David Seymour: sole MP for ACT, recent author of a paperback detailing his political vision and now distinguished guest on Newshub's Facebook live series.
On Thursday morning, Mr Seymour shared several nuggets on the housing crisis, climate change, being a feminist while thinking boys need help too, and on the "mortifying" moment he was mistaken for former Conservative Party leader Colin Craig.
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Seymour would work with 'racist' Peters
During Newshub's minor parties debate last month, Mr Seymour said there was no chance he'd back any Government that needed support from New Zealand First to survive.
But with Labour's huge increase in the polls, it's looked increasingly like National will need at least a confidence and supply deal with NZ First in order to form a government.
So Mr Seymour's softened his stance on working with Mr Peters, saying he could go into coalition with NZ First and National. But almost in the same breath, Mr Seymour called Mr Peters a "terrible guy" and a racist.
"The election race has tightened up. A month ago, it looked like it would be National and ACT or National and NZ First. Now, because the race has tightened up, you've potentially got a coalition of the three."
But despite the talk of potentially working together, Mr Seymour would be all too happy to see NZ First out of Parliament altogether.
"I think he's a terrible guy. I think he's done nothing in 40 years, and I think there's a good chance he's gonna lose Northland, go below 5 percent; no seat, no party votes and finally we can move on as a country from the kind of racist and divisive politics that he's brought to this country for too long."'
Called out 'feminist' politicians for failing to table bills on abortion
Mr Seymour said politicians who call themselves feminists but have not written up bills to take abortion out of the Crimes Act should be called out.
"Jacinda Ardern, Metiria Turei - all these politicians who say they're feminist - they've had nine, 15 years to put a bill in the ballot like I did with euthanasia, have it drawn and force a debate and they haven't actually done it," Mr Seymour said.
"I think you've got to actually call them on that. Given a few more ACT MPs I suspect that's one of the issues we would push."
Seymour is a feminist but wants to see boys helped too
Mr Seymour told Newshub's Isobel Ewing he is a feminist because he thinks "everybody should be equal". He believes "there's some real problems - domestic violence, leadership positions. Women are a long way behind."
But Mr Seymour said "we need to start having a conversation that equally acknowledges" issues boys face.
"You look at education. Boys are way behind these days. Look at university entrance. Boys are way behind. Look at suicide statistics. Bad for boys. You look at health statistics. Pretty much all of health and education.
"Boys and men are a long way behind now, and I think we need to have more of a conversation that's about both genders, rather than saying boys are always bad and we need to help girls. We do need to help girls but we need to help boys too."
On the housing crisis
During Duke's young leader's debate last week David Seymour said he rents a $2.2 million mouldy home in Auckland. That's despite his generous MP's salary.
He said on Thursday the Government has "a serious problem" if even he can't afford to buy a home.
"We've got a situation where home ownership is plummeting; babies are literally dying in badly maintained housing because it's just so hard to build anything," he told Isobel Ewing.
"If someone earning nearly $200,000 is struggling to buy a house - even an average house in Auckland - then you've got a serious problem, and that's why I say that housing is one area where the current Government just hasn't taken the initiative it should."
ACT Party wants to remove cities from the Resource Management ACT, creating separate urban development legislation instead.
The 'mortifying' moment David Seymour was mistaken for Colin Craig
"I was standing out on Broadway [in Newmarket] collecting money for a charity and these two schoolgirls walked past, and they always think they're further away than they are, so they start snickering and they said, 'That was Colin Craig.' That wasn't embarrassing. That was mortifying."
He doesn't like to say he believes in climate change but does believe in climate change
David Seymour said he has an issue with the question of 'belief' when it comes to climate change.
"People say 'Do you believe,' and I say, 'It's not a religion'.
"We know that the planet is warming. We know that humans by driving their cars and manufacturing cement and all sorts of activities have increased the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere, and we know that increasing CO2 concentrations increases temperature, so all of those things are things that are actually being tested pretty well.
"We don't know how we should actually deal with it."
Like the Greens, ACT supports the introduction of a carbon tax.
Newshub.
