{"id":1066,"date":"2025-06-10T07:34:07","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T19:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exposures.co.nz\/?p=1066"},"modified":"2025-06-12T06:55:39","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T18:55:39","slug":"1066","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exposures.co.nz\/?p=1066","title":{"rendered":"Ian Taylor: Seymour\u2019s rise to the second seat with power far beyond his mandate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source<\/a> June 10, 2025 PDF<\/a><\/p>\n

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Ian Taylor: Seymour\u2019s rise to the second seat with power far beyond his mandate<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Ian Taylor<\/small><\/div>\n
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Sir Ian Taylor is the founder and managing director of Animation Research.<\/strong><\/p>\n

https:\/\/exposures.co.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/videoplayback.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

David Seymour sets the tone during maiden deputy PM speech<\/em><\/p>\n

OPINION:<\/strong>\u00a0I have to confess, I underestimated\u00a0David Seymour<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Like many, I was distracted by the sequins. The man who tangoed into our living rooms on Dancing with the Stars. More jester than artist. A novelty act in lycra. But back then we kept him in the game long after the judges had given up on him.<\/p>\n

And we\u2019ve done it again. We\u2019ve allowed Seymour to dance his way into the second most powerful position in the country, wielding power far beyond the mandate given by his 8.6% share of the public vote. And he\u2019s wasted no time laying out his vision.<\/p>\n

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A week before stepping into the role of Deputy Prime Minister, Seymour offered this reflection on the state of the world, and\u00a0the ideology he believes<\/a>\u00a0brought us here.<\/p>\n

\u2018At the end of the day, people have never lived this long, this happy, this healthy, this free from violence, this prosperous and well nourished. I think the jury is in, and liberalism won. Our job is to keep expanding those spheres of liberty.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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This was classic Seymour. Sharp, certain, self-congratulatory, and completely at odds with the world we see unravelling around us.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u201c… people have never lived this long, this happy, this healthy, this free from violence, this prosperous, this well-nourished.\u201d<\/em><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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This is not just tone deaf. It is detached from the reality that confronts a growing number of New Zealanders every day. When a political leader declares victory on behalf of a system clearly failing so many, both here and abroad, he\u2019s not just ignoring reality, he\u2019s giving permission for that failure to continue.<\/p>\n

Failures that see thousands of children in Aotearoa living below the poverty line. Children going to school hungry, or not going at all. Children sleeping in cars, or with grandparents forced to choose between heating their bedrooms or cooking food. Reports of some as young as eleven, living homeless in the streets.<\/p>\n

Failures that see hospital staff propping up a\u00a0healthcare system<\/a>\u00a0stretched so thin it\u2019s held together by goodwill and overwork.<\/p>\n

Failures that see teachers juggling overcrowded classrooms in under-resourced schools, alongside students with increasingly complex needs.<\/p>\n

Failures that see home ownership drift out of reach, jobs of the future grow uncertain, and climate change action met with silence. When students marched on parliament demanding answers, Seymour suggested they be penalised for skipping school.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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