As someone who migrated to New Zealand two decades ago, who has paid taxes, followed the law, contributed to my community and country, and raised a family here I felt deeply alienated listening to a recent Parliamentary speech delivered by a representative of Te Pāti Māori. In that speech, I didn’t hear a message of unity or shared future; I heard division. And I couldn’t help but ask: where do people like me Kiwis of Indian origin, new migrants, law-abiding taxpayers fit into this vision of New Zealand?
Rahul Chopra, a 2023 ACT General Election candidate, now serves on the Party’s Governance Board representing Auckland and Northland
As a member of the ACT Party, a candidate in the 2023 General Election, and a current member of ACT’s Auckland-Northland regional board, I felt compelled to speak up not as a politician, but as a citizen. I had also listened to ACT Party Leader David Seymour’s remarks on the Budget, and the contrast could not have been more profound. What I heard from ACT was clarity, fairness, and a commitment to principles that made me proud to be part of this political movement.
The Māori Party MP argued that, because Māori make up around 20% of the population, they are entitled to 20% of the Government’s Budget or $36 billion. This idea, that public funding should be allocated along racial lines, left me and I imagine many others questioning whether we are still striving for a nation of equal citizens, or reverting to one of ethnic segmentation.
Contrast this with ACT Leader David Seymour, who reminded Parliament of a simple fact: “When the Government spends, it takes from the firms, farms, and families that make up our great country.”
Every dollar allocated by the Government is a dollar earned by someone. That money should be directed toward need, not ancestry. ACT’s values are clear on this point: services must be targeted where they can do the best, not where they satisfy demographic quotas.
As someone who has worked across the public and private sectors and seen how real inequality cuts across all backgrounds, I believe race-based allocations are not only unjust they are ineffective. Māori New Zealanders who are struggling absolutely deserve support just like struggling families of every ethnicity. But those solutions should be grounded in education, health, and opportunity not political entitlement based on heritage.
I joined ACT because it is a party that respects the individual. It believes in human dignity, personal responsibility, and freedom under the law for everyone. As Seymour put it: “A country can flourish when each of us are free to be ourselves and achieve in our own way.”
This year’s Budget, while not everything ACT would have done alone, reflects these values. It limits wasteful spending, supports productivity, and invests in areas that improve outcomes for future generations. The new 20% capital asset deduction helps small businesses grow, employ more people, and lift wages including for Māori youth, who deserve better educational outcomes and work opportunities.
The speech by Te Pāti Māori invoked historical injustices at length, many of which are undeniable. But history cannot become a permanent claim to special treatment. In fact, that path undermines the very idea of a shared future. At some point, we must move from grievance to growth from tribalism to unity.
ACT believes in reconciliation, but reconciliation doesn’t mean constant redistribution. It means building a society where the same rules apply to everyone, where success is determined by effort and ideas, not identity. That is what I want for my children, and for all New Zealanders.
Te Pāti Māori’s message may resonate with some, but to many others particularly migrants who came here seeking fairness and opportunity it sends the wrong signal: that citizenship is conditional on bloodlines. I reject that. I believe in a country where we each stand on our own two feet, with the same rights, responsibilities, and opportunities.
ACT offers that vision. And I am proud to be part of a party that stands up for it.