Mood of the Boardroom: Act passes the credibility test
Mood of the Boardroom: Act passes the credibility test
CEOs are impressed with the Act Party, in particular with Act leader David Seymour and his ability to tackle topics that other parties deflect away from.
Seymour received the highest score from CEOs among minor political party leaders in the Herald’s Mood of the Boardroom survey, scoring 4.08 on a scale where 1 equals not impressive and 5 equals very impressive.
When asked if Act provides a more credible opposition to the Government than other parties, 46 per cent responded yes.
A further 44 per cent said no, and 10 per cent were unsure.
“David Seymour is an exemplary Opposition politician,” says one economist. “He combines political convictions with an understanding of policy development, and compared to Christopher Luxon — and despite Luxon’s business pedigree — Seymour is the far more experienced political leader.”
Seymour leads a 10-strong team in Parliament noted for its discipline and cohesiveness.
At their annual conference in July, he released a “laundry list of reversals” that the party would strive to achieve in the first 100 days of a new Government which included Act.
“We won’t allow National to lazily roll over Labour’s policies like it has in Governments gone by,” he said.
An architecture boss suggests National’s silence has been deafening, whereas Seymour “says what is being spoken at the dinner table.” A real estate CEO concurs: “Act is leaving National in the dust in terms of providing genuine Opposition with alternatives.”
“Seymour in particular seems to be fast off the mark in getting press statements out — and those are typically well-argued,” says a banking leader. “He handles press briefings with particular skill. He is effective in the House and has policies with which I am in agreement.”
A utilities CEO says Act would be excellent in concert with National, and “is a rational party that believes in the enlightenment, rather than one-eyed ideology”.
Among the proposed reversals:
• Repeal Three Waters, returning ownership to councils
• Repeal the Māori Health Authority
• Reserve Bank Act changes: Giving the Reserve Bank two targets (price stability and employment) with one tool (the Official Cash Rate) was illogical.
• Scrap the 39c tax rate and simplify to a two-rate tax system
• Stop the Public Interest Journalism Fund. “At $55 million over two years it’s not large enough to help or hinder the media as much as many suspects. However, it is pernicious enough to destroy faith and trust in our institutions,” he said.
• Repeal the Zero Carbon Act and associated ute tax and the “Tesla subsidies”. Overturn the ban on oil and gas exploration
• Get rid of so-called Fair Pay Agreements
• Get rid of hate speech laws (if introduced before the election)
• Mortgage interest deductibility, the bright-line test, and Residential Tenancies Act changes would go
• Act would bring back 90-day trials, three strikes and charter schools.
But some CEOs note Act is too reliant on its leader, lacks depth, and is very issue-specific.
Says a partner at an investment firm: “Act is a great ginger group, but not credible in the sense of ever being in charge.”
“They are still a bit fundamentalist and strange,” writes an environmental services provider boss.
HOW THE MINOR PARTY LEADERS RATED
Act’s David Seymour is the stand-out minor party leader, according to the 2022 Herald CEOs survey.
Some 39 per cent of survey respondents marked his political performance as a minor party leader as “very impressive” at 5/5, on a scale where 1 equals “not impressive” and 5 equals “very impressive”. A further 41 per cent gave him a 4/5 rating.
“David Seymour is the only party political leader with a policy compass,” said Precinct Properties chair Craig Stobo, a comment echoed by an oil and gas chief executive who said: “Act has the only voice of challenge.”
The Act leader has continued to poll well for a minor party leader, hitting 6.6 per cent in the recent Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll.
Greens co-leader James Shaw continues to impress business leaders who ranked him first this year in their ratings of Cabinet Ministers (and Ministers outside Cabinet) on ministerial performances over the past year.
Some 12 per cent rated his performance as a minor party leader as “very impressive”, trumping the 1 per cent who rated Greens co-leader Marama Davidson as “very impressive”.
“James Shaw is a rationalist; unfortunately he has lost the backing of his party who are anything but” (oil and gas CEO, in reference to how Shaw was booted from the co-leaders job in July, after at least a quarter of delegates at the party’s annual general meeting voted to reopen the position for nominations.
Shaw was later returned.
Davidson does not have the same cut-through with the business sector.
The Māori Party co-leaders, who debuted for the first time in last year’s CEOs survey, have held their ground with the business sector.
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi became MPs at the 2020 election — three years after the party was last represented in Parliament. They have been a been a vocal and forceful presence in Parliament.
“Apart from James Shaw, we have not had much visibility of the others,” noted a director.
– Additional reporting: Fran O’Sullivan
