ACT Party leader David Seymour said a BBC newsreader was right to “observe biological reality” after she went viral for changing the phrase “pregnant people” to “women” during a live broadcast.
The BBC later ruled she had breached impartiality guidelines because she appeared to make a facial expression while altering the script.
“Good on her,” Seymour told Chris Lynch Media. “This is really just about being able to observe biological reality. The enlightenment and the scientific revolution allowed Galileo to look through his telescope and say what he saw, even though he was punished for it. That began an era where people could talk about reality rather than be disciplined by dogma.”
Seymour said the decision reflected “how out of touch” executives had become.
“A bit of high-school science will tell you we’re called mammals because females have mammary glands which convert glucose to lactose. Breasts are real things, and you should be allowed to say that.”
He said the incident showed how far some broadcasters had moved away from common sense. “There’s been a bit of that culture war here too,” he said, “but I think we’re at a turning point.”
Seymour linked the trend to broader issues around free expression and academic freedom. “We’re getting back to the enlightenment principle that people are allowed to see things and say things, that objective truth exists. We don’t all have to be cowed like people were hundreds of years ago when you could be burned at the stake for heresy. We’ve had a bit of that, but it’s passing.”
Green Party travel called “the height of hypocrisy”
Seymour criticised Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick and fellow MPs Marama Davidson and another Green colleague for flying separately to London in recent months while campaigning on climate change.
“How can the Green Party preach cutting emissions while its own leaders rack up air miles?” he said. “That’s the height of hypocrisy.”
He said Swarbrick would argue that travel is necessary for her role, but questioned her decision to fly business class.
“My question is, why go business class? She’s always talking about soaking the rich and taxing them. You can get to England without going business. I went to debate in Oxford in June, paid my own way, went economy, and emitted half as much carbon dioxide as Chlöe — and that’s before you count the emissions from her word salads,” he said. “I just call her business class now.”
Seymour supports removal of Treaty clause for school boards
Asked about criticism from education unions over the government removing the requirement for school boards to “give effect to the Treaty of Waitangi,” Seymour said Education Minister Erica Stanford had made the right call.
“She’s made an interesting point — the Crown signed the Treaty and has obligations under it, but not every school board or community group does,” he said.
He said the change was about freeing schools to focus on core learning. “We’ve had falling achievement in reading, writing, and maths for 15 years. Attendance’s gone down, but I’m proud to say it’s improving again. Being able to read, write, do sums, and understand science is vital regardless of your culture.”
He argued the Education Act still required schools to reflect New Zealand’s cultural diversity and provide Māori language options where parents wanted them. “It’s about choice versus compulsion,” Seymour said. “If you want to teach te reo Māori and tikanga, you can. What I’m against is compulsion.”
He said he supported Māori charter schools, including Te Kapehu Whetū and others that offer Māori-centred education. “I’m in favour of cherishing the Māori language and culture,” he said. “What I’m not in favour of is forcing everyone to do it.”
School boards “bullied into silence”
Seymour also took aim at the School Boards Association president Meredith Kennett, who in a recent interview was unable to explain how the Treaty clause affected attendance or achievement.
“She kept saying it’s about understanding the whole child,” Seymour said. “It was word-salad stuff. I bet she doesn’t believe it. She’s probably one of many people who’ve said, ‘Thank God, I’ve thought this but I’m too afraid to say anything.’”
He said New Zealanders were “fair-minded people who don’t like conflict,” but some had been “bullied into silence.”
“When you get a few people in an organisation saying, ‘If you don’t do this, you’re racist,’ others back down. They’re bullied into holding beliefs they never really agreed with.”
“Te Pāti Māori has more traitors than policy”
Seymour said he had little interest in the turmoil inside Te Pāti Māori, but claimed the party’s focus was misplaced.
“These guys have more kūpapa, which means traitors, than kaupapa, which means a policy agenda for a better New Zealand,” he said. “That’s why ACT has done far more for Māori than Te Pāti Māori ever will.”
