Well, this crept up on everyone. Parliament has, just this afternoon, repealed the Electoral Finance Act.
Looks like Labour saw the light, too, calling the EFA a "mistake". All parties -except the Greens, whoopdie-doo- voted for the repeal.
An excellent day for free speech in New Zealand!
I'm pleased I'm not the only one who needs reminding of the new National Government:
"Even Speaker Lockwood Smith stumbled when he referred to Opposition leader Phil Goff as "prime minister".
Perhaps it's because I was six years old when they attained power, but whenever I hear the word "government" I automatically think of Helen Clark and her cronies, and their associated ideology. It's rather surreal to see her as a backbencher, after having her on TV for most nights during the last nine years.
Looks like I'm not the only one, either!
At his Speech From the Throne today, John Key said :
"In pursuing this goal of economic growth my Government will be guided by the principle of individual freedom and a belief in the capacity and right of individuals to shape and improve their own lives."
There are things that John Key wants to do, that will be applauded by Libertarians. However, as Lindsay Perigo notes, is it all rational to get our hopes up? There are still many anti-freedom elements to the new regime.
Nevertheless, it's still much better having a government that will actually listen to its citizenry (RE: electoral finance act, anti-smacking*) and will at least hold self-responsibility as its ideal, than the all-arrogant and all-pervasive Labour Government of 1999-2008.
*Admittedly, Key had a role to play in this as well.
...is that, in Government, the Greens are ignored. From the article:
Green Party co-leader Russel Norman said New Zealand should be showing leadership and focus on targets not on the rules around farming and forests.
"Our actions to exclude our largest pollution sources, can only lead to other countries seeking to do the same," Dr Norman said.
"If this happens we will undermine the talks and we will be targeted as a global climate criminal. Tourism Minister John Key will oversee a great leap backwards in our tourism industry."
So, according to Russel Norman, it's perfectly alright to try and cripple New Zealand's greatest money-making industry in the name of a completely arbitrary environmental goal, which is out of our control anyway, and whose only purpose anyway is to destroy human industry and capitalism?
And it's all kind of ironic: New Zealand's emission's are 26% above 1990 levels, compared to the great satan's (US) emissions of 14%. NZ has been, over the nine years of the Clark government, emitting more than the US above 1990 levels. The Clark Government has been one of the greatest proponents of the climate change regime, yet we've done less to get our emissions down than that all-evil US.
Which tells you how much of a farce Kyoto really is.
Finally, the effort of campaigning for the 2008 election is finally over. We have a new Prime Minister and new ruling parties. Helen Clark has resigned from her position in the Labour Party, as has Michael Cullen. Winston Peters is finally out of politics. The good thing about the large gap in the party vote (which did actually reflect the polls!) is that, even with Maori, Progressives, and the Greens, Labour could not get to the magic 62 seats needed to rule. National, however, needs only ACT to get that number.
Libertarianz got 1,070 party votes. However, as traditional supporters of Libertarian ideals wanted to vote the Labour Government out of power, we got more votes for single electorate candidates, including Richard McGrath in Wairarapa who got 419 votes -we're planning to get even more next time!
I'm pleased to see that Simon Bridges in National got such a large number of votes over Winston Peters -Bridges got twice the votes of Peters, which shows us that Tauranga is now firmly behind National. Not that anyone who turns up to his functions are under 80, anyway.
It's also good to see that ACT got a good result, to place Sir Roger Douglas and John Boscawen in Parliament -so hopefully, we can see the end of the Electoral Finance Act in the next three years, hopefully sooner rather than later.
And although he'll provide some support for the new government, I'm not particularly happy to see Peter Dunne back again -those votes should've gone to Katrina Shanks.
Also, I wasn't happy to see Central Wellington go to Grant Robertson, when it should've gone to Stephan Franks -a much better choice.
So, apart from those two gripes, I'm happy to say that this election has delivered a pleasing result. Finally, Aunty Helen is out of power -lets see if Uncle John does a better job of delivering freedom and capitalism to NZ.
According to the latest 3 News poll, yet another term for the corrupt, socialist Labour government currently ruling the country is looking ever-more likely.
