So I went to the ACT party leadership campaign shindig here in Dunedin tonight- see photo below.
Had a great time. I got to ask my “do you support drug legalization“ question, which, along with my “should bar owners be allowed to decide if people smoke in their bar“ question have been my mainstays for politicians since my student days. I mean you could ask them an economic question but you'd get four identical answers.
Here is my rundown of the candidates as I saw them....in order that they spoke.
Muriel NeumanMuriel is from the socially conservative wing of the party. Spoke well, but quite from notes oriented. Her platform is very much welfare (thank god it's not the 'dreaded P'!). I think she'd make a pretty good deputy, maybe to one of the more liberal leaning guys.
Rodney HideRodney has obviously got the highest profile of the four- and wasn't afraid to tell us so. He speaks well and explains ideas well- I think he was a former lecturer. He's obviously carrying the baggage of being a perk buster a bit- addressed this too - is it that significant really? Judging by the polls it's hard not to rate him. Rodney is from the socially liberal side of the party, always has been, which obviously appeals to my libertarian side a lot.
Ken ShirleyWhere has this guy been hiding? He is articulate and has a real presence in front of a crowd. He has been ACT deputy for some years... why haven't we seen him wheeled out before! I came away from the meeting with the feeling that somehow Ken has been flying under the radar. He's a liberal and I think he'd make a great leader too.... would a Hide/Shirley combination alienate the conservative side of the party too much? Why hasn't he made more noise up until now!?!Stephen FranksI've got a lot of time for Stephen. He's not afraid to hold to his principles even when it might not be politically expedient e.g. the East Coast Aquaculture thing. Yet, funnily, he took the 'devil in the detail' approach to copping out of my question- he seems to do that a bit on conscience issues. Stephen certainly has the intellect to be leader, but, I don't know if he has the political presence (yet) for the job. Again, he'd probably make a none too shabby calming voice of conservatism along side one of the others.
Ultimately the new leader is going to have to make some serious noise to pull ACT back into the political landscape. There are votes begging in my generation for a truly liberal party that respects both economic and social freedoms. Generations X and Y are going to become an influential voting block and I firmly believe that ACT has the ability to capture a decent chunk of that block.
Finally... I think the candidates met with some of the Uni students prior to the rally and then those students came along. Seemed like half of them were wearing suits!.... Put it away guys... if you want to look like 'Youth for Maggie Thatcher' then go somewhere else. Ties are for funerals!