Democracy in Dire Straits

Written By: - Date published: 7:27 pm, June 20th, 2024 - 59 comments
Categories: democracy under attack - Tags: ,

The Fast-Track Bill is ‘fundamentally flawed” and a step towards dangerous authoritarianism, according to a legal expert and insider. Yet, his views won’t be heard in-person by the Three Monkeys of the Environment Select Committee.

Their decision is in line with the very many other decisions and actions by this increasingly more blatant neo-authoritarian coalition government. For example, the predetermined hatchet job by Bill English on Kāinga Ora cooked up in a crooked way by Chris Bishop and Bill English.

Or the flimsy ‘evidence’, like a barely readable handwritten scribble on a soggy napkin, that Erica Stanford presents to push through her ill-thought-out education initiatives without consultation with major stakeholders. This reeks of bad faith on behalf of the government.

Or the lack of meaningful modelling to give any credibility to the plans by Penny Simmonds to change the fees-free year for tertiary students.

Most if not all the actions by this coalition government appear to be based on bias, belief, and a I-know-best attitude towards the plebs and C-listers. These are the hallmarks neo-authoritarians hard at work to undermine our democracy through its own democratic means and processes.

Little New Zealand will be as immune to a downward spiral towards authoritarianism as observed in Nazi Germany and more recently in Hungary as it was to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. New Zealanders are likely to die because of this government, e.g., cancer patients who are still waiting for the promised new cancer treatments or innocent people involved in traffic accidents due to higher speed limits or workers dying at work because of willy-nilly relaxing or removing Health & Safety regulations (and no, this is not about orange cones).

A she’ll-be-right laissez-faire attitude will be our undoing, as it was elsewhere in the World and throughout history. The temptation and manipulative power of the persuasive rhetoric of authoritarian populism is not a fictional force portrayed in Hollywood movies but as real as gravity.

59 comments on “Democracy in Dire Straits ”

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  1. Anne 1
    20 June 2024 at 7:54 pm

    Most if not all the actions by this coalition government appear to be based on bias, belief, and a I-know-best attitude towards the plebs and C-listers. These are the hallmarks of neo-authoritarians hard at work to undermine our democracy through its own democratic means and processes.

    No, they don't know best and they know they don't know best! That is why academics like Justice Colin Keating never get to personally deliver their well thought through research to proposed legislation. They hate academics because they know the academics know far more than they will ever know. Hence the desire to discredit and denigrate them.

    Its all down to sociopathy… an over developed sense of their entitlement and a desire to have unfettered power. Truth, decency, compassion and fairness are not part of their make up and never can be.

    • PsyclingLeft.Always 1.1
      21 June 2024 at 9:16 am

      I have previously called Luxury Luxon and NActFirst the New Victorians…(as in, Charles Dickens would recognise their type) however I'm now wondering if New Roman is also applicable….

      • thinker 1.1.1
        22 June 2024 at 8:38 am

        On 7 sharp they called him Touchy-Luxy because he keeps touching people's arms and backs.

        • PsyclingLeft.Always 1.1.1.1
          22 June 2024 at 8:46 am

          "Touchy-Luxy…!? Well that could be hard to escape.And considering he is (was !?) sir Keys protege, should people with ponytails be aware/worried ?

          They seemingly never heard of Personal Space….where only Family and close Friends/Intimates are welcome.

  2. roblogic 2
    20 June 2024 at 11:43 pm

    If the choice boils down to fascism vs paying a bit more tax, a spoilt and selfish elite will opt for fascism.

    Elites need regular reminders of people power and that their wealth is merely a social construct

    • SPC 2.1
      21 June 2024 at 7:08 am

      In the Norman era, fascism was called fuedalism.

      • PsyclingLeft.Always 2.1.1
        21 June 2024 at 9:12 am

        And the Serf had Robin Hood..(maybe, but made for a good legend)

        Present day ? I do think the earlier apathy has/is being replaced with determination ..the huge Fight for Nature march etc. (more than a "groundswell" ! )

      • roblogic 2.1.2
        21 June 2024 at 7:02 pm

        Yanis Varoufakis calls it "techno-feudalism", which seems to be where Western Capitalism is headed.

        This year might be the most crucial yet for the future of democracy. A resurgent populist Right overshadows Europe. Trump still threatens America. Venezuela and Ecuador seem to be doing well under their new right-leaning governments. The right is in command of Poland and Italy.

        There is some weird shit happening. Right wing populists these days are decidedly working class. It could get messy.

