democracy under attack

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Some are more equal than others

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 1:00 pm, April 14th, 2011 - 41 comments

Next time some righties are protesting in Queen St, will the government call out an army LAV to clear a path for my car so I can go about my lawful business without being blocked by protesters? Or do only foreign multinationals have this government at their beck and call?

Even DPF attacking government’s urgency

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:32 am, April 14th, 2011 - 6 comments

The Herald reports that National party blogger David Farrar and Grant Robertson have spoken out against the government’s misuse of urgency and its bypassing of the select committee process.

Ironically the call comes as the government jams more bad legislation through under the cover of urgency.

Reasons to vote against CERA

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:00 am, April 14th, 2011 - 77 comments

Update: bollocks. Clayton Cosgrove has announced Labour will vote for CERA “even though we have grave concerns”. He then spent 10 minutes whining how Brownlee had lied to Labour repeatedly during this process and wasn’t to be trusted. He warned Brownlee he would be accountable if CERA stuffs up. Brownlee responded “so will you”. Labour wonders why it is stuck in National’s shadow unable to get traction – It’s decisions like this one.

Voting away our democracy

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:00 am, April 13th, 2011 - 52 comments

Just before the second Christchurch earthquake, Gerry Brownlee was being criticised for the lack of progress in recovery. People suggested what was needed was an independent commissioner to lead the rebuilding – an ‘earthquake Tsar’. Brownlee responded “the last Tsar got shot“. Now, the new CERA law makes Brownlee our Tsar in a very literal sense.

NRT: Canterbury Enabling Act II

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 12:53 pm, March 31st, 2011 - 14 comments

Over at No Right Turn, I/S has written a useful summary of the government’s plan for new emergency legislation for Christchurch. It gives the minister largely unfettered powers with only limited rights of appeal for affected citizens. The mindset behind this legislation is that Gerry Brownlee and his developer mates know best.

Confirmed: Brownlee made it up

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 3:43 pm, March 7th, 2011 - 18 comments

More bad news for Gerry Brownlee today. No Right Turn has had confirmation that Gerry Brownlee makes his ‘policy’ up as he goes without seeking competent advice. This must be more than slightly terrifying to the people of Christchurch because Brownlee is currently their dictator by legislation in the rebuilding effort. His bulldozing ineptness is not just confined to buildings but is endemic to everything he does.

Business awakens to National’s undemocratic ways

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 10:41 pm, February 20th, 2011 - 6 comments

On a day when I’ve heard of 3 smaller businesses shutting down due to National’s economy, Big Business too is waking up to the flaws in National’s ways. The push through, don’t consult, override the wishes of the people mentality even chafes the corporates when it’s not in their favour.

Nats bully bulldozer still running

Written By: r0b - Date published: 9:15 am, February 11th, 2011 - 18 comments

The Nats regard parliamentary process as an inconvenience to which they must pay lip service, but nothing more. They started as soon as they took office, with repeated abuse of urgency. The current disgraceful process over the foreshore & seabed legislation is just the latest instalment.

No votes for appointed advisers

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 1:17 pm, January 22nd, 2011 - 23 comments

It’s been revealed that the Government, having decided against dedicated Maori seats on the supercity council, gave appointed Maori advisers votes on council committees under its supercity legislation. That’s just unacceptable, we can’t have appointees voting equally to democratically-elected council members.

1951

Written By: lprent - Date published: 11:45 am, January 19th, 2011 - 74 comments

In 1951, New Zealand temporarily became a police state. Civil liberties were curtailed, freedom of speech denied, and the Government used force against its own citizens. This film tells the story of the infamous lockout of waterside workers and the nationwide strike which followed. The film won Best Documentary and John Bates was named Best Director, Documentary, at the 2002 New Zealand Television Awards.

Ridiculous Urgency

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 11:50 pm, December 11th, 2010 - 31 comments

National, under the direction of Gerry Brownlee, continue to abuse parliamentary procedure and make bad law. They tried to ram 12 bills through on Thursday, resulting in them sitting under urgency until Saturday night. There is no proper oversight, no thinking through the possible problems with bills, and far too little chance for the public to have their say. We have procedure for a reason…

Armstrong on the constitutional review

Written By: r0b - Date published: 7:13 am, December 10th, 2010 - 41 comments

John Armstrong pulls no punches on the constitutional review, the second time in recent history that he has called the government a disgrace. Add it to the ever growing list of outrageous behaviour from the Nats. Is this the worst government for democracy in the history of NZ?

Abomination becomes law

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 9:30 am, December 9th, 2010 - 45 comments

Paul Quinn’s appalling Electoral (Disqualification of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Act passed last night with the support of just two parties – ACT and National. We’ve talked about why this law is so bad in the past. The Attorney-General agreed it is an unjustified breach of our human rights. Why did ACT, the supposed ‘Liberal Party’ vote for it?

This Government Doesn’t Trust You

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 10:34 am, December 8th, 2010 - 34 comments

You not only can expect to be spied on more after an overhaul of the SIS, but you sure as hell shouldn’t be allowed to know how they are going to do it. It’s your freedom they’re protecting, so you should expect a reduction in liberty to achieve that. And we certainly can’t be allowed […]

I beg your pardon, Mr Key

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 2:40 pm, December 7th, 2010 - 17 comments

A reader responds, pretty curtly, to John Key’s wholly inadequate explanation for why the select committee hearings on extending the SIS’s already broad powers will be secret. “It won’t be in the public interest to have it open, for a whole bunch of reasons I don’t want to go into,” Just doesn’t cut it.

