Voting History
60% Family First Rating
- voted for Decriminalisation of Prostitution
- voted against Civil Unions
- voted against Relationships Bill
- voted for Parental Notification
- voted for Euthanasia
- voted against Care of Children Bill
- voted for Marriage Amendment
- voted against Anti-Smacking Law
- voted against Raising Drinking Age
- voted against Banning Street Prostitution 1
Candidate Survey
43% Family First Rating
- Definition of marriage – Undecided
Marriage has traditionally meant a contractual relationship between a man and a woman. I can’t see the need for a bill to define it
- Encourage marriage – Support
Marriage is clearly the best environment to bring up children
- Role and support of parents – Support
- CYF Complaints Authority – Support
- Parental choice for education – Support
The ACT party has long supported parents being able to choose the school most suitable for their children and having the funding available from taxpayers “follow the child”
- Income Splitting – Oppose
Income splitting is mainly of benefit to a high-income earning person. ACT favours a flatter tax scale which would benefit everybody
- Unborn child right to life – Undecided
I’m opposed to abortion being regarded as “just another form of contraception”. But I acknowledge there are some circumstances where abortion may be the lesser of two evils
- Informed Consent for Abortion – Support
- Parental notification – Support
- Abstinence-based sex education – Undecided
Yes, parents should be the primary provider of their child’s sex education, but in some situations that may mean children receive no sex education. In those situations, providing some sex education at school is desirable
- Surrogacy – Support
- Embryonic stem cell research – Undecided
I’m deeply troubled by this issue
- Same sex couple adoption – Support
It’s better to be adopted by two loving people than to be aborted or to be brought up in an institution. I have seen a very successful adoption of an abandoned child by two women
- Decriminalise euthanasia – Support
I support voluntary euthanasia
- Decriminalise marijuana – Undecided
I have long opposed the decriminalization of marijuana, but I have read the recent reports which argue persuasively that the current approach to drugs is simply not working
- Ban on residential brothels – Oppose
In practice, it is very difficult to outlaw prostitution – and difficult even to detect it if conducted on a small scale
- Ban on street prostitution – Undecided
Prostitutes who offer their services on the street are often the most vulnerable women in our community, but forcing them off the street may make them even more vulnerable
- Criminalise buyer of prostitution – Refuse To Say
There are 2 quite different questions here. I do not support criminalizing the buyer because I’m told that a consequence of that would be to increase the risk to the woman involved. But I certainly do support providing resources and incentives to help prostitutes out of the industry
- Improve broadcasting standards – Support
- Prevent public nudity – Undecided
What is “offensive” has clearly changed markedly over the years, so I’m not sure that a legislative solution is the answer
- G-rated billboard advertising – Support
- Raising drinking age – Oppose
I am deeply concerned about the binge drinking culture which is prevalent in NZ, and am almost teetotal myself. But I’m not convinced that raising the drinking / purchasing age is the answer
- Decriminalise smacking – Support
- Child Abuse Commission of Inquiry – Support
- Liberalise Easter trading laws – Support
For a substantial number of NZ’ers, Easter is no longer a religious festival
- Regulation of loan sharks – Undecided
Nobody likes ‘loan sharks’ but unfortunately most attempts to cap interest rates result in people with a poor credit record being denied access to credit completely
- Reduced gambling – Support
- Welfare Vouchers for At-Risk – Support
- Binding Citizens’ Initiated Referenda – Undecided
I would support binding CIR but only with appropriate safeguards. Otherwise the risk is we get into a Californian situation, where referenda have supported more state spending but placed limits on tax revenue – with disastrous results