        The neoliberal Left and its failure to hew to the will of the people, instead favouring corporate interests, should cop some flak for this situation.

        • Incognito 2.1.2.1
          21 June 2024 at 8:45 pm

          Right wing populists these days are decidedly working class.

          Just to clarify, you don’t mean that the working class is the intended target audience, do you?

  3. gsays 3
    21 June 2024 at 8:47 am

    Just to draw the lens back a bit, it can be argued that the citizenry has been 'softened up' for these sort of actions by the Covid years.

    Events out of our control, politicians seem beyond being held to account, drastic times call for drastic measures (fiscal cliffs) etc.

    • PsyclingLeft.Always 3.1
      21 June 2024 at 9:00 am

      "Softened up" ? by the "Covid years" ? wtf. It can be argued by those with an agenda….cookers etc;

      • gsays 3.1.1
        21 June 2024 at 10:27 am

        Heh, par for the course, no points made, no rebuttal just abuse.

        Attacking the messenger is a sure sign of a lack of an argument.

        • PsyclingLeft.Always 3.1.1.1
          21 June 2024 at 1:42 pm

          Heh, messenger? argument ? And you come up with some BS anecdote …."5 of those closest to me (all health professionals)",

          Yeah..right.

          • gsays 3.1.1.1.1
            21 June 2024 at 2:25 pm

            Still no rebuttal.

            Just try taking it at face value.

            Is what I state so out of odds with yr experience?

            Less about health professionals but are you and your ilk all up to date with yr 6 monthly boosters?

    • Drowsy M. Kram 3.2
      21 June 2024 at 10:34 am

      https://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/article/undoctored/cumulative-pandemic-deaths-graph-more-effective-1000-words

      Not just "softened up" – a lot of Kiwis died during the recent pandemic (tragically, a few are still losing loved ones – keep your boosters up to date!), and others have been debilitated by long COVID.

      SARS-CoV-2 (still) doesn't care what anyone thinks about Aotearoa's response to the pandemic – it's literally heartless.

      COVID-19: Michael Baker urges people to get booster jabs as New Zealand grapples with 'concerning' sixth wave [18 June 2024]
      New Zealand's sixth wave of COVID-19 cases is largely being driven by people's complacency about the virus, epidemiologist Michael Baker says.

      https://www.phcc.org.nz/briefing/science-certain-masks-work-policy-and-practice-must-support-their-use

      Beyond COVID-19: five actions which would improve the health of all New Zealanders [NZMJ, 22 May 2020]
      We need to reflect carefully on the fact that in 2020 our political leaders united in bipartisan agreement to make dramatic changes to our way of life in the interests of public health.

      Events out of our control, politicians seem beyond being held to account, drastic times call for drastic measures (fiscal cliffs) etc.

      There’s a difference between taking drastic measures for the common good, and taking drastic measures to protect the interests of donors to a political party. Imho, a unified response to overshoot eroding our quality of life is better than doing nothing, and much better than making the consequences of overshoot worse.

      • gsays 3.2.1
        21 June 2024 at 11:15 am

        The mention of boosters raises a wry smile.

        5 of those closest to me (all health professionals), are way out of date in their booster schedule. When challenged on this, there is some half arsed excuse about 'it being different now'.

        As to bi-partisan politicians, that may have occurred a couple if times but was far from the norm.

        I have no issue with the point about the obvious serving of their donor's interests. I would like to see an end to that and just have state funding for election campaigns.

        • Drowsy M. Kram 3.2.1.1
          21 June 2024 at 12:00 pm

          I would like to see an end to that and just have state funding for election campaigns.

          yes A more level political campaigning field would be nice.
          Plus NAct donors would get to keep more of their precious money wink

          https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2024/06/national-mp-david-macleod-referred-to-police-over-candidate-donations-scandal.html

          • gsays 3.2.1.1.1
            21 June 2024 at 12:16 pm

            Political donations and lobbyists are two of the most corrosive, anti democratic aspects of our current system.

            The revolving door between political staff and the 'communication sector' needs a wedge put in it.

          • Patricia Bremner 3.2.1.1.2
            21 June 2024 at 3:59 pm

            Lol, Quote of the week. DMK

            (Willis fondly imagines there will be a "Jingle in the tills of struggling businesses" after her tax cuts. I thought no jingle after rates insurance and mtg/rent … more like a fiscal deficit (cliff)) to use her hyperbole.

