'Don't worry': David Seymour takes the reins as deputy prime minister
David Seymour has taken over from Winston Peters as deputy prime minister.
A ceremony marking the ACT leader's transition took place at noon at Government House in Auckland.
Seymour vowed to keep speaking freely, as he takes over the role at the halfway point of the current Government.
He said the transition – in most respects – would be "business as usual", adding, "I've actually been the acting prime minister several times and we're all still here, so don't worry".
Seymour admitted he felt the position was largely symbolic.
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"Any position in politics is only an opportunity to be good and do good, and I will be judged by how much we deliver for the people of New Zealand," he said. "All of the people, those who support ACT and those who don't.
"However, I also believe that for many people who never ever thought an ACT leader could be deputy prime minister, there is some significance in the position."
Reflecting on his career to this point, he poked fun at his history.
"If I've proved anything, it's that anyone can dance, not always that well, but well enough to earn people's respect and give a lot of entertainment along the way."
Seymour was featured on Dancing with the Stars NZ in 2018, in which he finished fifth.
Seymour's first task as deputy prime minister was to confront media questions about cabinet minister Chris Bishop's behaviour at Thursday night's Aotearoa Music Awards.
Bishop acknowledged he should have kept his comments to himself, after saying "what a load of crap" during Stan Walker's performance, which prominently featured Toitū Te Tiriti banners.
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Musician Don McGlashan confronted Bishop, telling him to "shut up, you d***head".
Seymour denied the hubbub had distracted from his big day.
"Only the people watching or reading your news can decide that, and I suspect that there'll be people who think Bish was absolutely right," he said. "People who think he was wrong, people who don't care... each person will make up their own mind.
"Just because you become a senior minister, it doesn't mean you should stop having opinions and it might well be that, based on [what] Chris saw in that moment, he was correct. It may be that people will agree with him."
Despite his elevated position, Seymour promised to remain "quirky", although declined to elaborate on what that meant.
"Well, the great thing about quirkiness is it's spontaneous, it sometimes just happens. Anyone who plans to be quirky is, to quote Don McGlashan, a bit of a d***head."
By Felix Walton of rnz.co.nz
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Speech – ACT New Zealand Speech ACT Leader David Seymour Sunday 1 June, 2025 ACT New Zealand Celebration Brunch Intro 'It does not take a majority to prevail … but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men and woman.' That was Sam Adams, one of the United States' founding fathers. So many people here today, and some who sadly couldn't be, fit Sam Adams' description: I know one or two here are, occasionally, irate. To get this far, we've had to be tireless. I suspect we'll always be a minority, but we succeed by setting brushfires in people's minds. Human freedom, to do what you like if you don't harm others, is the only thing truly worth fighting for. Only when that principle prevails can we turn our efforts on fighting problems in the natural world, instead of each other. This is no swansong, just a little rest before the next climb, perhaps the next setback, we've had lots of both, and we'll have lots more. 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When the female pro dancers first met for the 2018 season of Dancing with the Stars, they all agreed on one thing. Nobody wanted to be paired with 'that guy'. It was a guaranteed ticket home on the first elimination. Even my own family came to opening night. They thought it would be their only chance, and I might need consolation after the show. If I'd had any partner except Amelia McGregor, they would have been right. But we ended up campaigning as much as dancing. We took on the bullies and fought for the downtrodden, the overlooked, and the physically uncoordinated up and down New Zealand! The kindest thing the judges said is that I proved absolutely anyone can dance. I think that's what our tireless minority has proven over the years. With quiet determination we can change our future, and the future course of this country. Anyone can dance. That's why we stand for the farmers, the landlords, the licensed firearm owners, the free speech advocates, the small business owners, and the ethnic and religious minorities. Everyone has the right to live free in the country, because anyone can dance. Why New Zealand needs more of a movement like ours Now, this must all sound very nostalgic. If our opponents have listened this far, they're probably hoping I'm building up to a retirement. I've talked about how we got to today because it's worth pausing and looking back. It's essential to acknowledge and thank the many people who got us this far. We should, as our stalwart member Vince Ashworth says, foster a culture of appreciation. That said, I'm not going anywhere but ahead. Sorry Labour, ACT remains your worst nightmare, and New Zealand's best hope. Nearly every single press release, fundraising email, talking point from Labour lately has been about how dangerous David Seymour is. I get so much free accommodation living in Willie Jackson's head, I might need to declare it to Parliament's register of interests. To Labour, yes I am dangerous, but only to you and your batty outriders. What's more your strategy of directing more attention to ACT will backfire. To paraphrase Br'er Rabbit, we're born and bred under political pressure. When you put the spotlight on ACT, you show people the party and the attitude this country needs. We can be down and out, through wicked old days, and rise again. We've been able to do it because we have something you can never take away, our philosophy. Our core beliefs are the beliefs that founded this country. Wave after wave of migrants have taken huge risks to give their children a better life on these islands. We are a nation of pioneers united in the belief that things can get better, no matter how hard they seem there is always hope. We don't discriminate against each other, based on things we can't change about ourselves. We only discriminate based on the choices we do make. Human freedom, and personal responsibility under the law. We know the world is unpredictable, and the only path to success is letting a thousand flowers bloom, looking for success that we can push up, instead of pull down. Our opponents are a Labour Party best described as lost. There is a Green Party that barely talks about the environment. There is the extraordinary spectre of a race-based party that increasingly threatens violence against its opponents, tolerated by the media. What unites them is a poverty of spirit. The idea that other people's success is not an example of what's possible, but somehow the source of their supporters' problems. They traffic in the idolisation of envy, and even if they manage to sell it, it still won't work. ACT on the other hand, and our celebration today, shows that anyone can dance. Yes our country faces problems, but ACT knows how to overcome them. It starts with belief. When seemed easiest to give up, you may find you were really just turning the corner. Today there are too many Kiwis leaving, and not enough believing. I believe New Zealand remains a good bet. We have no excuses for not creating a great country, but it's the culture that matters. The real culture war today is not about which bathroom you go to, it is about whether we are here to push people up or pull them down. Can we move past the dark underbelly of tall poppy, and celebrate the achievements of Sheppard, Rutherford, Ngata and Hillary, with many more to come? We have to believe life is a positive sum game, that win-wins are possible if we treat each other with mutual respect and dignity. We can become a kind of Athens of the modern world, a place where creative people are welcomed to move and invest, joining people already here who fundamentally believe the point of our country is to make success possible. Every policy should be measured against the simple test, will this create the environment for New Zealanders to solve problems and make tomorrow better than today. It's what we used to call, progressive. It used to be an idea owned by the left, but today they are far too busy tearing people down and putting them in boxes, virtue signaling, categorising, and otherwise discriminating. If there's any party that can offer the values and the grit to take this country out of the doldrums and constant 'meh' that befalls New Zealand today, it's the party that's had to overcome the great Kiwi knocking machine from palliative care to the centre of Government. That effort would not have been possible without the people in this room and beyond who believed in us when no-one else would, because they believe in the Party's ideas. Thank you for getting us to this milestone, and buckle yourselves in because in Hillary terms, today is only base camp.
