We have one day left to submit against David’s Seymour’s Regulatory Standards Bill – they close June 23rd 1pm
You don’t need to write an essay or make an oral submission against it.
Just:
Comment: I oppose the bill
Recommendation: Reject the bill
What’s Really at Stake
Sometimes the most dangerous threats come wrapped in boring names and buried in bureaucratic processes. The Regulatory Standards Bill is one of those threats.
This isn’t just another policy debate. This bill would fundamentally change how Aotearoa makes decisions about the things that matter most to our communities:
For our tamariki’s future: It prioritises corporate profits over environmental protection – meaning companies could sue the government for laws that protect our air, water, and whenua if those laws might hurt their business.
For our cultural integrity: It removes Te Tiriti o Waitangi from the law-making process entirely. Think about that. Our founding document – the basis of our partnership as tangata whenua and tangata tiriti – would no longer be considered when making laws that affect us all.
For our collective wellbeing: It puts individual and corporate rights above our collective responsibility to care for each other and our environment. Public health protections, environmental safeguards, worker rights – all could be challenged if they inconvenience big business.
This is ACT’s Fourth Attempt
They’ve tried this three times before. Each time, experts said it was dangerous. Each time, it was rejected. But this time, National and NZ First agreed to it as part of their coalition deal. They chose power over principle.
The Power Grab
Perhaps most concerning: this bill would give David Seymour and his hand-picked board the power to approve or reject not just new laws, but existing ones too. One person and his appointed allies would have veto power over laws that protect our health, our environment, our rights.
That’s not democracy. That’s oligarchy. That’s ‘Big Tobacco should be able to do what they want, because everyone has free will’.
Your Voice is Your Power
Here’s what gives us hope: You still have a voice. And when we use our voices together, we are powerful.
The submission process closes at 1pm on Monday, June 23, 2025. That’s your chance to say “not in our name.”
Making your submission matters because:
- Numbers count – but authentic, personal voices count most
- Your submission becomes part of the public record
- It shows our leaders that we’re paying attention
- It honors our responsibility to our tamariki’s future
How to Make Your Voice Heard
Visit the Parliament website and tell them you oppose the bill and it shouldn’t go ahead.
If you have time, go deeper – but you don’t need to. Commenting that you oppose it, and that you recommend it not going ahead, is enough for your voice to be counted.
Your submission is your chance to say: “This is not who we are. This is not the Aotearoa we want for our children.”
The deadline is June 23rd. But the time to act is now.
Mā te reo ka ora ai tātou – through our voices we will thrive.
