24 Aug 2023

ACT under fire for candidate vetting process

From Morning Report, 7:27 am on 24 August 2023

The Act party leader, David Seymour, insists his party has done a good job of vetting its candidates.

The Rangitata candidate, Elaine Naidu Franz, has resigned, after it emerged she compared vaccine mandates to Nazi concentration camps.

Act's Kaipara ki Mahurangi candidate, Anto Coates, released a parody song, joking that the former Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, wanted to throw people in gulags, but he stood down a month ago.

David Seymour says that was for personal reasons.

Political commentator Liam Hehir spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.