Meet the new EFA same as the old EFA

Written By: r0b - Date published: 8:45 am, November 23rd, 2010 - 66 comments

In developing their replacement for the EFA the Nats have decided to limit what lobby groups can spend on election campaigning — despite strongly objecting to limits in 2008. Interesting how the responsibilities of government mean that the Nats have to repudiate so much of their irresponsible opposition rhetoric! But some of their spinsters are still stuck in the past…

Another reason why National should not be permitted a 2nd term

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 1:25 pm, November 19th, 2010 - 39 comments

CERRA, Ecan Abolition, the Supercity Acts, the Hobbit Enabling Act, Water Privatisation, Fire at Will, the Murray McCully Empowering Act… the list of laws, all passed under Urgency, that take rights off New Zealanders and give more powers to the government is endless. Now, the Police are being empowered to take DNA from anyone they arrest.

Maori seats for Auckland?

Written By: r0b - Date published: 3:10 pm, November 16th, 2010 - 8 comments

National’s handling of the Auckland SuperCity process was profoundly undemocratic in a multitude of ways. Thank goodness, and the common sense of Aucklanders, that a “Labour Mayor from South Auckland” was elected to sort out at least some of the resulting mess. Len Brown has pledged to hold talks on dedicated Maori seats on the Council. It’s great to see that Brown is open to correcting National’s injustice on this matter.

The best country money can buy

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:35 pm, October 28th, 2010 - 97 comments

Today, the Hobbit Enabling Act will be slammed through Parliament by National removing the right of employees working in the film industry to get employment rights if their contract calls them a contractor. It’s the latest in a series of anti-democratic laws that show National is the party of big business, not democracy and ordinary Kiwis.

How the right kill social democracy

Written By: Michael Foxglove - Date published: 2:00 pm, October 12th, 2010 - 55 comments

When one of the first truly social democratic governments was elected in North America it was attacked viciously from all sides. Read further if you want to know the lengths business, private media, the police, landlords, and lobbyists went to undermine the Rae Government in Ontario, Canada. There are lessons for New Zealand.

Business wants permanent rightwing dictatorship

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 9:48 am, October 6th, 2010 - 26 comments

The capitalist elite is anti-democratic to its core. The Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act (CERRA) is being held up as business’s ideal form of government. Ex-National staffer Richard Long says that Gerry Brownlee should use his CERRA powers to ‘sort out’ a slew of other ‘problems’. We should never have trusted them with this power.

John Key’s blue-eyed baby misdirection

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:00 am, October 5th, 2010 - 28 comments

John Key really does say some extraordinary things when he’s trying to placate the media, and often it works because journos are bamboozled into accepting what he says as fact. Yesterday, he defended the Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act saying the Governor-General tests the appropriateness of each CERRA law. Dead wrong.

Dompost says CERRA needs to go

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 2:00 pm, October 4th, 2010 - 19 comments

The Dompost has joined the chorus of outrage over CERRA (The Gerry Brownlee Enabling Act). Parliament got it badly, badly wrong in signing away its powers but it’s not too late to make things right. The Greens are calling for a review. Labour should join them.

EPA: Enabling poor accountability

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 9:22 am, October 4th, 2010 - 16 comments

When National announced it would create an ‘Environmental Protection Agency’ and a short-cut resource consent process for projects of ‘national significance’, the implications were clear. The new agency and process would be used to override local opposition. Sure enough, that’s what’s happening with Waterview.

Herald against Nats’ power grabs

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:34 am, October 1st, 2010 - 15 comments

The Herald’s editorial today is a strong rebuke of National’s anti-democratic power grabs. Close on the heels of CERRA is the World Cup Empowering Act, giving unfettered powers to ministers that they don’t need. The Herald’s opposition shows, again, how badly wrong Labour and the Greens got it when they voted for CERRA.

Open letter on the CERRA

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 2:05 pm, September 28th, 2010 - 25 comments

A group of 27 legal scholars from New Zealand and overseas has written an open letter outlining their deep concerns over the constitutional implications of the Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act 2010.

Key and Shirtcliffe conspire against MMP

Written By: IrishBill - Date published: 1:57 pm, September 26th, 2010 - 62 comments

Leaked notes from a meeting between Peter Shirtcliffe and Wayne Eagleson have revealed backroom dealings to kill off MMP.

We shouldn’t be surprised that the party of big business and the big-business-backed anti-MMP lobby would be colluding.

After all, it’s in all of their interests to take power from the voters and put it back in the hands of the elite.

Re: Chauvel on CERRA

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 1:44 pm, September 24th, 2010 - 18 comments

A few days ago Charles Chauvel wrote a piece on Red Alert on why Labour voted for CERRA. I have two big problems with it. 1) Labour may have won concessions that improved CERRA but they didn’t get the key one. 2) There’s a dangerous mindset in the position that Labour had to vote for dictatorship or get pilloried in the media and lose votes.

Pause For Thought # 1

Written By: Bill - Date published: 7:25 am, September 24th, 2010 - 30 comments

The suspension of normal democratic processes in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake should be an occasion to pause for thought in the light of likely future events.

Depose Gerry the First!

Written By: Bunji - Date published: 1:03 pm, September 21st, 2010 - 12 comments

Jeremy Harris has created a facebook group calling for the End of the Reign of Gerry Brownlee.

Join quick before he bans it.

The first diktats

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 8:07 am, September 21st, 2010 - 29 comments

On Thursday, our new dictator Gerry Brownlee decreed by Order in Council that the following Acts of Parliament were amended: the Building Act, the Local Government Act, the Resource Management Act, various pieces of transport legislation, and the Civil Defence Act. Most of the changes deal with minutiae of government. Some are less innocuous.