Young ACT, formerly known as Prebble's Rebels, ACTivists and ACT on Campus, is a youth group affiliated with ACT New Zealand, a classical-liberal political party in New Zealand. It has supported the party for over two decades though has disagreed with ACT policy on issues such as alcohol and drug restrictions. Its president as of July 2021 is Ollie Murphy.
In 2020, a number of Young ACT members resigned over an alleged culture of sexual harassment within the group, and an independent investigation into the claims was launched. , no information from this investigation has been publicly released.
Creation and names
The youth division of the ACT Party was formed in 1996 at Victoria University of Wellington. The group was called "Prebble's Rebels" after the party's then-leader Richard Prebble. The name of the group changed several times: it changed to "ACTivists" in 2000, later became "ACT on Campus", then most recently became 'Young ACT'.
The group has also had the nickname "Killer Bees", derived from their yellow T-shirts.
Present status
, Young ACT has a club at the University of Auckland.The president of Young ACT is Ollie Murphy, who was elected to the position in July 2021 along with vice president Jack Keans. The party's website is not operating but the group has a Facebook page.
Relationship with the ACT Party
Young ACT is not an official youth wing of the ACT Party. It has been described as an affiliated group and as a group "separate from ACT", one that is not under the party's control but is allowed to use the party’s logo and name so long as it "doesn't bring the party into disrepute". ACT Party leader David Seymour said that this means ACT’s oversight and pastoral care responsibilities were limited. According to Young ACT's website as of August 2020, "Young ACT operates independently from the ACT party. While Young ACT may support the ACT party nothing on this site is indicative of the ACT party’s beliefs or opinions."
Support and connections
Young ACT members have supported the ACT party in its campaigning. Members accompanied party candidate John Banks throughout his campaign in the 2011 general election, after which David Seymour said that the youth supporters were proof that the party could survive. Young ACT also created the Facebook group "David Seymour Memes For Over-taxed Liberal Teens" which posted about ACT events during the 2017 campaign.
Members of Young ACT have also been involved directly with ACT. These have included: David Seymour: the chairman and president of the youth group while studying at Auckland University became ACT's leader in 2014 and was elected to Parliament. James McDowall: a member of the youth group from 2005–2011, McDowall was heavily involved in the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill campaign. He became an ACT board member and then was elected to parliament in the . Hayden Fitzgerald: Fitzgerald was president of the youth group and an ACT Party Board member at the same time. Peter McCaffrey: the president of the youth group during 2011 also stood for ACT in the 2008 general election for the Otaki electorate. Myah Deedman: the former secretary of Young ACT stood for ACT in the 2020 general election for the Hamilton East electorate.
In a 2013 interview, the youth group's president called the relationship "solid".
Disagreements
The group was told off by the ACT Party in 1996 after vandalising a Labour candidate's billboards.
In 2012, when then-leader and sole ACT MP John Banks decided to vote against keeping the drinking age at 18, the youth group's president said the decision was "shortsighted, and goes against the ACT Party principles of choice and personal responsibility". The group said they would pull support at the next election campaign if he did not vote to keep the drinking age at 18. In 2013, Young ACT disagreed with the ACT Party on the GCSB Bill and the Telecommunications (Interception Capability and Security) or "TICS" Bill. John Banks supported the bills, while the youth group's vice president wrote an editorial in Critic expressing the group's opposition.