/u/Fresh3001 holds surprise press conference outside ACT HQ.

This evening Prime Minister /u/Fresh3001 held a press conference outside the ACT Party Headquarters in Newmarket, Auckland. Surrounded by a massive press pool, having hastily arrived to cover the surprise announcement, /u/Fresh3001 stepped up to the lectern. Flanked by ACT Deputy Leader /u/Mattsthetic and National Party Minister /u/Kingethan15, the Prime Minister addressed the crowd.

“Welcome all. Before I begin, I would like to clarify that this press conference is being held in my capacity as ACT Party Leader, not Prime Minister - but you’re all a bright bunch, the building we’re in front of must have given that away. Anyway, onto business.

“In the last general election I led ACT New Zealand to victory and formed a coalition government with the National Party. ACT set out to enact our liberal vision for the country, proposing bold new legislation that embodied liberal values and which respected individual rights. We passed a budget that did more to represent the wishes of the taxpayer, while still maintaining services for those who need them most. We undertook bold reforms of our public health and criminal justice systems. Yet at every turn, we were opposed by parties on the left which would rather dismantle society than reform it. Our policies were building on the foundations left by our predecessors, towards a better New Zealand, and while reformist they were not radical or objectionable. Yet we still faced rabid opposition.

“The ACT New Zealand 'brand' did little to inform voters of who they were supporting. Its meaning was literal - the Association of Consumers and Taxpayers - but it didn’t impart our ideology on those who heard it. Nor could it be used as the banner of a movement; it didn’t tell our opposition who exactly they were fighting against. We stand for liberal principles and the liberty of all New Zealanders; we stand for free markets and fiscal responsibility; we stand for equality of opportunity and the right to have a fair go; we stand for individual rights and for personal freedom. These are all liberal values, that all manner of liberals want to protect. While ACT once claimed to be New Zealand’s liberal party, it’s not a term that many New Zealanders have identified with since 1928. That’s something we want to change. That’s why I’m here today, with /u/Kingethan15 and /u/Mattsthetic, the two Deputy Leaders of our newly rebranded political movement: the Liberal Party of New Zealand.

“The Liberal Party of New Zealand looks to unite a coalition of liberals from across the political spectrum, with centre-right classical liberal principles falling in the middle. It’s clear that in the coming election we need to unite those with with liberal tendencies against those with socialist ones. The societies inspired by Locke, Smith, Jefferson, Mill, Rawls or Nozick are infinitely more just than those envisioned by Marx. Liberals from all walks of life must come together to stand in opposition to the collectivism offered by the modern left, in defence of the rights of the individual. This is the banner that we will be contesting the coming general election under, and that's why I'm asking you to give the Liberal Party its second term in government: so we can continue the pioneering reforms we began last term, and so we can strengthen the defence of our liberal society. Your vote matters, and what you can do with that vote matters even more. New Zealand has an opportunity to once again elect a centre-right government who puts the rights of the individual first, and by voting for the Liberal Party of New Zealand you can do just that.

“Anyway, I hope that was worth all your time. On to slightly less exciting matters, though I’m sure they’re happy with them: /u/Kingethan15 will also be the first President of the Liberal Party, and /u/TheSilentAsh will be leaving us to fill the gap left by /u/Kingethan15 in the National Party. We are confident that our good relationships with parties in Parliament will continue following this rebranding, and we’re just as confident in our continued support from the New Zealand people. I am very excited for the campaign to come, and you can expect our party platform and constitution to be released shortly. Thank you all for coming along, and have a good evening.”

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