            [Please fix the same typo again in your user name in your next comment, thanks – Incognito]

        • Adrian 3.2.1.2
          21 June 2024 at 12:28 pm

          Ive just had mine but then Im 74, it is almost impossible for anyone between 30 and 65 to actually get one even if they are prepared to pay for it. Even having long covid won't get you a shot.

          • PsyclingLeft.Always 3.2.1.2.1
            21 June 2024 at 1:45 pm

            Are you talking Covid Booster ? Have you got a link about the impossibility?

          • David 3.2.1.2.2
            21 June 2024 at 5:36 pm

            I had my flu shot in May, my employer provides us with vouchers each year. When I went to get the flu shot, they offered me the latest covid shot as well.
            Very easy, no charge involved, or age restrictions for the covid shot.

          • roblogic 3.2.1.2.3
            21 June 2024 at 6:45 pm

            Eh? Back in May I just wandered down to the public hospital, got my jab, had a cup of coffee, went home. Easy!

            Booking and location info here:

            https://bookmyvaccine.health.nz/

    • roblogic 3.3
      21 June 2024 at 7:06 pm

      These are the narratives, and they are all bullshit.

      The Right is exploiting fear uncertainty and doubt, sowing confusion, and engaging in massive social engineering/ propaganda/ disinformation campaigns in order to hack democracy and install regimes that favour the oligarch class.

      • gsays 3.3.1
        21 June 2024 at 11:04 pm

        what are the narratives you speak of?

        And as for social engineering look no further than Arderns time in power.

        For sure they are sowing fear etc. I think that is what is called Politics 101. What appears to stick in the craw amongst my comrades is they (the right) is far better at it than the left.

        There are so many narratives that should pop the Nats and their enablers, ACT to the political dustbin, eg landlords voting themselves taxcuts, Seymour firstly denying hungry children food, then, when facing blowback, centralising school lunches. Such an anti free market move if ever there was one.

        And Hipkins wants our tax cuts as a fund raiser, we get the opposition we deserve I suppose.

        • Obtrectator 3.3.1.1
          22 June 2024 at 8:20 am

          "What appears to stick in the craw amongst my comrades is they (the right) is far better at it than the left."

          Only because they've got far more funding to do it with.

        • roblogic 3.3.1.2
          22 June 2024 at 1:51 pm

          The narratives you mentioned earlier (comment #3, way up the page now)

          Softened up for [anti democratic and radical] actions by the Covid years. Events out of our control, drastic measures, fiscal cliffs

          Talking about a 'great reset' gets you called a conspiracy nut but this exact shit has been happening for decades under different names – trickle-down, Reaganomics, neoliberalism.

          The democratic state is supposed to be the great bulwark of the people's will and their best interests against the depredations of an aristocratic class. But what happens when the State abandons the people? Revolution becomes the only option left.

  4. Hunter Thompson II 4
    21 June 2024 at 9:41 am

    Note Secretary for Justice Keating's comment in the linked article that the radical left would be equally keen to wield unconstrained power.

    No matter what sort of government we get, citizens must remain vigilant if they are to keep their fundamental freedoms.

    • Incognito 4.1
      21 June 2024 at 6:00 pm

      Unconstrained power in any hand is the antithesis of democracy.

      What constitutes “the radical left” in NZ?

      What would they do with unconstrained political power, in your view?

      Do you think they show signs of aiming for this to accomplish their goals and agenda?

  5. Ad 5
    21 June 2024 at 10:37 am

    I'm primarily bugged by the lack of causality between chucking out the RMA for this, and the imprecise future of a doubling of exports as stated by the PM.

    New Zealand has gone through multiple eras of super-fast and super-large infrastructure and industry accelerations, including:

    – Whaling and sealing and flaxing from the 1790s to the 1840s

    – Accelerated urban settlement after the conclusion of the civil war and the boom of gold mining

    – A huge civil works boom in the 1880s and 1890s

    – A further surge of civil works and public networks from the 1920s through to the 1960s

    – A massive surge in regional redevelopment in the regions in the 1970s and early 1980s

    – Huge civil works and network formation (eg broadband) from the late 2000s, and further surges of regional development through to 2023 (eg HNZ and RGF)

    So it's not like the state and large scale investment hasn't occurred in NZ, both without and with the Public Works Act, and then the RMA. They were all state-led ie politicised eras of national development right at their core.

    All of that has massively shaped our land and our society. It is who we are.

    But now we are being led into an amorphous and untargeted era of private development with little state direction at all. There's no doubt our economic performance needs to improve.