National hadn't changed its place since the last poll, polling at 45%, and Labour went down to 37.5% -however, the real problem is the rise of the Greens, who polled at above 8%. So, given that National has a coalition with ACT and United Future (providing both parties stay in parliament), Labour and the Greens have between them only one less seat, but given the extra three "overhang" seats, neither coalition will be able to rule.
Therefore, the Maori Party chooses who will be the next Prime Minister. And although they've said that they could work with National and form the next government, they could more or less goes anywhere.
Which, in effect, means that New Zealand government for the next few years will go to whoever promises the most handouts to Maori, and all the PC stupidity that comes with modern policy surrounding race, regardless of who wins the next election.
Which, in effect, really peeves me off. MMP for you -the most power goes to the small third parties who make up for numbers with, perhaps, only one or two MPs!
At last, rock-solid proof that voting Labour really is dangerous for your health. Instead of lining the pockets of ad agencies, simply surfing YouTube could've done the trick for other political parties campaign advertising.
Also a delightfully politically-incorrect video on social etiquette that might annoy some feminists.Another Assault on Kiwi Education is on its way with Labour's recent legislative maneuver to raise the legal school leaving age to 18, unless the student attends Polytech or University. In response, 15 High School Principals on Auckland's North Shore have said that, should the act pass, they will deliberately violate it.
It is not hard to understand why. Why would a school principal want to keep students who have already expressed an intention to leave school -usually to go into the workforce- and who would simply cause violence if they were kept back? Why would a school want to waste money on the hiring of new teachers, adjusting wages to compensate for the extra stress put on already-existing teachers, extra school teaching material, and new classrooms for students who don't want to learn?
On top of that, keeping students in school prevents them from getting productive jobs out in the workforce, where they could truly be productive. Jobs and apprenticeships also provide the best education for more hands-on students looking for a career in the trades -which can provide an excellent source of income, but the current Labour Government believes that education can only be done in big, monotonous buildings, at little desks, subject to whatever the teachers says. It's this failure to differentiate between schooling and education where Labour fails miserably. What it all comes down to, is more resources required from a less productive economy.
As thus, the responsibility falls onto the parents and taxpayers to pay for the extra students, who don't to be there, and get no value out of the education system. Parents and taxpayers are getting more for less -and the strain on schools could jeopardise their own child(ren)'s education.
The same deluded principle has also been applied to Universities. For various reasons, the Left has taught New Zealand that everyone has a right to go to University. As a result, more people have come out of the University system with degrees which are worth nothing to an employer, thanks to everyone else having one. More money is being used to fund students who go and produce less, on the whole, and who would be more successful in the trades -where New Zealand has a major deficit.
However, University is hardly compulsory -whereas this current proposal will make school attendance compulsory.
In the end, all this stupid proposal boils down to is election-buying, and trying to pretend that education under Labour has not been pitiful. As proof, John Key is also supporting the proposal. Now try to argue that it ISN'T election buying!
This is a chain email that I've started, to raise awareness in New Zealand about the true culprit of the high price of oil in New Zealand:
___________________________________________________________________
To the citizens of New Zealand:
Recently, you may have received an email or two telling you to boycott big oil companies, that they are the cause of today's pains at the pump. Think for a second: are they? Is it they who take 50% of you petrol costs without your consent, stuffs it into their pocket, and then walks away without you knowing, or having agreed to the "transaction"?
NO.
Who claims to use 50% of your petrol money for roading -on continually congested Auckland streets only?
Who claims to use the money to buy a train system costing over $690,000,000 -when NASA can land a probe on Mars for over $200,000,000 LESS?
Who claims to use the money for new infrastructure, when every other week we hear of an old lady or family FORCED out of their home for a motorway that NEVER gets built?
Think about it: Your GOVERNMENT is the real thief here. Your GOVERNMENT takes HALF of your petrol money -and ends up using it on BUGGER ALL to help New Zealand!
Government is supposed to be representative of New Zealand citizens -but is this TRUE representation? NO!
The quick answer to rising petrol costs is: BOYCOTT THE GOVERNMENT! Don't believe government propaganda and election promises -what it really wants is YOUR MONEY!
If you want true representation, for the government to truly listen to the voices of the New Zealand people, boycott governmental lies and control! Take back YOUR life and YOUR liberty!
PASS IT ON!
