When Local Democracy Reporting asked him to clarify that statement, again directly in front of ACT Kaikōura candidate Tom Spooner, Henry doubled down. Henry noted that in the last election, twice as many Kaikōura voters gave ACT their party vote than they did their electorate vote. The more people that can party vote ACT, the more ability ACT has to push those values forward in the next government,” Spooner said. When asked about local government, Henry said the only people who could teach the government about red tape was councils. Henry said he was “sceptical” about council amalgamations like the one Marlborough and Kaikōura was looking at, pointing to Auckland’s council as a case study.