DAVID MACLEOD

David MacLeod is the National Party’s candidate in the New Plymouth seat at the general election. He believes in strong families and caring communities and will be fighting for the opportunity to deliver for New Plymouth, including Opunake, Okato, Oakura, New Plymouth, Bell Block and Waitara, as your next local MP in Christopher Luxon’s National team.

WHO IS DAVID MACLEOD?

He’s got a tonne of governance experience and has been a strong local advocate for the region including serving seven terms on the Taranaki Regional Council, five of these terms as chairman, before standing down last October. He has been a director of Port Taranaki, Parininihi ki Waitōtara, and dairy giant Fonterra, to name just a few. Growing up he was one of eight children, brought up on the family farm between Manaia and Kapuni. His father was Nigel MacLeod, well known in Taranaki as the long-serving chairman of the Taranaki Rugby Union. “Family is everything to me,” says David, “Leasa and I have been happily married for 24 years and our children are young adults, all in their early 20s.” Leasa works full time running their business, LinePower which was originally part of Greaves Electrical, a company David owned since he was 23 and built up into a successful Taranaki-wide business. On April 1 this year it will be sold to NorthPower.

WHAT DOES DAVID STAND FOR?

“New Zealand has more challenges now than I’ve ever seen. We are heading in the wrong direction in many spheres, particularly as the cost-of-living crisis stretches families’ budgets. I feel I can help produce a more prosperous New Plymouth and Taranaki as part of a National Government. When I say prosperous, it’s more than economics; it’s about lifestyle and the necessities such as good health and education.

“I am a great believer that successful businesses and business people are a must for society. They strengthen our economy and provide opportunities for others. This government far too often punishes success. We need to be backing people to get ahead. People can easily fall into the trap of not working – and it is a trap, or a hole. People need incentives to contribute to society.’’ government far too often punishes success. We need to be backing people to get ahead. People can easily fall into the trap of not working – and it is a trap, or a hole. People need incentives to contribute to society.’’

David points to one of the values listed on the National Party’s website: Strong families, caring communities. “Strong families are a fundamental of society and those people become part of a caring community. If we get those two right, New Zealand will be so much stronger for it. There’s no quick fix but as a society we need to talk about it more.

“I am a strong pragmatist and believe in commonsense decisions. The stress in our agricultural sector at the moment doesn’t make sense to me. The plethora of regulatory change from the Government shows it doesn’t value the contribution our farmers make. I worry about the mental health of our farmers as unworkable regulations are piled on by the Government. National will work with our farmers, not against them.

There are other local issues David feels strongly about, such as the sudden announcement of the ban on new oil and gas exploration. As a result of Labour’s ill-considered ban without an alternative, New Zealand is burning more coal than we have in a decade, which is worse for emissions than natural gas. ”I hate to see politics being put over what’s best for the country. That’s something I’d never do.’’