David Seymour takes reins 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.
The official paperwork making David Seymour the new deputy prime minister.
Photo:
Felix Walton / RNZ
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.
"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.
Musician Don McGlashan confronted Bishop, telling him to "shut up, you dickhead".
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 dickhead."
Watch the press conference at the conclusion of the swearing-in.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero
,
a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
3 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Labour leader on skipping Covid-19 public hearing
Public hearings in the Covid-19 Royal Commission have been abandoned after key witnesses, including Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, former Finance Minister Grant Robertson, refused to appear. Labour leader Chris Hipkins spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
12 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Former PM Jacinda Ardern stands by decision to skip Covid-19 public hearing
Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is standing by her decision to skip a public hearing for the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Covid-19 Pandemic. Political reporter Anneke Smith has more. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
33 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Your money might be invested in Gaza weapons, investment platform says
Smoke billows from Israeli strikes in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip in May, 2024. Photo: AFP The amount of KiwiSaver money invested in weapons companies has increased 40.9 percent this year, a responsible investment platform says. Mindful Money founder Barry Coates said many New Zealanders might be unpleasantly surprised that their money was being invested in companies producing weapons that could be used in conflicts such as that in Gaza or the Ukraine. Mindful Money calculated that KiwiSaver investments in weapons companies are now worth $392.4 million. It said New Zealand investment in the production of weapons used in Gaza, through KiwiSaver and retail investment funds, totalled $71.9 m. Coates said the increase reflected a broader increase in activity in the defence industry around the world. "I think most of the increase is the chase for short-term profits - wars are good for business if you're a weapons company. "There's been an increase in investment in many of these companies that stand to benefit from sales to Gaza or via the US or into the Ukraine conflict." Koura founder Rupert Carlyon said the increase was probably because of weapons' companies strong performance. "They are strong performers with global conflicts and increased defence spending in Europe." He said while the dollar value of the investments was now much larger, funds' allocations might not have moved. "The increased size is a function of larger market capitalisations and larger KiwiSaver balances." The S&P Aerospace and Defense Select Industry index had increased 16.5 percent in the past year and 307 percent in the past decade. Coates said research had shown 80 percent of New Zealanders wanted to avoid investing in weapons companies but it continued. He said there had been a fall in investments in companies linked to social harm such as gambling or alcohol and tobacco. "But not enough and not so much in weapons particularly … it does look to us as though we're seeing the same thing happening in fossil fuels - that something happens in the world and investment funds see greater opportunity and they're increasing their investments … even though many of their clients may may be deeply worried about that." He said KiwiSaver investment in companies producing and selling firearms had also more than doubled. "There's a big increase in hand guns investments … maybe something to do with the Trump administration." The most dramatic individual company increase involved Walmart, where New Zealand KiwiSaver investment reached $115.8 million - representing a 144 percent increase over the year and 40 percent growth in just six months. Although it is best known as a general retailer, Mindful Money called it out because Walmart sells shotguns, rifles, ammunition, and firearm components. Coates said there were 36 weapons-free funds at 13 different providers. He said many people would get a "huge surprise" if they found their KiwiSaver investment was exposed to the Gaza conflict. "I think it's kind of one of the things that people can abstract a bit about weapons and so on but when they've seen the effects on people in Gaza and the complete levelling of the country, then you know, suddenly I think it comes home to them, that they don't want their funds to be invested in that." Earlier in the year, activists put pressure on ASB to divest its KiwiSaver investments from Motorola, which they said was supplying the Israeli military with smart phones and radios. But Carlyon said there should be a conversation about whether it was appropriate for weapons to remain in exclusion categories, "given the volatile world we are living in and the need for most countries to be increasing defence spending". Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
