NRT: Extended

Written By: - Date published: 9:14 am, September 8th, 2012 - 25 comments
Categories: democracy under attack, local government, national, water - Tags: , ,

No Right Turn on the Nats’ continuing contempt for democracy.

Extended

As expected, National has decided to extend ECan’s dictatorship for another three years, until 2016. And as the Minister’s press release makes clear, the reason is control of water and denial of the rule of law:

“The Canterbury region has significant economic growth potential but also faces significant challenges. It is critical for New Zealand that the planning governance structure for Environment Canterbury is stable, effective and efficient,” Ms Adams said.“To keep the freshwater management work on track, we intend to retain the limited appeal rights on decisions made by Environment Canterbury on plans and policy statements relating to freshwater management.”

Reading the Department of Internal Affair’s Regulatory Impact Statement [PDF] on this makes it even clearer: an elected ECan was rejected because it might not make the “right” decisions around water management. Rather than being regarded as a baseline which must be accepted, democracy was sacrificed in the name of farmer profits economic growth. Its the sort of thinking you expect in an authoritarian state like Singapore, not in an established democracy like New Zealand. And it really makes me wonder how these people regard our Parliamentary democracy. Is National lusting to overturn that too (in the name of “stable government” and “economic growth”, of course)?

The scary thing is that even with all its anti-democratic language and explicit opposition to the rule of law, the RIS recommends a transition back to democracy via a partially-appointed model. The government rejected that out of hand. The message is clear: according to National, no democracy is good democracy. The people of Canterbury cannot be trusted to manage their own resources for the benefit of their farming elite.

Its another ugly window into the minds of our anti-democratic, authoritarian government. And another reason why we need to throw these fuckers out of office.

25 comments on “NRT: Extended ”

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  1. Dr Terry 1
    8 September 2012 at 10:05 am

    For this government, democracy is only a word they overheard somewhere, and they thought it sounded good so they use it blithely without knowing what it actually means (nor do they want to know).

    What do the people of Canterbury themselves think of the way things are (so gradually) evolving? I would like to hear more of opinion from that city.

    • Draco T Bastard 1.1
      8 September 2012 at 3:02 pm

      This government knows what it means and they hate it as it would remove all their power and wealth.

  2. prism 2
    8 September 2012 at 10:11 am

    I noticed in David Carters address to RadioNZ that he referred to ‘the leaders of Christchurch’ having confidence in the present regime, with Dame Margaret Baazley. She and her mob of fellow travellers mercenaries (up for hire and for anything that detracts from the democratic ideal). So the Leaders of Christchurch, the barons or whatever, are making the running for everything, the people are at the rump of the mob.

    There was a discussion on Kim Hill (Toby Manhire) by a tech business guy on why he is leaving for Melbourne. Quote – someone said ‘There is a new generation of entrepreneurs dying in Christchurch’. This tech guy said that there isn’t any attempt to pull these bright sparks to the city to create business, ‘bashing your head against a wall of a structure that does not enable anything you do’. He thinks Chch will go lurching on run top-down by people who don’t have a clue about creating business and sees it just existing right into the future.

    Listen when audio on in about an hour to – http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday
    9:40 Layton Duncan
    Layton Duncan is the director of software development company Polar Bear Farm, and founder of mobile health service provider Sense Medical. He writes the From the Hip blog, and will be relocating his business from Christchurch to Melbourne.
    It could be interesting to follow his thinking after he shifts to get a good feel for differences in the two countries practices and thinking.

    Also Key as a financial man. Thinking people already have doubts about his integrity, his acumen, his understanding of what the country needs to be a vital place with good trading figures. And he has made his money and his way in the world in the USA, the top country for ‘front-running’? Well the USA is best and biggest at anything isn’t it.
    Listen to Radionz item on the ‘Octopus’ on the way that USA Federal and other financial finaglers work, the guy says the whole thing is a ponzi scheme. The Fed is actually a business, as is our stock exchange. But that means the government doesn’t have control.

    9:05 Guy Lawson – Audio will be up in about an hour. http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday
    Journalist Guy Lawson has travelled the world reporting on war, crime, politics and sports for publications that include The New Yorker, GQ, Harper’s Magazine and Rolling Stone. His new book, The Octopus: Sam Israel, the Secret Market and Wall Street’s Wildest Con (Scribe, ISBN: 978-1-921844-95-9) tells the story of a hedge fund fraudster and a secret financial cabal.
    And the conspiracies are all real folks!

  3. mike e 3
    8 September 2012 at 11:24 am

    Conmen our local ConmanKey at the heart of all Cons.Merril Lynch the centre of all the action.
    Federal reserve etc,

  4. Rodel 4
    8 September 2012 at 12:02 pm

    Carter’s not very bright rationale on TV about ECan shows how his actions are the thin edge of the dictatorial wedge ;the sad thing is he probably doesn’t realise the implications himself, but even sadder is the million or so who didn’t vote last time for whom this sort of take-over just doesn’t register.

  5. Pascal's bookie 5
    8 September 2012 at 12:23 pm

    Press Editorialist not happy:

    http://t.co/hEZICEck

    Black day for democracy in Canterbury and the nation…
    the most radical denial of voting rights …
    besmirches the Government…
    a basic right will have been denied citizens for more than half a decade…
    vital decisions entirely in the unmoderated hands of unelected commissioners and unaccountable bureaucrats…
    it is called dictatorship…
    deplorable and foolish…
    denies the province healthy administration…
    The anger will return now, this time with an added intensity…
    tolerance of Czar Brownlee is now less…
    the justifications of every tin-pot dictator, echoing the sentiments of Suva…
    the imperative of citizens controlling their governors…
    the reasoning of dictators …
    It does not trust the voters.

