Election 2023: David Seymour’s flying start in the west dampened by bad weather and empty shops

Act Party leader David Seymour flew from Rotorua in 'Flying Pinky' to New Plymouth as he continued his campaigning. Photo / Mike Scott.

Act’s David Seymour was forced to miss two public meetings today as bad weather scotched plans to use his own plane to chat with residents in Ohakune and Taumaranui.

Arriving in New Plymouth early ahead of another public meeting tonight, Seymour had little else to do but brave the rain and visit local businesses.

Many were empty but that didn’t limit his popularity with many owners, staffers and members of the public giving their support, or at least their best wishes, to the Act Party leader as he seeks to form a government with National after October 14.

Today marked the first use of the plane, dubbed Flying Pinky, which was given to Seymour by one of his supporters.

Seymour had planned to pop into meetings in Ohakune and Taumaranui but poor weather meant landing on the local airstrips was too dangerous. Candidate Andrew Hoggard was left to front them.

The view of New Plymouth from David Seymour's plane. Photo / Mike Scott

That prompted an earlier-than-scheduled flight to New Plymouth ahead of a public meeting at the Plymouth International Hotel at 6.30pm today.

Arriving about midday, Seymour used his free time to speak with representatives of Symons Group, a local provider of transport, energy, property and waste remediation services.

General manager Dean Eggers told Seymour the importance of seeing Port Taranaki return to container shipping, something it lost in 2014, as he believed it would strengthen the local economy.

Asked by Seymour how Act could help if it was in Government, manager Ivan Chapple said local roading projects focused on cycleways and bus lanes shouldn’t be prioritised over road maintenance, in light of damage sustained to the group’s transport vehicles.

“It’s just backwards in my opinion.”

Eggers later told the Herald costs on tyre blowouts and rim replacements had increased by more than 100 per cent this year thanks to potholes. He added there were further productivity costs related to roads being blocked, which meant longer journeys.

Seymour then hit the wet and windy streets of central New Plymouth to speak with business owners and customers to assess their challenges and to ask for their votes.

He found more success than his last walk-about in Auckland’s Remuera, where his search for businesses struggling with revenue and crime largely failed.

His first stop was to a Michael Hill jewellery store. The company had become synonymous with ram raids after being a regular target.

Staffers told Seymour they too had suffered a ram raid about three months ago but declined to give any further information, citing company policy.

A visit to City Barbers on Devon St West provided Seymour with an example of a struggling business. Owner Natalia Saunders said people’s usual six-weekly interval between haircuts was often being pushed out to 8-10 weeks.

Act Party leader David Seymour City Barbers owner Natalia Saunders. Photo / Mike Scott

She believed increases to the minimum wage were harmful to small businesses.

“It needs to stop because it just pushes everything else up.”

While at a salon during his walk-about in Remuera, Seymour made the classic mistake of complimenting a woman’s hair - before it had been done.

It appeared he’d learned from his mistake but did provide some quite cringey hair-based jokes, one he delivered after meeting customer Dawn who said she was from South Africa.

“You came all the way from South Africa for a haircut?” Seymour jokingly exclaimed.

Saunders received one too when she told Seymour she wanted the New Zealand economy to grow.

“You need growth, your business is based on that,” Seymour replied.

Speaking to the Herald, Saunders said she intended to vote for Act for the second consecutive time.

“I just want Labour out,’ she admitted.

Asked why she wouldn’t vote for National, Saunders said she “wasn’t too sure of [Christopher] Luxon” and was reassured by Seymour’s longer career in politics.

The next stop was to see Mainly Magazines and Lotto store owner Wendy Marshall, who said crime and the cost of fuel and food were “starting to bite”.

“[It’s] total crap in my view,” Marshall said of the state of the country.

While hitting the streets, Seymour bought a scratchie from Mainly Magazines and Lotto owner Wendy Marshall. Photo / Mike Scott.

She was unsure who would get her vote but said it would be given to the party that would implement consequences for criminals and ensure a “robust primary health system”.

Seymour took the opportunity to buy a cheap scratchie, something he said he only did every three years to help predict his electoral fortunes.

Struggling to understand where to scratch, Seymour turned to Marshall for assistance who took no issue with whipping the scratchie out of the Act leader’s hands, revealing the barcode and scanning it - taking all the fun out of Seymour’s triennial gambling experience.

It ended up saving time. “You didn’t win,” Marshall declared abruptly.

On the street, Seymour ran into four Year 11 students from New Plymouth Boys’ High School.

“Why aren’t you in school?” Seymour demanded.

“It’s school holidays,” one of them responded.

Seymour managed to laugh it off with a joke about doing extra homework and ended the interaction with a couple of selfies.

Act Party leader David Seymour posing for a selfie with a New Plymouth Boys' High School student. Photo / Mike Scott

A staffer at boutique travel agency Star Travels International was very complimentary: “I wish more politicians were like you”, she said of Seymour.

She said she was disheartened by Monday night’s Newshub Reid Research Poll which indicated New Zealand First leader Winston Peters would return to Parliament.

“Just get him out of here,” she said of Peters.