we're at a tipping point.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
You know, things are going to get better this year
thanks to lower interest rates, and that's welcome and The
govern'sing a lot of hard work on that, but cast
your mind out a few years. We're at a point
where if we don't make this place more attractive to stay,
then the people who are motivated leave. And that's where
I talk about that majority for mediocrity. It's not far off.
(02:16):
I'll be voting for Chloe Swarbrook, who says your problems
are caused by someone else, and if you vote for me,
I'll text their house to solve your problems.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
It won't work, but it sounds good.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
You talk about the public service, and you in the
election promise to cut fourteen thousand public sector jobs. We
know we're near that number, and we've still got the
likes of the Ministry for Women, around which you promise
to get rid of. How are you going to convince
national to go further with that if you haven't already.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
I think it's ultimately the circumstances that persuade people.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
The ACT Party is pretty clear on where it stands.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
We published a fully costed alternative budget every year in opposition,
we said there's no point in these ministries, there's no
point in there's extra sixteen thousand people. You can probably
guess we make those argument it's within government, and I'd
say the government hasn't gone as far as we'd goes,
but it has gone further than it would go without us.
The next thing that changes as people recognize we've got
(03:11):
to fish or cut bait.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
In this country. It's not good enough just to say
that everything's fixed. It's not. We've got a huge amount
of work to do.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Have we caught you on a run, David?
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Sounds like your little brain. No, I'm just I'm walking.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
If it sounds like I'm running, I must be even
less fit than I realized.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Hey, we're all allowed a little leeway in the new year.
Health and education. You talk about those we spend a
lot on individuals. You've broken the cost down per person,
and you're saying, well, maybe we should just give you
the cash.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
I think again, it's an example of a kind of
bigger thinking that we need if we want to make
this whole dream of first world country island paradise kind
of thing work out. I just make the observation. You know,
thirty billion dollars on health five years ago it was
twenty billion dollars, So you know we've gone up ten
billion in the last five years and yet health has
(04:05):
one of, if not the biggest political issues these days.
Clearly what we're doing is not working. I mean, I
see Shane Ready move on on papers. Probably the best
health minister we've ever had, and he couldn't make it work.
So I just say to people, look, thirty billion bucks,
five million people.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Do the maths.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
That's six thousand dollars each. How many people if I
said you have the option of saying no more entitlement
to publicly funded healthcare, but here's six thousand dollars that
you can take to a private insurance company, I think
a lot of people might say, well, we need to
explore that option. What would the rules be around it?
You know, obviously the healthcare companies would have to take
(04:45):
any patient that applied.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
They couldn't reject anyone.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
And I know that we'll be saying this guy's nuts,
it's privatization, it's a secret conspiracy out of Washington.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
D C.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
Well, actually what I'm describing is not too far off
the way they do healthcare in France.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
David Seymour, thank you very much to your time this morning.
Please go and have a sit down and arrest after that.
David Seymour, the Act Party leader who was on a walk.
For those who've been texting and saying, why is he panting?
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Why is he breathless?
Speaker 1 (05:10):
He's out on a walk this morning, getting in some
steps in, some kick kazin before he gets into his
state of his alternative State of the Nation address which
he is delivering today, some quite interesting suggestions there. We
do own as a country half a trillion dollars in
public assets. That includes things like land Corp. Land Corp
worth two billion dollars to us if we flicked it
(05:32):
off last year made a loss of twenty six million.
A report from a couple of years ago showed that
outfit is performing way under what it could if it
was if it was potentially privatized. I mean, why not
If we've got farmers who do a good job of
their business, why wouldn't they do a good job with
that one? Why do we own a farm? For more
from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to news talks
(05:55):
the'd be from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
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