NRT: Extended
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- Date published:
9:14 am, September 8th, 2012 - 25 comments
Categories: democracy under attack, local government, national, water -
Tags: democracy under attack, ecan, no right turn
No Right Turn on the Nats’ continuing contempt for democracy.
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.
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Break out the punchlines and dust off your meme folder: Green Party MP Kahurangi Carter’s Copyright (Parody and Satire) Amendment Bill was pulled from the Ballot yesterday. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Poroporoaki: Ta Robert (Bom) Gillies
Kua hinga te manawa kairākau o Te Rua Tekau Ma Waru Tiwhatiwha te po! Kakarauru i te po! Ka rapuhia kei hea koe kua riro! Haere e te Ika a Whiro ki o tini hoa kua ngaro atu ki te Pō ...2 weeks ago
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The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principle...
The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- NZ must pursue independent foreign policy
The Green Party says the need is greater than ever for Aotearoa New Zealand to pursue an independent foreign policy. ...2 weeks ago
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Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Ka mihi ki te mana whenua ko Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei. Kia ora and good morning everyone. Thank you Fran and Simon for inviting me here today, and importantly your leadership of this forum over several years now. I want to acknowledge David Gehrenbeck, Deputy ...10 hours ago
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- District Court Judge appointed
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- First arrests made under gang patch ban
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- Better support for victims of sexual violence
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- MSA pilot participant update
One of the ten young men selected to participate in the Military-Style Academy Pilot has allegedly reoffended. Children’s Minister Karen Chhour is disappointed but says it would be naïve to think that none of these young men would reoffend. “I’m saddened that this young person has not taken this opportunity ...1 day ago
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Tēnā koutou katoa – it is a pleasure to be here today. I would like to begin by acknowledging the important leadership role you all play in ensuring a quality health system New Zealanders can trust. There is enormous clinical expertise in this room covering a wide range of disciplines. ...3 days ago
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Tēnā koutou katoa. Mr President, Excellencies, Delegates. New Zealand, and all nations represented here today, are already dealing with the impacts of climate change. Our households, businesses, and economies are bearing the costs of its effects. The choices we make now will shape the severity of these impacts for generations ...3 days ago
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Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced New Zealand will contribute NZ$10 million to the new Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage while at the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan. “New Zealand is joining the global effort to address the significant challenge of responding to ...3 days ago
- Gang crackdown begins at stroke of midnight
The free ride for gangs is over when the clock strikes midnight tonight, with tough new laws officially coming into effect, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Police Minister Mark Mitchell say. “Gang patches will no longer be able to be worn in public. To earn the right to wear a ...3 days ago
- LGFA increases borrowing capacity to support high growth councils
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- Jurisdiction of Disputes Tribunal to double
Legislation that will double the financial jurisdiction of the Disputes Tribunal from $30,000 to $60,000 has passed first reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith. “We need to improve court timeliness and access to justice so that Kiwis and get on with their lives. Court delays affect everyone, the ...3 days ago
- Protecting New Zealand from foreign interference
Legislation that will specifically criminalise foreign interference and strengthen espionage offences has passed first reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “It is normal and appropriate for states to interact and work to influence one another. This encourages cooperation and can have mutually beneficial outcomes. “However, the reality ...3 days ago
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Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed news that the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board has approved funding towards pre-implementation and early works on the State Highway 1 (SH1) Belfast to Pegasus Motorway and Woodend Bypass Road of National Significance (RoNS). “Reaching this significant milestone is a reflection of our Government’s ...3 days ago
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Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says findings from the annual Health Survey highlight the need to continue driving better health outcomes for New Zealanders. The New Zealand Health Survey is an annual snapshot of key metrics measured from July 2023 – July 2024. Findings released this morning include: In 2023/24, ...3 days ago
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A renewed effort to get people to quit smoking will build on what has worked to date and target the groups who most need support, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said today. “The latest New Zealand Health Survey results show the daily smoking rate at 6.9 per cent and we ...3 days ago
- New diplomatic appointments
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced four new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign ...4 days ago
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Regulation Minister David Seymour has today announced the next steps in the Government’s plan improve the quality of regulation by opening consultation on a proposed Regulatory Standards Bill. “New Zealand's low wages can be blamed on low productivity, and low productivity can be blamed on poor regulation,” says Mr Seymour. ...4 days ago
- Red Tape Tipline goes live