    I’ve read thousands of editorials. I’ve can’t recall a New Zealand one that echoes the US declaration of independence as closely as that one does..

  6. fnjckg 6
    8 September 2012 at 4:29 pm

    The Domination of the Regional Council by agricultural interests occurs in Hawkes Bay too
    apparently Ngahiwi Tomoana and Ngati Kahungunu are on to it though, Good Job!

    and i grew up in Maraenui where this Government are ripping the guts out of public low-income housing, to be replaced by a mixture of community and Private Sector developments

    people are two and three families to a house, a freakin dormitory suburb where they sat the working class back then (railways, meatworks, wharf, woolstores) and looked down upon and defecated on since

    read the articles and comments in the local print media and one would think one was in Alabama

    yas massah, no massah, no work today massah?….

    • prism 6.1
      8 September 2012 at 4:48 pm

      Don’t know if it is of relevance but one of the top Fed Farmers is from Hawkes Bay. I guess they have to come from somewhere. Taranaki brought forward Shane Ardern and Ruth Richardson – Waikato ?

  7. Bruno 32 7
    9 September 2012 at 6:22 pm

    Hi guys. I applied for a resource consent 4 years ago to use a bit of underground water flowing out to sea,and my use had a very,very insignificant effect on any thing.Ecan took 6 months to do their job,which legally should have taken 20 working days. Who in their right mind would want to go back to that state of affairs ?

    • Pascal's bookie 7.1
      9 September 2012 at 6:53 pm

      Hi internet person. Nice anecdote. 6 months you say? That would piss anyone off, and probably motivate them to vote for new people onto the democratically accountable body responsible.

      You’d have to be a daft sort a bugger to think ditching democracya 6 month delay on a resource consent made a good case for 6 years or so. And when I say ‘daft sort of bugger’, I mean fuckwit.

      ‘My passport took too long to be processed, cancel the fucking elections for christ’s sake.’

      • Bruno 32 7.1.1
        9 September 2012 at 7:16 pm

        Your not the sharpest tool in the box,are you ? I was one of the 95 % of resource consent applicants that had to plan their business expansion under that totally dysfunctional regime. Have you considered using your late processed passport to emigrate to North Korea ?

        • Pascal's bookie 7.1.1.1
          9 September 2012 at 7:26 pm

          Firstly, the fact that you claim some personal knowledge under a pseudonym is meaningless. You might be involved, you might not. That’s the thing about pseuds. You can’t use them while claiming your personal position carries weight in an argument.

          Secondly though, even if your little anecdote is true, what has that got to do with cancelling elections? If you don’t like the way it’s working for you, elect some other buggers. Cancelling democracy is a fuckwit’s game.

          If you find democracy so burdonsome, perhaps you should shuffle off to NK yourself. They’re quite keen on the idea that the central govt should just ride roughshod there, you’d probably like it mate.

          • Bruno 32 7.1.1.1.1
            9 September 2012 at 7:35 pm

            It might be meaningless to you Mr Pseudo name ,But I am just stating fact. I would never lower myself to argue with an idiot.. I have a number of consents being processed now and I am very pleased that Ecan is now operating according to law,although some of their employees still need to be sorted out ,and moved on. A corrupt public service can destroy nations.

            [lprent: …and your psuedonym is Bruno 32? Take a two week ban to examine the policy, and reflect on the stupidity of attacking someone for using a psuedonym whilst using a psuedonym. I really hate dumb trolls. ]

            • McFlock 7.1.1.1.1.1
              9 September 2012 at 7:40 pm

              And the easiest way to ensure a corrupt public service is to remove public representation from that service.

              • Bruno 32 …
                9 September 2012 at 7:46 pm

                With Dame Margaret Bazley in charge,you are either joking,or are on drugs

                • McFlock …
                  9 September 2012 at 7:54 pm

                  so we should suspend democratic choice to accept the rule of favoured professionals?
                         
                  No matter what the people want? 
                       
                  You obviously have no idea how democracies fall into corruption and dictatorship. 

            • Pascal's bookie 7.1.1.1.1.2
              9 September 2012 at 7:41 pm

              You might be stating fact, you might not be making shit up.

              Doesn’t matter. Point is, democracy is better than the alternatives. People who think otherwise, are fuckwits.

            • Draco T Bastard 7.1.1.1.1.3
              9 September 2012 at 8:05 pm

              But I am just stating fact.

              No, you’re stating an anecdote with no evidence whatsoever and:

              …and my use had a very,very insignificant effect on any thing.

              You could, and probably are, wrong about that as well. Thousands of insignificance is outright problem.

              • Bruno 32 …
                9 September 2012 at 8:23 pm

                But the science said the effects were minimal and the consent was eventually issued. Ecan were not doing their job.

                • Colonial Viper …
                  9 September 2012 at 8:51 pm

                  But the science said the effects were minimal

                  Details please. I’m particularly interested in where you were planning to discharge the water you were taking, along with what.

                • mike e …
                  9 September 2012 at 9:22 pm

                  Ecan were going through a process to realocate water and ration it accordingly that upset those who got in first and didn’t want anyone else to have a share.

                • Draco T Bastard …
                  9 September 2012 at 10:33 pm

                  Actually, that would indicative of them doing their job.