Seymour said the party would not be challenging mayoral seats, but was looking for self-sufficient candidates who were expected to raise money to fund their own campaigns. Photo: RNZ/Nick Monro
ACT leader David Seymour wants local councillor wannabes to stand under the party's banner at the October elections.
It will be the first time local government candidates have run under the party's banner.
He's expected to call for a "cleanout" of councils, which he says have missed the memo for "real change" that New Zealanders voted for when it elected the coalition government in 2023.
"ACT has been focused on tackling the cost of living, wasteful spending, and co-governance in central government. But when I travel the country, I'm constantly told that local councils have failed to address these same concerns at the local level" Seymour said.
"Kiwis voted for real change in 2023, but our councils seem to have missed the memo. It's time for a clean-out."
Seymour said the party would not be challenging mayoral seats, but was looking for self-sufficient candidates who were expected to raise money to fund their own campaigns.
He said challengers needed to "show what you can deliver before you try and take on big prizes".
Seymour said he hoped to select candidates from local districts who could "learn the skills, and then work their way up".
"Ratepayers are fed up with councillors who make big promises to get elected, then whack up rates, neglect roads and pipes, and waste money on pet projects. They've waged war on cars with cycleways and speed bumps while pushing divisive race-based policies like co-governance and Māori wards.
"Meanwhile, the basics - rubbish collection, fixing potholes, keeping rates affordable - get ignored."
Candidates running under the ACT banner will be able to promote the party's policies on local government issues, one of which is to share GST revenue collected by central government with local government to pay for infrastructure.
That policy is part of ACT's coalition agreement with National, which has agreed to consider the proposal.
'Nothing ventured, nothing win'
At a press conference on Tuesday morning, Seymour held up a road cone as an example of a local issue ACT could fix.
"We believe if people have the option of voting for local candidates in their community who've signed up to a set of values for which ACT is well-known - reducing waste and getting lower rates, stopping trying to get people out of their cars, stopping the constant interruption in people's transport that drives people mad and finally getting rid of the racial discrimination that has crept into council politics - I think that's something that people would love to vote for."
Seymour said he had spoken to existing councillors who told said the idea "makes a lot of sense" and confirmed there was scope for his party to back re-election bids.
He expected to have a better idea of how much interest there was in a few months' time.
"We'll be pumping this to existing act members and supporters and then we'll be going through asking, do we have a viable slate of candidates that we believe can win and do the business for three years?
"If we do, it's all on. If we don't, nothing ventured, nothing win."
