NRT: Reported back

Written By: - Date published: 10:45 am, December 11th, 2012 - 9 comments
Categories: accountability, democracy under attack - Tags:

I/S at No Right Turn continues the chronicling of the Canterbury Dictatorship:

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The Local Government and Environment Committee has reported back [PDF] on the Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Amendment Bill, and as with the recent Local Government Bill, been unable to make a recommendation. It is highly unusual for this to happen; even when the opposition have the numbers to block a bill, there’s an acknowledgement by select committees that their job is to improve legislation, not impede it. A bill has to be really bad before they will use their power like this.

OTOH, this bill is really bad, stripping Cantabrians of their democratic rights and extending the Canterbury dictatorship for another three years. And why? Because given a democratic choice, Canterbury’s voters might vote the “wrong” way and prevent National’s farmer-cronies from stealing their water.

The fact that National is pushing this bill speaks volumes about what sort of party they are at the moment. And an opposition who wasn’t wasting their time conducting witch-hunts against their own supporters would make mincemeat of them for it.

9 comments on “NRT: Reported back ”

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  1. vto viped 1
    11 December 2012 at 11:25 am

    Yep, that is it exactly.

    The farmers and associated business and money in Canterbury have been unable to get the water etc they want by way of normal democratic principles and business processess so what do they do? Fucking trash democracy and normal business processes and simply take it.

    The farmers of Canterbury and their political hacks like david carter are nothing but common dirty thieving bastards.

    Methinks this is leaving a deep scar across the Canterbury community which will stay raw for a long time. Fuck the thieving farmers.

    • One Tāne Viper 1.1
      11 December 2012 at 11:30 am

      Fuck them? No. Investigate their links to the National Party, catalogue the corruption that allows them to buy government policy, then prosecute all concerned.

  2. rosy viper 2
    11 December 2012 at 8:10 pm

    The fact that National is pushing this bill speaks volumes about what sort of party they are at the moment. And an opposition who wasn’t wasting their time conducting witch-hunts against their own supporters would make mincemeat of them for it.

    Last para – spot on. Where is the opposition – Greens and Labour – on this? It should be so easy to pick apart the vested interests in charge of this Bill. I hope it’s making waves in the Canterbury press, because it doesn’t seem to be getting much traction at the national level, from what I can see from a distance.

    This government is stealing democracy to steal and abuse natural resources and not enough people seem to think that’s important.

  3. venezia 3
    12 December 2012 at 12:39 am

    Today it is Canterbury. Tomorrow the nation.

  4. Saarbo 4
    12 December 2012 at 7:44 am

    Shocking, and I hear that Bill Bayfield loves his job at ECan, compared to when he was CEO at Environment BOP, now that he has no councillors to report to…no accountability…lovely.

    This is a real environmental swindle. Irrigated Canterbury farmers make 2000 KG MS per hectare versus Waikato Non Irrigated = 1100 (approx). So Canterbury farmers make approx. 900kg MS more per hectare because of the irrigation (Arguably more!), which equates to $5400 per hectare. This is highly intensive farming, with farmers smothering their farms with Urea to get this additional production, Urea that ends up in the waterways… absolutely wrecking them (Plus cow effluent as well).

    Given the super normal profits that Irrigation provides these farmer plus the incredible damage it does, there is no reason why these farmers shouldn’t be paying for this in some way, which should be used to mitigate the environmental damage.
     

    • Saarbo 4.1
      12 December 2012 at 12:51 pm

      To put more context around this, a 100 hectare farm around Canterbury will make $540,000 more than a Waikato farm in turnover with very little additional marginal cost. All because of Irrigation.

  5. One Tāne Viper 5
    12 December 2012 at 12:53 pm

    The National Party and its clients have perpetrated a serious fraud.