    I simply expect that the state ought to provide a path for why we are doing this and what it will do. Even a decent Regulatory Impact Statement would be a start.

    • Incognito 5.1
      22 June 2024 at 9:40 am

      But now we are being led into an amorphous and untargeted era of private development with little state direction at all. There's no doubt our economic performance needs to improve.

      I simply expect that the state ought to provide a path for why we are doing this and what it will do. Even a decent Regulatory Impact Statement would be a start.

      Indeed, the coalition government has pushed through under urgency its 100-day plan and repealed the hell out of it. Yet, they haven’t produced a cohesive and coherent plan for the future. And they won’t.

      This is a thought-provoking article: https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/06/21/no-long-term-prosperity-without-productivity/

      One striking observation is New Zealand placed 63rd out of the 67 in the sub-factor ‘productivity & efficiency’.

      The coalition government’s ‘solution’ is more roads with fewer pot holes, fewer road cones, and increased speed limits. And tax cuts, of course, because nothing lifts productivity-per-capita as domestic spending on ice creams and DVD movies for the kids once they come home from their heavily-subsidised privately owned ECE.

  6. Thebiggestfish7 6
    21 June 2024 at 12:50 pm

    It’s just a continuation of the precedent set by Jacinda Ardern. She and her government has a lot to answer for. They are directly responsible for the coalition of chaos we have now and she paved the way for authoritarianism to be acceptable.

    • SPC 6.1
      21 June 2024 at 1:08 pm

      Then why did lockdowns and mandates in Oz result in an Albanese (he of the attempt to to fulfill UNDRIP with a One Voice Referendum) government?

      • gsays 6.1.1
        21 June 2024 at 1:22 pm

        It's not comparing apples with apples, contrasting our response to Oz's.

        We are very remote, relatively sparsely populated islands.

        Oz has many millions on their 'back door'.

        Witness their extremely punitive attitude to boat people.

        • SPC 6.1.1.1
          21 June 2024 at 2:59 pm

          To dismiss both of your arguments.

          1.We are more populated per land area than Oz.

          2.The people trying to come to Oz as refugees are not from their neighbourhood SE Asia – they travel by plane and then on via boat.

          The two nations governments applied the same lockdown and mandate policy and then were replaced.

          Here the opposition occasionally complained about the extremity of the policy, so they sought no mandate to be “authoritarian” themselves afterward – certainly not on matters less immediately threatening.

          • gsays 6.1.1.1.1
            21 June 2024 at 11:08 pm

            Hardly a dismissal, more an acknowledgement, Oz sees boat people as a threat, here, they are more likely seen as heroes.

    • PsyclingLeft.Always 6.2
      21 June 2024 at 2:02 pm

      Jacinda Ardern. She and her government has a lot to answer for.

      Ah…is that the World Government you are talking about? The one Helen Clark and the U.N. and the commies and the lizard people are in?

      Is your tin foil hat protecting you?

      • gsays 6.2.1
        21 June 2024 at 2:26 pm

        You really are bereft of an argument.

        Chocka block with the ad hominems though.

      • weka 6.2.2
        21 June 2024 at 4:01 pm

        I thought John Key was the lizard.

      • roblogic 6.2.3
        21 June 2024 at 6:53 pm

        Concern about state overreach is legitimate, that's why Labour set up a Covid 19 review. Abuse of power is unacceptable no matter who does it. JA didn't "set a precedent" she responded to an emergency. Just like John Key responded to the Christchurch quakes and installed King Gerry as feudal lord of Canterbury with the power to bulldoze the entire central city and destroy the life's work of thousands of people.

        National always abuses power for the sake of crony capitalism. Labour exercises power for legitimate reasons, protecting the wellbeing of Kiwis. There is a massive difference. National DGAF about democracy, to them it gets in the way of plunder and is best avoided.

        • PsyclingLeft.Always 6.2.3.1
          21 June 2024 at 8:36 pm

          Well…obviously. i could have said similar but cant be arsed nuancing with Covid deniers about why we needed to protect NZ's vulnerable…from the death toll that other let it rip countries found. A dreadful, avoidable tragedy.

          • gsays 6.2.3.1.1
            21 June 2024 at 11:10 pm

            Who is denying Covid?

            Hard to engage with one who sees things that aren't there.

            But all them are cookers.

    • Incognito 6.3
      21 June 2024 at 4:38 pm

      Interesting.

      Can you elaborate?

      For example, what should the previous government have done to bulwark our democratic system against these threats that now appear to become more real, in your opinion?

