Roger Greenslade in Thailand where he is a school teacher. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
KAREN COLTMAN
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At the Act Party election campaign launch in Auckland on Sunday, party leader David Seymour announced his 48-strong party list with Roger Greenslade as the Wairarapa candidate.
Greenslade is a 49-year-old secondary school teacher, working in Samut Sakhon, Thailand. His candidate blurb said he was standing from overseas because he has two children living in New Zealand and his long-term commitment is to Wairarapa.
He lived in Masterton for 15 years and worked at Wairarapa College. He left Masterton four years ago.
“I was drawn to the party because of its fundamental principles of freedom, choice and personal responsibility,” Greenslade said.
“Act is the only party consistently prepared to stand up for these principles, which is why I am standing in Wairarapa to get the party vote for Act.”
Seymour said he was thrilled Greenslade was so committed he was standing from abroad, “as I did in the 2008 election”.
Greenslade stood for Act in the 2005 election and again in 2017 while he was living in Australia. The party gained 370 votes here in 2005 and 162 votes in the 2017 election.
Seymour’s speech on Sunday attacked the Government’s performance.
“It was elected to be open and transparent, but we know more about New Zealand First’s funding arrangements than what this government’s up to,” Seymour said.
“It was elected to solve the housing crisis, and it gave us Phil Twyford.
“It was elected on a promise to build light rail to the airport, and it gave us Phil Twyford, again.
“It was elected to solve child poverty, and child poverty went up.”
Seymour accused the government of generating fear about covid-19 management and said it was spending at a rate that will become a debt burden for generations to come.
“Some idiot escapes and goes to a supermarket. Now 200 police officers have to man every exit of every managed isolation or quarantine hotel. Who knows what will happen next week? Everyone shipped straight from the airport to Paremoremo prison until they die of old age, just to be sure they didn’t have covid-19?
“The government has put itself in an impossible position. It fed the fear, and now it must keep feeding it, or be swallowed itself.
“The real losers are all those people who need openness but are gripped by the state of fear that the government created as a management tool. Every time there’s a government mistake, the ratchet tightens, and opportunity gets tougher.”
He also called for more open debate on issues.
- Act Party leader’s speech can be read here: https://www.act.org.nz/speech_act_leader_s_address_to_election_campaign_launch
