Act’s David Seymour jokes he suspected TV journalist was ‘blazed’ before ‘tense’ interview

Act leader David Seymour had a "tense and combative" interview with Newshub Nation's Simon Shepherd on Saturday. Photo / Marty Melville

Act leader David Seymour has jokingly suggested Newshub Nation co-host Simon Shepherd was stoned during a tense interview between the pair.

Speaking at a media stand-up after announcing Act’s health workforce policy in Auckland today, Seymour was asked about Act’s Free Press e-newsletter which yesterday quoted feedback from Newshub Nation viewers who said Seymour “owned” Shepherd during their interview on Saturday.

Asked whether criticising the media was an election campaign strategy, Seymour laughed and said the commentary was directed at Shepherd.

“It was a pretty hefty swing at poor old Simon Shepherd, who tried to interview me on Saturday, rather haplessly I have to say,” he said.

“My suspicion is Simon misread the results of the cannabis referendum, he thought it was legal, blazed away the night before and then tried to interview me. It didn’t go well for him.”

Newshub has declined to comment and attempts to contact Shepherd have been unsuccessful.

Simon Shepherd (centre) seen here with former TV3 hosts Carolyn Robinson and Hilary Barry.

Seymour told the Herald this afternoon he was indeed speaking in jest.

“It’s absolutely a joke and if people can’t tell it’s a joke then the country’s in even worse state than I realise.”

Seymour said he had “always really liked Simon” but described Shepherd’s performance on Saturday as “baked”.

Asked to elaborate, Seymour referenced Shepherd’s “endless interruptions” soon after asking a question.

The encounter hadn’t impacted Seymour’s willingness to appear on the show again, he said.

Seymour also stated the party had never received more positive feedback after an interview.

Asked whether he’d ever been high during an interview, Seymour said no. However, he did admit to trying cannabis once as a “much younger person”, but that the only side effect was that it made him hungry.

Saturday’s interview began with Shepherd stating Seymour didn’t always get the tone right, citing the Act leader’s call for the House to debate the resignation of former Justice Minister Kiri Allan, who left politics after she crashed into a parked vehicle after drinking alcohol in the midst of mental health struggles.

Seymour claimed the debate was necessary to assess the state of the Government and believed it was “honourable and respectful” of Allan.

Shepherd then moved on to Act’s health policies and questioned what the party might do to address inequity between Māori and non-Māori.

Act has been quick to denounce any priority given to Māori within the healthcare system if it was done so based on the fact they were Māori.

Act is opposed to healthcare provision being informed by a person's ethnicity. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Labour has defended policies that aimed resources directly at Māori as the party believed it was necessary in order to improve poorer health outcomes among Māori, such as the seven-year life expectancy gap between Māori and non-Māori.

Seymour, speaking to Shepherd, restated his opposition to any healthcare being targeted at Māori solely based on their ethnicity.

The robust exchange between the pair at one point prompted Seymour to pause and ask: “Do you think, Simon, we could just finish more than two sentences in a row?”

A video of the interview posted to YouTube by Newshub described the exchange as “tense and combative”.

Act deputy leader Brooke van Velden sent a further email to party supporters this morning, titled “Why I’m proud to be with Act”, which said the party had been “inundated with feedback” following the interview and urged people to send it to their friends and family.

“In the interview, David cut through the noise and the nonsense and clearly and calmly articulated the basic values New Zealand needs if we want to be a modern, multi-ethnic, first world democracy,” van Velden’s email read.

“Please watch David’s interview below. If you enjoy it, please help us reach more people by forwarding this email to your friends, family and any others who share your values.”

Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the Herald’s Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.