Dear Friend,

Big week this week, with our Annual "Jonesie" Awards at Parliament on Wednesday, but I didn't want to wait any longer to make an introduction.

A few months ago, I emailed you about our Campaigns Manager, Louis Houlbrooke's departure after five years at the Taxpayers' Union. I'm excited to introduce you to Louis's replacement, Callum Purves, who has taken over running our day-to-day campaigns fighting for lower taxes, less waste, and more transparency.

Callum has come to us from Scotland where he worked for the Conservative and Unionist Party managing campaigns for the UK Parliament, Scottish Parliament and local councils. He also acted as Head of Field Operations for Northern Ireland tasked with laying the foundations to build a Conservative presence there.

Prior to working for the party, he spent time at the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood as a researcher and adviser.

Watch out – some truth bombs are coming...

We could not have wished for a more suitable person to take on the Governments's Three Waters proposals. Nanaia Mahuta claims that Scottish Water is the 'model' she's based her proposals on. But Scottish Water has been a disaster and Callum's background makes him ideal for speaking truth to power on Three Waters.

While studying economics at university, Callum was elected as the youngest ever local councillor on Perth and Kinross Council where he served for five years until May this year.

Walking the talk as a 'taxpayer hero'

As a local councillor, Callum defied his party's whip to stand up for local ratepayers by calling out wasteful spending and opposing exorbitant council tax rises that breached the party's council election platform. If only we had councillors like that in New Zealand! Callum was also one of only two councillors not to claim travel and expenses, despite representing a rural ward. 

Podcast: Callum on New Zealand, Three Waters and what makes him a fiscal conservative

With Peter Williams (no relation) away, I played host for the Taxpayer Talk podcast last week. I sat down with Callum to discuss his background and touch on his first impressions of New Zealand. 

I also interview my good friend, John O'Connell, who is the Chief Executive of our sister group in Britain, the TaxPayers' Alliance. John was in New Zealand on holiday so I asked him to come into the office to discuss recent events in Westminster. 

You can listen to the episode on our website here, or via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio.

Callum can be reached via [email protected] or his office line at (04) 495 7913.

I am sure you will join me in welcoming Callum aboard.

Have a great week,

Jordan Williams Executive Director New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.

ps. I've just seen the shortlist for this year's Jonesie Awards for Government Waste. If you're unable to make the event at Parliament, keep an eye on your inbox or social media on Wednesday night for the link to the live stream.