This govt. legislation will change our country like never before – learn about it like your country depends on it – because it does

In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:

David Seymour’s Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater Risks

Why Seymour’s exorbitant waste of taxpayers’ money could be the least of concern

The money for Seymour (~$230mn) is a rub, but there’s something more jarring hidden in the Ministry of Regulation remit

Seymour —

“In some ways, this (Ministry) is a giant exercise in allowing voters to identify bad regulation so we can stop making it, so we can delete it, so we can get rid of it, so people can spend more time doing transformational activity.”

I wasn’t far off with the warnings.

Melanie Nelson recently wrote an excellent summation about the rather boringly named “Regulatory Standards Bill” (RSB) – a piece of legislation invoked by Seymour as the partner to the Treaty Principles Bill.

She warns that while the pre-law bill has largely flown under the radar, its implications – and risks – are profound.

Jane Kelsey, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Auckland has also highlighted its history, meaning and risks.

To summarise the impact of the RSB in my very simplistic layman terms:

It basically gives the Minister of Regulation extraordinary powers to decide which laws are “good”, which bills (laws) should be killed off or re-shaped before they even get off the ground, what principles all laws need to adhere to, and it also opens up our law-making process to significant manipulation and public pressure campaigns – the ones that ACT affiliates like multi-million dollar cashed up Taxpayers Union and Hobsons Pledge are most adept at.

In her article, Nelson highlights the creation of an effective “legal strait jacket” around our lawmakers and courts:

One made in the image of Atlas Network ideals – which are to my simplistic mind – free market is king, trickle down economics works and corporations & the wealthiest are supreme ideals – consistently hidden under the guise of “personal freedom”, “property rights” and “equality”.

Melanie already covered most of it in her article, but I want to highlight 5 significant points:

• The Regulatory Standards Bill (RSB) will establish a regulatory standards board to keep the courts out of law-making That goes against the way our democratic systems are set up to balance power between our three branches of government: the Courts (Judiciary), the Executive, and the legislature (MPs) i.e. it’s a power grab that tears at our constitutional framework.
• His law will allow libertarian ideals to be entrenched into law e.g. free market, pro-property, and those demonstrated by this Coalition government in practice i.e. anti-environmentalism, anti-Te-Tiriti, pro-property rights, pro-ownership rights, laws can not impose obligations retrospectively4 etc.
• The power he gives himself is extraordinary in its scope and potential. For example, the Minister can direct a Board to investigate regulations (laws) that do not comply with Seymour’s defined criteria. Alternatively, the public – and pressure groups such as Taxpayers Union – can lobby for it.
• The “regulation” he’s talking about is not simply second-tier regulations; the bill would impose its discipline on the drafting of statutes by ministers and MPs. i.e. drafting of bills to become law
• It will penalise NZ for any future legislation that aims to roll back e.g. fast track detrimental impacts….i.e it binds NZ to the neoliberal, trickle down, pro-corporate model

Newsroom’s Jonathan Milne reported last month that a prior version of the Bill provided a role for the Courts.

That no longer exists.

This speaks to the brazenness of this government – as well as how weak we as the public are in the absence of significant public interest journalism and mouthpieces.

In Wellington last month, Seymour made the farcical, non-evidentiary claim that:

“New Zealand’s low wages can be blamed on low productivity, and low productivity can be blamed on poor regulation.”

No mention of how productivity genuinely improves – science, investment, technology, education, happiness, infrastructure, environment.

Finally, Seymour’s bill and his success relies on the opaque nature of the concepts he uses, an intellectually weak and morally vacuous PM and government Cabinet, and a weak and complicit media.

Seymour will be betting that through couching his legislation with positive words and claims, he can win the public relations battle on it e.g. Seymour claims his RSB will help promote “higher productivity, and higher wages” in NZ. Non-evidence and fact based claims are Seymour’s forte.

Without resources, money and mouthpieces, it’s hard to battle:

One ring to rule them all; Lord of the Rings.

One law to rule them all; Aotearoa New Zealand.

Written submissions on the Treaty Principles Bill close on 7 January, with consultation on the Regulatory Standards Bill ending on 13 January.

Submission link: https://consultation.regulation.govt.nz/rsb/have-your-say-on-regulatory-standards-bill/

Original article: https://mountaintui.substack.com/p/8-act-party-creates-one-ring-to-rule/comments

REMEMBER TREATY PRINCIPLES BILL too – 7 January