The Left: The new Social Authoritarians

The past seven-and-a-half years of the Clark dicta---- errr, government have been some of the worst for violations of civil liberties in New Zealand. This democratically* elected government is stomping over rights like there's no tomorrow (maybe thanks to global warming?). Here's a few of the attacks on liberties we've seen here recently in New Zealand:

-The sedition trial against Tim Selwyn;
-A crown owned companied fined for "contempt of parliament";
-A threat by the Communist Commission towards Air NZ for highlighting the large govt levies on ticket prices;
-Commissar for Financial Control Michael Cullen threatening the Herald with a large tax bill if it kept up criticism of the government;
-The former Electricity Commissioner sacked for saying "I stood up to the government like an independent regulator should";
-Threatening to remove the tax-exempt status of charities that criticise the government;
-Advocating a ban on anonymous donations to political parties;
-Advocating state funding of political parties during elections;

and the most terrible of them all:

-Changing a law when the party's actions were found to be illegal.

Labour, supposedly a pro-civil liberties party, is at every turn trying to curb your free speech and your right to support a political party of your choice, voluntarily. It is accepting less and less criticism of the Labour-lead government until you may be forced to say only good things about it.

These disgusting rights violations, along with the general Leftist policies of political correctness (another assault on free speech), affirmative action and other pro-minority-at-the-expense-of-the-majority policies have, once again, made an environment where the minority gets special privilage. Even if that minority's rights were abused in the past, these policies change nothing.

Although the left does get it right on some issues (and Idiot/Savant on no right turn proved that), if parties like Labour keep going the way they are, we may be a dictatorship in terms of civil liberties, as well as economic liberties.

*Just target some welfare at a disgruntled group, and they'll more than likely vote for you. No honesty required!