Two budgets were released on Wednesday this week. One was the typical tax-and-spend budget promulgated by Helen Clark and Michael Cullen, promising a "tax cut" of $16 a week that will be eaten up shortly by inflation and the rising cost of living; the other was the Libertarianz Alternative Budget, that was put out by Libertarianz Leader Bernard Darnton. (A full spreadsheet outlining the budget in detail can also be downloaded from that page.)
Libertarianz will cut government spending and give back public money in the form of a true tax cut, $220 dollars per week. Libertarianz will slash the regulations and taxes on our economy, allowing New Zealand to truly surpass Australia in living standards and a growing economy; and help the poor and disadvantaged in society -by giving them back the money that was took from them, and regurgitated out in the form of "benefits."
Libertarianz will also enable New Zealand to defend itself properly, by buying new military equipment, such as brand new fighter jets. Libertarianz believes that a free nation should be able to defend itself, and works towards that end.
Libertarianz will paying no-hopers on the welfare state to breed, allowing voluntary charity and a work ethic to take its place. By legalizing victimless crimes, Libertarianz will put more resources into fighting real crime, and getting New Zealand away from the #1 spot in sexual assault, property crime and child abuse, in the world.
As well as the things mentioned above, Libertarianz will create, within a few years, one of the most dynamic, diverse and flexible economies in the world being able to adapt to changing market conditions rather than stumbling behind the rest of the developed world in GDP.
It's enough to make you vote Libertarianz!
When will these strikes end? There have been more in 1 year alone than I can count. The most recent example is the Junior Doctors' Strike, taking place this week.
I'm not a unionist, but for this time I have to ask: who can blame them? The New Zealand public hospital system is in a wreck -there's no flexibility, work hours are very long, and wages are low compared to other countries. If you're a top doctor in this country, you either enter the private sector, as Wellington's top heart surgeon did last year, or you go overseas, usually across the ditch to Australia or further abroad, to the United States.
And it's this reality that sees NZ health services fall increasingly behind every year. Constantly, more and more money goes into these services, and constantly, the same results. The same socialist shoddy planning and negative results.
With a health system like ours, it's no wonder why so many people are off to Australia. At least people there have the good sense to go to the private health service for most things.
Oh yes, and Australians are paying their arms and feet for their private health care!
More socialist destruction of business -small business, not "evil" big business has come out from the government today. From Stuff:
"changes to be made to the Employment Relations Act:
* Someone working a standard eight-hour day would be entitled to a minimum of two 10-minute paid rest breaks and a half hour unpaid meal break throughout the day. The breaks would have to be fairly timed so a meal break was taken as near as practicable to the middle of the work period. If an employment agreement had more generous entitlements, then these would apply.
* Employers would be required to provide, where reasonable and practical, facilities and breaks for employees who wished to breastfeed. A code of employment practice would guide employers on how to uphold the obligations."
This little piece of legislation got me thinking: who is really hurt by Socialist taxes and regulations? Big business, which is supposedly the great morass of evil, or small business, set up by poor or middle class people, with a small clientèle?In accordance with NZ's problem's with youth violence, ghastly schools and drug abuse, PM Helen Clark and National Party Leader John Key have both proposed solutions to these problems which include compulsory education until 18, boot camps for young offenders and pouring NZ$150 million into our education system. But will it work to improve our already failed PC public education system? Phil Howison, Libertarianz party spokesman, thinks not.
"Forcing students to stay at school until they are 18 will cause unruly classrooms, bored students, stressed teachers and an increased burden for taxpayers" says Libertarianz education spokesman Phil Howison. "It is essentially an admission of defeat for state education. If eleven years in state schools leaves most students unemployable, what difference can adding two years make?" Howison asks."
An interesting observation, at the high school I attend, is that most senior students (especially in Year 13) have already left school -and fair enough. In spite of the effects of collectivism and altruism in our education system, as I've already explained, it also provides no incentive for students who want to pursue careers in the trades -builders, plumbers, electricians, etc- to stay in school, as other institutions, such as apprenticeships, polytechs, and specialized colleges offer better courses in those careers. Many students also go into the workforce in those later years, providing more time for the less academically-inclined students to pursue their careers than they otherwise would have attending schools.
