Roger Greenslade works from afar to spread ACT Party values

Roger Greenslade is standing as Wairarapa candidate for the Act Party. Photo/ supplied.

Candidate Profile: Roger Greenslade (ACT)
Wairarapa Electorate:

A man who has aligned himself with the ACT Party since 2002 is vying to get people behind the party this election.

When Roger Greenslade was in his early 30s he took an interest in the 2002 election and after scrolling through the different political party websites felt the values of ACT were something he could relate to.

"It just snowballed from there really and now I am the campaign manager for these elections. I guess you could say I joined in 2002 but became active in 2004."

He stood in the 2005 election as the ACT candidate for Wairarapa so knows what he is doing in the build up to this year's election.

"The key reason to why I am standing is not to win the local electorate but to get people to vote for ACT as their party vote as we hold important values."

Mr Greenslade grew up in Nelson before moving to Auckland and then Christchurch to embark on his studies.

He started work in retail management before going back to university when he was 29 to complete his teaching degree.

His passion for teaching has taken him around the country and now parts of the world and he is currently teaching computing at Ocean Reef Senior High School in Western Australia. Before that posting, he worked in China.

"My brother lived in Perth and there was a good job going so I thought it would be a great opportunity to have a look around and broaden my horizons."

Mr Greenslade never did an OE so is using this period to make up for that.

Despite living and working across the ditch Mr Greenslade said it hadn't hindered his campaigning for this year's election.

"The only thing I can't do is attend the candidate meetings but with modern technology i can still keep in contact and promote ACT through press releases, emails and social media."

Mr Greenslade said if elected he hoped to get rid of the highly competitive housing market, so houses were more affordable, which would then make renting easier. He also wanted to cut company tax rates by 25 per cent to encourage more jobs, which would flow on to increasing the employment rate.

He felt Government at the moment needed to be more honest and an open book where politicians took responsibility for their actions.

Whether he is elected or not Mr Greenslade is keen to return to the Wairarapa at some point as he still has his family home there, which is being rented out at the moment.

He has two children aged 13 and 17 who still live in the Wairarapa.