"The simple truth is, they were just making it up as they went along," he told supporters in Christchurch.
Seymour said it was "nauseating" to be constantly told we went "hard and early".
"We were the 63rd country to have a case and the Prime Minister wanted an international commemoration of our tragedy in this city a week before we finally decided to lock down."
And he also questioned whether New Zealand really had gold-standard contact tracing.
"Let's look at the facts," he said.
"PPE wasn't ready or available. The people we really should have been testing, those on the front line weren't getting tested at all.
"The lockdown was initially legally illiterate, making us drive right past struggling local stores, to mix with larger crowds in supermarkets.
"Those in business who tried to help found themselves rebuffed by a Government that knew better and an app that didn't work."
He did offer Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern some credit for her leadership through the crisis, saying: "In fact actually she's good in a disaster - I'd go so far as to call her a disaster Prime Minister."
And he served up a thinly-veiled criticism of National - which he called "the traditional alternative" - for not reversing a single Labour policy while it was in power.
He did say National were "unquestionably better day-to-day managers" than Labour.
"I'm not sure if that's because they're good or if it's impossible to be worse," he said.
Seymour said the last National-led government did introduce "a few good things" like the Three Strikes Law, the 90 day trials and charter schools.
"But all of those ideas were Act's. So, let me put it this way - if you're going to see a gig or a show, do you want to see the original act, or some knock-off cover band?"
He said Act didn't exist just to win power but "to hold them all accountable".
"Time and again, Act stood alone against every other party. The vote was 119-1 numerous times as one party stood on principle against the madness of 'political correctness' and the 'conventional wisdom'."
It was the only party being honest about the Government's debt, and he'd noticed Act's meetings were getting younger, he said.
"I think even schoolkids are getting worried that they're going to graduate high school, before they see the Government balance the books.
"And they're right to be, because if we don't change course, it'll be them footing the bill."
Seymour also used the rally to go over Act's policies and introduce eight of its candidates. The latest 1 News Colmar Brunton poll put them on 7 percent, which would award them nine seats in Parliament.
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Comments
What will he say about You?
We don't need arch sarcasm in government.
ACT seem to be the ONLY opposition party these days.
The grass roots support they are getting from hard working everyday kiwis is well earned.
Well, I can agree with that, and the fact ACT is sucking up disaffected National Party members tends to emphasize the fact. It's a shame that his top 3 or 4 list candidates that are likely to get into parliament are such nutbars.
There was one comment in Seymour's diatribe that was very telling. He said the previous National Govt achieved 3 good things. They were in power 9 years and they achieved 3 good things. Says it all really. 9 years for 3 good things. Pathetic.
I will give Seymour credit though. He recognized Ardern's obvious strengths as a crisis manager. He knows that she is likely the only one out of the current crop of NZ politicians who could have successfully lead us through the pandemic. As for his suggestion that she was making it up as she went along, well... Yes. So what? It was a pandemic, first one in 100 years. There was no playbook, she took the best scientific advice available and made it work. It was generous of Seymour to praise her for that.
these muppets in power should be subjected to the 90 trial, not the working man.
There's no doubt about it, David Seymour bears a striking resemblance to Big Bird ...
Interesting the left are not defending their leaders falsehoods???
Of course the government was making it up as they went along, what a stupid thing to attack them on, it makes the Ardern government's success all the more remarkable.
This website shows the results of Jacinda Ardern's leadership: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
If any of these right wing parties had been in Power New Zealand's numbers would be comparable to the USA's and the UK's, they would have killed thousands of Kiwis already and NZ would still be in the early stages of the disaster, just like all the right wing led countries are.
This guy isn't even as good as "Third Choice" Collins, and that's a really low bar to have to beat. ACT, Always Copy Trump and to hell with worrying about people.
The left making things up again, we would not have had numbers comparable to the USA and UK, we don't have the population, missing the fact going early is a lie, held off wanting the world media to watch her in Christchurch, you don't deny that??
Oh dear, some people need to be spoon fed. Your comprehension really is poor. The link in Grizz's comment provides factual data on Covid-19 deaths calculated on a per capita basis based on deaths per million population. NZ has had 5 deaths per million population, USA has had 633, Australia has had 34.
This is not the left making things up, these are independently assessed facts.
Your contention that lockdown was delayed to accommodate the Christchurch memorial is an opinion, not a fact. You need to learn the difference. Your holding of that opinion marks you down as a biased opposition supporter, and that's a fact.
Was this Trump in disguise?
Everyone's an expert, with the benefit of hindsight. And enough with the sarcasm already, it's amusing when your trying to energise and entertain a roomful of supporters I guess, but quickly becomes tedious.
Criticism is all this man ever has to offer, no silver bullet ideas and no acknowledgement that without the decision to protect the people from the virus over money this election would not be happening. We are not in situation normal and that is not being recognised.
From the comments it looks like a) the Left still don't understand humour and b) they're seriously worried about losing the election because of people voting for ACT.
Seymour works his a** off, and that's why he's getting great results. If ACT get the number of MPs it is expected to, they will have thoroughly deserved it.
Seymour may be working his a** off, but that is not why he's getting more support. ACT is simply collecting votes from disaffected National supporters who can't vote for Crusher and won't vote for Jacinda, even though they'll acknowledge she is the best crisis manager this country has had since Peter Fraser. Nothing more, nothing less. ACT is still promoting the same anarchy they have been pushing since their inception, no new ideas.
What they're not considering is who the first few candidates are on ACT's list. They are a mixture of nutters drawn from various extreme right pressure groups. Gun nuts, conspiracy theorists, racists and extreme capitalists. They will certainly add colour to the next Parliament, but will have a negative impact on the intellectual level of the place and the already abysmal standard of debate. I suspect Seymour will end up being deeply ashamed of them and try to distance himself from them.