Candidates

David Seymour

List Ranking: 1

David Seymour is currently on sabbatical from his role as a senior policy analyst at the Canadian think tank the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. In his position David works to develop and popularise new public policy ideas through newspaper op-eds published in major Canadian dailies, live media interviews, and speaking engagements. This year he published his first book on public policy: 'Birth of a Boom: Saskatchewan's Dawning Golden Age'.

Prior to his current role, he worked as an electrical engineer at Ericsson Communications and Whangarei firm McKay.

Stephen Whittington

List Ranking: 2

Stephen Whittington currently works in the tax law team for a large corporate firm in Wellington City. Previously Stephen worked as an advisor to Hon Sir Roger Douglas in Parliament.

Stephen holds a LLB (Hons) and a BA in Latin from The Victoria University of Wellington.

Gareth Veale

List Ranking: 3

Gareth Veale, a 22 year old student, is the ACT candidate for Ilam and is campaigning only for the Party Vote at this election.

Gareth was born in Greymouth and attended St Bede’s College in Christchurch before completing a BA in Political Science and History at the University of Canterbury.

Gareth is the current Canterbury President of ACT on Campus, the youth wing of the ACT Party.

Toby Hutton

List Ranking: 4

Born in Auckland in 1988, I am the first of the next generation of politically motivated New Zealanders who feel that “doing more of the same” won’t do. I am the Deputy Board Member for Auckland North and have been a high profile candidate in both local and general elections.

Daniel Stratton

List Ranking: 5

Daniel Stratton is 26 years old, and currently serves in the NZ Army as a junior non-commissioned officer in the Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals. Daniel has spent the last year in an Army R&D cell working on developing and implementing systems to meet future defence force communication needs.
Daniel is taking leave from his unit to run as the ACT candidate for Palmerston North in this year’s general election. He is also an ACT party list candidate.

Hayden Fitzgerald

List Ranking: 6

I am currently studying Business at Massey University. My political beliefs are predominantly Libertarian. I believe that people should be able to control their own lives so long as the effects are not negative upon others. I also believe in the free market, small government and low tax rates.

Alex Speirs

List Ranking: 7

Alex Speirs is a 26 year old student currently finishing his Arts degree in International Relations and Political Science from Victoria University of Wellington. Born and raised in Sydney to New Zealand parents, he decided after finishing high school in 2003 to travel the world, working the whole time in various industries from hospitality to call centres, before deciding to return to the country of his heritage in 2008 to commence his studies.

Peter McCaffrey

List Ranking: 8

Peter McCaffrey, a 24 year old student, is the ACT Candidate for Otaki and is campaigning only for the Party Vote at this election.

Peter grew up in Waikanae and studies at Victoria University, where he has completed a BA in International Relations and Political Science and is finishing a BSc in Operations Research and Statistics.

Kimberly Hannah

List Ranking: 9

As a law student looking forward to graduating in a few years with a law degree from Otago, I struggle to see New Zealand as a country with a prosperous future. We don't have a sense of personal responsibility, nor incentives in place to make the kinds of choices that will help us succeed in an increasingly competitive world.

Jono Macfarlane

List Ranking: 11

Jonathan (Jono) Macfarlane is one of the growing number of young people who have come to see that our lives are controlled far too much by the government. At 24 years of age, he has decided to stand for ACT as he believes our policies provide the best future for New Zealand. Specifically, he was impressed by ACT being the only party willing to tackle youth unemployment by bringing back youth rates, the removal of which led to thousands of unemployed teens.

Guy McCallum

List Ranking: 12

As a third-year university student I'm concerned about what prospects New Zealand has in store for those who are finishing their tertiary studies every year. The sad truth is that for a lot of graduates, deciding to go overseas instead of staying here and applying their skills, is in fact the best option, if they want to earn more and pay less tax.

Every time our productive young people use their common sense and make the move, New Zealand loses some of its potential and its ambition. Parents miss out on their grown children forming lives' of their own, within reach.

David Peterson

List Ranking: 13

I'm an IT professional, with a degree in mathematics from the University of Auckland (where I've also taught as a TA in physics and mathematics). I am keen sportsman, having won Auckland athletics titles and completing 3 Ironman triathlons. I'm also a Christian of Jewish decent.

Michael Warren

List Ranking: 15

Michael Warren, a 20 year old student, is the ACT Candidate for Mana and is campaigning only for the Party Vote at this election.

Born and bred in Wellington, Michael is currently studying a BCA in economics and finance at Victoria University and has a keen interest in politics and economics. He believes ACT’s core principles of freedom, choice and responsibility can help shape a more prosperous New Zealand.