      • roblogic 6.3.1
        21 June 2024 at 7:09 pm

        Entrench the 3 waters legislation to hamstring attempts by NACT1 to sell us down the river

        • Incognito 6.3.1.1
          21 June 2024 at 8:48 pm

          Do you consider selling SOEs and State-owned assets as a direct threat to our democracy in the same way as the naked power-grab by the Fast-Track Bill?

        • Maurice 6.3.1.2
          21 June 2024 at 11:43 pm

          The last Govt. attempted to entrench 3 (10) Waters and made a hash of it.

          https://www.national.org.nz/mahuta_was_working_on_entrenchment_for_weeks

          [a nice link to the National Party!]

          The present Govt. may well have learnt that lesson and have a more resilient methodology.

          • Incognito 6.3.1.2.1
            22 June 2024 at 9:25 am

            The present Govt. may well have learnt that lesson and have a more resilient methodology.

            Yes and No. The coalition government has not learnt anything from the previous government or history at all and is simply repeating the same capitalist powerplay in which economic power [by capitalists] trumps political power [by Parliament].

            The coalition government’s ‘methodology’ is to bypass democratic safeguards at all cost and handover as much power as possible to the private sector. One way is using the force of legal commercial contracts, which, BTW, are often shrouded in secrecy through confidentiality clauses and the likes, even when one of the parties is the Crown and one of the major stakeholders is the people of New Zealand.

            Here’s a great description by Shane Jones:

            "One Parliament cannot bind another Parliament, but all parliaments will respect the sanctity of long-term contracts. And I think if the developers in the new frontier of gas boosting see that they've got an enforceable long-term contract with a bunch of users, the there'll be no way that the green politburo can destroy the New Zealand economy again."

            https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/519107/how-the-government-plans-to-give-certainty-to-gas-investors

            And this is one of the reasons why Shane Jones wants and needs the Fast-Track Approvals Bill to give him the unbridled power to achieve his agenda.

    • Mike the Lefty 6.4
      21 June 2024 at 5:05 pm

      Labour is responsible for National's cockups?

      Talk about not taking responsibility for your own actions.

    • observer 6.5
      21 June 2024 at 6:22 pm

      Obviously you don't mean the Covid response in 2020, because that was judged by the people at the ensuing election. That is exactly how it is supposed to work.

      But we don't expect you to come back to us with any specifics on this alleged Ardern "precedent". We've all learned in the past few years that going beyond rants to giving examples and evidence is where the dialogue ends.

    • Obtrectator 6.6
      21 June 2024 at 10:54 pm

      What other respondents have said. Say what you like here, but be prepared to justify it with facts and reasoned argument. Not seeing much of either from you so far.

  7. SPC 7
    21 June 2024 at 8:51 pm

    The Taxpayers Union showing interest in matters unrelated to government spending, or taxation. One wonders how many of these polls are not publicised if they do not get the result they want.

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2024/06/taxpayers-union-poll-shows-strong-support-for-fast-track-approvals-bill.html

  8. mac1 8
    22 June 2024 at 10:35 am

    Democracy may be in dire straits but so too is the inter island ferry which can't even get out into the Strait, fortunately in this case….

    The NZ Initiative has the answer. Use the fast track process to build a bridge over Cook Strait. No problems there except for one rather large pothole…..

    Come in, Simeon! Potholes, power pylons, now the Pontus Maximus!

    https://www.nzinitiative.org.nz/reports-and-media/opinion/bridge-to-the-future/

    • Maurice 8.1
      22 June 2024 at 11:52 am

      Surely all due to six years of neglect?

      • mac1 8.1.1
        22 June 2024 at 12:03 pm

        Isn't it interesting how problems all fit into cycles of three, sixes and nines?

        I'd rather look at causes such as privatisation, corporate incompetence and profiteering, short-term thinking, and political will.

    • SPC 8.2
      22 June 2024 at 12:29 pm

      It's satire, not policy advice.

      • mac1 8.2.1
        22 June 2024 at 3:36 pm

        I am not sure that our CoC is aware of the difference. But isn't it lovely to see them being satirised.

        "In any case, the funding and financing of the Cook Strait Bridge basically takes care of itself. We’d obviously turn this bad boy into a public-private partnership, slap on a $2 toll and ram it through the new fast-track legislation. Plus, if we borrow from the playbook of the last iteration of the Roads of National Significance, we could recover costs by neglecting routine maintenance elsewhere."