David Seymour slammed over Guy Fawkes comment on Ministry for Pacific Peoples

Act Party leader David Seymour. Photo / Paul Taylor

Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni has slammed comments by Act leader David Seymour in which he said he dreams of sending Guy Fawkes into Ministry for Pacific Peoples.

During a conversation on Newstalk ZB, Seymour reiterated his commitment to dismantling the Ministry of Pacific Peoples. However, his remarks took an alarming turn when he humorously suggested: “In my fantasy, we’d send a guy called Guy Fawkes in there and it’d be all over, but we’ll probably have to have a more formal approach than that.”

The allusion to historical figure Guy Fawkes, notorious for attempting to blow up Westminster Palace in London in 1605, triggered an immediate backlash.

While Seymour insisted the comment was made in jest, Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni criticised the comments as unnecessary and accused Seymour of resorting to divisive tactics.

“David Seymour’s remarks are in line with his history of race-baiting and creating divisions, particularly concerning Pasifika and Māori communities,” Sepuloni said.

She emphasised the role of government agencies like the Ministry for Pacific Peoples in addressing enduring disparities within society.

Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni. Photo / NZ Herald

As the controversy deepened, Green Party MP Golriz Ghahraman entered the fray.

“Just a man who received donations from known white supremacists making a ‘joke’ about his fantasy to bomb brown people institutions,” she tweeted.

The controversy emerged against the backdrop of reports revealing that the ministry had spent almost $40,000 on a farewell event for its former chief executive Leauanae Laulu Mac Leauanae.

Recent polling by Newshub-Reid Research and Roy Morgan indicates that a National-Act coalition could potentially form a government if an election were held today.

However, the Roy Morgan poll suggests that these parties might require support from Te Pāti Māori or NZ First to achieve the necessary parliamentary majority of more than 50 per cent to govern.