Dear Jack

Obviously, last night’s news is something that nobody wanted and there will be a lot of questions about how it happened. I hope you are able to make plans for your business and household to work through this uncertainty.

ACT is your party, and I thought I would write and set out how we intend to navigate the coming days and weeks.

We hope that the Government can test, trace and isolate quickly enough that all the chains of transmission can be broken in the three days it has initially planned. However, we have to be prepared for the possibility that is a very ambitious task for the Government’s contact tracing ability.

As a result, we will not be going ahead with our planned events for this week in person, instead replacing them with online meetings. We will reassess next week’s events as more information comes to hand. Please see our website for updates on events.

The last day that the Prime Minister can unilaterally change the election date is this Sunday, 16 August. ACT’s view is that if the public health situation has not improved by then, the election should be delayed. We cannot have a free and fair election with candidates and voters under house arrest.

Throughout this epidemic, ACT has sought to be a consistent and constructive opposition party. We see our role as offering helpful feedback where possible and constructive criticism where necessary. We will be asking the questions that need to be asked to help people have certainty and transparency through this period.

As always, I am grateful for your support of ACT. We will come through this situation stronger than ever.

Yours sincerely,

David Seymour
MP for Epsom, ACT Leader

P.S. If you are not a member of ACT, there has never been a better time to join.