These students, who don't want to be at school for rational reasons, would put a strain in school resources, especially as students who do want to stay at school need them more. Because of the compulsion to stay at school, these students would also have an incentive to misbehave, and to simply skip school as goes on every day. Which leads to another point Phil makes:
"Forget about Key's boot camps - schools these days seem to be just as rife with violence, bullying and substance abuse as the prisons. But all teenagers, not just youth offenders, are forced to attend! Clark's scheme [to spend an extra $150 million to "clean up" public schools] will take many young people out of the workforce where they are learning to be self-sufficient and productive, leaving them with no choice but to accept government handouts."
Which is the flip side of the government's "schooling=productivity" argument. Schooling can only result in future productivity as long as the student wants to learn. For any student who doesn't want to learn, and to instead do other things with their life, education becomes a useless investment. As the returns on that investment lower, students are more likely to leave school. As public school is fundamentally an academic institution, the more hands-on students are likely to leave school earlier than the academically-inclined students.
National Leader John Key's plan, says Howison, is little better. John Key proposes army-style "boot-camp" courses for young offenders, with government pouring millions of dollars into these courses to straighten out young offenders. While I don't disagree with an army-style boot-camp solution -omitting the government-funding- for reducing the repeat offending rate, it will only lower the crime rate superficially. The real solutions lies in getting rid of the rampant NZ underclass culture of entitlement to the money of the truly productive, which destroys self-esteem and promotes youth violence, and destroys and sense of responsibility. As I said before:
"How can a man with no respect for himself and his achievements possibly have respect for others and their achievements?"
So, we have problems with gang shootouts, daily stabbings, murder over graffiti and bodies floating down rivers, but apparently, according to the New Zealand government, that simply doesn't matter. Instead, it's far more important that parents get arrested over flicking their son's ear to stop them from possibly killing themselves from running over the road.
Last month, a man was arrested under NZ's new anti-smacking legislation in central Christchurch. The do-gooder who called the police was an schoolteaher, and within a few minutes was surrounded by five police. Now charges have been laid against him. I wonder how many murders were going on when the police were dealing with this man, who potentially stopped his child's death.
Since I'm in a bit of a rush now, I'll get more details when they arise.
The Electoral Finance Bill/Act came into effect two days ago, meaning that any voices who oppose the government can effectively be silenced by the power of the gun, the government deciding who's fit to receive money to campaign and who isn't, and who is allowed to donate money and who isn't (all the while supporting the ideas of those who they don't support with their own tax money).
The first casualty on this war on free speech, ironically, is Helen Clark. At the start of the new year, a group called "People Power" threw a rock through the window of her electoral office in Mount Albert, to protest the act. It wouldn't be the first time someone has vandalized Helen Clark's electoral office; the first time, however, the offender was charged with sedition (!).
Tim Shadbolt, the usually Labour-leaning and provocative mayor of New Zealand's southernmost city Invercargill is now touting the opposition to the Act, telling his citizens and those of the entire country to not vote Labour.
To protest this act further, Cameron Slater of Whale Oil and Andy Moore of The Section 59 Blog have started up www.dontvotelabour.org.nz, and they could be the first people brought to court under the new law.
...but where's their $1200 that supports claim that the Act will stop? Maybe they should realize that the $1200 cap on personal anonymous donations is truly pitiful compared to the $4.8 million of public money Labour spent on election campaigning in 2005. But which party received the most anonynous funding last year? ACT!
Or perhaps you'd like to do a Chris Trotter, getting quickly off the actual issues to do a bit of scaremongering non-existent concepts in his twisted, Marxist view of reality.
If there's any better argument against the Electoral Finance Bill, it'll be coming next year. As I've discussed below, the Electoral Finance Bill is the primary reason for Labour's recent slip in the polls -and the rise of National so that it can govern alone.
Democracy isn't perfect, but when it comes to legislation like the Electoral Finance Bill, voters can use their power to oust the government that enacted it, and, at the least, influence future governments to repeal it. In a free and fair democracy, regardless of how much advertising is put up to influence voters to change their minds, truly terribly acts like this will never keep any government in power for long.
The Electoral Finance Bill won't destroy Labour because it'll lose support from the centre, it'll destroy Labour because of loss of support from the left. