Young ACT

Young ACT members have supported the ACT party in its campaigning. Members accompanied party candidate John Banks throughout his campaign in the 2011 general election, after which David Seymour said that the youth supporters were proof that the party could survive.[8] Young ACT also created the Facebook group "David Seymour Memes For Over-taxed Liberal Teens" which posted about ACT events during the 2017 campaign.[16]

Members of Young ACT have also been involved directly with ACT. These have included:

• David Seymour: the chairman and president of the youth group while studying at Auckland University became ACT's leader in 2014 and was elected to Parliament.[17][18]
• James McDowall: a member of the youth group from 2005–2011, McDowall was heavily involved in the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill campaign. He became an ACT board member[19] and then was elected to parliament in the 2020 election.[20]
• Hayden Fitzgerald: Fitzgerald was president of the youth group and an ACT Party Board member at the same time.[21]
• Peter McCaffrey: the president of the youth group during 2011 also stood for ACT in the 2008 general election for the Otaki electorate.[7]
• Myah Deedman: the former secretary of Young ACT[22] stood for ACT in the 2020 general election for the Hamilton East electorate.[20]

In a 2013 interview, the youth group's president called the relationship "solid".[23]

The group was told off by the ACT Party in 1996 after vandalising a Labour candidate's billboards.[3]

In 2012, when then-leader and sole ACT MP John Banks decided to vote against keeping the drinking age at 18, the youth group's president said the decision was "shortsighted, and goes against the ACT Party principles of choice and personal responsibility".[24] The group said they would pull support at the next election campaign if he did not vote to keep the drinking age at 18.[25] In 2013, Young ACT disagreed with the ACT Party on the GCSB Bill and the Telecommunications (Interception Capability and Security) or "TICS" Bill. John Banks supported the bills, while the youth group's vice president wrote an editorial in Critic expressing the group's opposition.[23]

In March 2020, ACT Party leader David Seymour threatened to strip Young ACT of their name, following plans by Young ACT to sell drug paraphernalia at an event to promote its drug policy. Whereas Young ACT seeks legalisation of several drugs, Seymour said that Young ACT's policy is not something "you'll see anytime soon" and that legalising drugs is "not a political priority" for him. Seymour said that if the group goes too far "we'll take away the name". Young ACT president Felix Poole said that they had not told the ACT Party about their plans as "we don't consult them on stunts like this".[26] Young ACT did display drug paraphernalia at the group's stall, none of which were illegal items. Seymour visited the stall, and said that members of Young ACT had not broken the law and would remain Act members.[14]

In 2011, Young ACT was part of a campaign called Keep It 18.[27] This was a joint campaign that sought to keep the drinking age at 18 and saw the group join with youth groups from three other parties.[27] The campaign began in 2006[28] to oppose the Sale of Liquor (Youth Alcohol Harm Reduction: Purchase Age) Amendment Bill. According to a press release from the group, it circulated a banner to campuses around the country that was "signed by hundreds of students and young people who oppose efforts to raise the drinking age."[29] It also opposed the Alcohol Reform Bill[27] that was introduced in 2010.[30] Keep It 18's opposition to the Alcohol Reform Bill included a submission to Parliament.[31] In both cases, the drinking age remained at 18.

Young ACT opposed making the party pill BZP illegal, which done in 2008. In the month before the ban came into effect, members sold party pills for $1 each to Auckland University students if they joined the organisation. The group said that around 500 members joined during the promotion.[32] The move was called "grossly irresponsible" by Associate Health Minister Jim Anderton.[33] ACT Party president Garry Mallet said that it was not the best way to "win the battle for freedom" and that he would talk to the group.[15]

In 2020, Young ACT released a policy which supported the legalisation of all drugs in New Zealand.[34] The policy proposed that all drugs be legalised and regulated to varying degrees according to how harmful they are. For example, cannabis, LSD, and other low-risk drugs would be regulated in a framework similar to that of alcohol, whereas more serious drugs like heroin and methamphetamine would be regulated in a prescription model similar to that of Switzerland.

In 2011, Young ACT supported the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill. The bill made membership of student associations voluntary; it was a private member's bill by ACT MP Roger Douglas and was supported by the National Party.[7][35][36]

Young ACT members arranged for about 60 members and friends to attend a meeting of the Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association in October 2009 to have the association support the bill. Young ACT president Peter McCaffrey said that the meeting voted in favour of the bill, but the association Executive declared that the meeting was invalid and was struck from the records.[37]

The group faced criticism when it posted a quote that compared compulsory union membership to gang rape. McCaffrey said there were no plans to delete the post, and ACT member Heather Roy said she would not ask the group to do so.[7][36] However, the post was later removed.[38] A few months later, a member of the youth group, Cameron Browne, told the Auckland University Students' Association treasurer to "get raped" in a Facebook conversation. McCaffrey said Browne should have "chosen a different swear word or called her something else" and that Browne had apologised on Facebook, but said that the screenshot of the conversation had been cut and hid the treasurer's remarks.[39]

The Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment bill received royal assent on 30 September 2011 and came into force on 1 January 2012.[40]

ACT on Campus supported the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013 which allowed same-sex couples to marry. The group issued a joint statement with four other groups in 2012, urging their MPs to support the bill.[41]

According to its website, Young ACT "has opposed increases in tobacco tax year after year". Young ACT opposes regulations on vaping.[42]

The group opposed Earth Hour in 2010.[43] In a TV interview, president Rick Giles said electricity would be needed in any coming apocalyptic event and promoted Edison Hour as a celebration of technology.[44][45]

In 2020, Young ACT supported a rent strike, where students were refusing to pay a weekly fee for rooms they were unable to occupy due to COVID-19 restrictions.[46]

In 2008, Young ACT handed out free condoms printed with slogans such as "screw Labour, vote ACT" [47] and in 2011 handed out KFC Double Downs saying the burger is "a symbol of the freedom of choice all New Zealanders should enjoy".[48]