Minister for Regulation David Seymour has today announced that the Ministry for Regulation’s Red Tape Tipline is now live. “We want to hear about your red tape horror stories. From today, New Zealanders will have a say on how they are regulated through an online portal,” says Mr Seymour. The ...4 days ago
- Youth Parliament 2025 announced
The Minister for Youth Matt Doocey has today announced the eleventh Youth Parliament will be taking place in 2025. “Youth Parliament offers a unique youth development opportunity to young people from across New Zealand to experience the political process and learn about how government works,” says Mr Doocey. “The two-day ...4 days ago
- Police stats show promising change
After nearly a year in Government, Kiwis have seen significant change across law and order with promising early results shown across some Police statistics, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. “In August 2023, I told New Zealanders that if they had not started to see a change in public safety within ...4 days ago
- Better coordination of anti-scam efforts
With the launch of Fraud Awareness Week, the Government is committing to new coordination efforts across industry and government to combat online scams, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Online financial scams are a growing problem for New Zealand. New data released today shows that Kiwis lost nearly ...5 days ago
- Minister to consider 7AA select committee report
Minister for Children Karen Chhour will consider the recommendations made by the Social Services and Community Committee in its report back to Parliament on the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill. “I want to thank the people who made submissions and those who appeared before the committee in ...5 days ago
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Defence Minister Judith Collins will this week attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Vientiane, Laos. “We need to take every opportunity to engage with our international partners, given the increasingly unstable geo-political situation,” Ms Collins says. “New Zealand has a long-standing commitment to this ...5 days ago
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The Maritime Union also has zero faith in government assurances of a gold standard for ships used for the trade. ...3 hours ago - Offshore oil and gas ban ‘worst political decision’, Shane Jones says
Shane Jones says the offshore oil and gas ban is "the worst political decision" he has ever been involved with. ...4 hours ago
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Grantham, Lecturer in Communication, Griffith University Shutterstock The federal government’s proposed social media ban for under-16s has sparked widespread debate, affecting millions of young Australians, their families and educators. But will it actually work? While the aim behind this ban ...7 hours ago - Ant stings can be painful. Here’s how to avoid getting stung this summer (and what to do if you do...
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The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Orbital by Samantha Harvey (Jonathan Cape, $26) The slight, superb winner of the Booker Prize ...10 hours ago
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The prime minister says it wasn't appropriate behaviour but that Erica Stanford had apologised. ...11 hours ago
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The first arrest was made just three minutes after midnight, with 11 more to come. ...12 hours ago
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“We are waiting for our government to announce it will arrest Netanyahu and Gallant immediately if they set foot in Aotearoa New Zealand” says PSNA National Chair John Minto. ...13 hours ago - Justice Committee Makes Further Decisions About Submissions Process For The Principles Of The Treaty...
The committee plans to hold hearings in the week starting Monday, 27 January and the weeks starting 10, 17 and 24 February 2025. ...13 hours ago
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It comes as Labour accuses National of not listening to evidence about boot camps. ...13 hours ago
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Labour claims Government is ‘cherry-picking’ smoking trends data to hide decade-first increase in daily smokers The post Smoke and mirrors in tobacco debate appeared first on Newsroom. ...18 hours ago
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There is plenty yet to play out, but the next election is at this rate shaping up as trio versus trio, writes Toby Manhire. A subplot of this week’s historic hīkoi mō te Tiriti has been the sight of the three opposition parties presenting a unified front. Te Pāti Māori ...19 hours ago
The server will be getting hardware changes this evening starting at 10pm NZDT.
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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.
This government knows what it means and they hate it as it would remove all their power and wealth.
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!
Conmen our local ConmanKey at the heart of all Cons.Merril Lynch the centre of all the action.
Federal reserve etc,
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.
Press Editorialist not happy:
http://t.co/hEZICEck
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..
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?….
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 ?
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 ?
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.’
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 ?
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.
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. ]
And the easiest way to ensure a corrupt public service is to remove public representation from that service.
With Dame Margaret Bazley in charge,you are either joking,or are on drugs
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.
It’s usually to thunderous applause, if I remember correctly.
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.
I am not going to argue with you .
No shit.
No, you’re stating an anecdote with no evidence whatsoever and:
You could, and probably are, wrong about that as well. Thousands of insignificance is outright problem.
But the science said the effects were minimal and the consent was eventually issued. Ecan were not doing their job.
Details please. I’m particularly interested in where you were planning to discharge the water you were taking, along with what.
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.
Actually, that would indicative of them doing their job.