Paul Henry packs a hall in New Plymouth — what happened
More than 250 people went to see ACT candidate Paul Henry in New Plymouth on Friday night.
The show, called Paul Henry Unlocked, was at the Devon Hotel conference centre. Henry used to work in broadcasting and is number four on ACT's party list for the 2026 election, according to RNZ.
ACT's events page listed the New Plymouth show for Friday, 18 September at 7pm. It also lists an Orewa show.
Henry talked about ACT policies. That included cutting red tape, treating everyone the same under the law, no new taxes and lowering tax for companies. He then answered questions. Dozens stayed on for selfies.
Each stop follows the same plan. Henry gives a short speech, then takes questions. In Dunedin, an earlier show did not run as smoothly when a private security guard removed a podcaster after heckling, according to the same reporting.
The New Plymouth show came after ACT put out its party list, reported on 12 September by the NZ Herald. The list works like a queue. The higher you are, the earlier you get into Parliament off the party vote. ACT's website names David Seymour as leader, MP for Epsom and Deputy Prime Minister, Nicole McKee as deputy leader and Minister of Courts, and Brooke van Velden as MP for Tāmaki and Minister of Internal Affairs. It also names James Christmas as candidate for Tāmaki. This week the party put up three articles: 'Abundant electricity will ease cost of living' by Simon Court on 18 September 2026, 'REVEALED: Compulsory student fees used to fund Labour Party branch' by Parmjeet Parmar on 17 September 2026, and 'Growth welcome, but not enough' by David Seymour on 17 September 2026.
In my view, the crowd and how the night ran are what count for ACT. Number four is near the top of the list. On polling like ACT's now, that would normally be enough to get into Parliament. More than 250 on a Friday night outside the main centres is a good turnout. It shows the choice of Henry is filling seats and giving local helpers a focus. The selfie queue is part of that. The Dunedin removal will also be noticed in the party. Open question sessions bring heckles, and staff need to keep responses low-key. New Plymouth was the smoother night ACT wanted.
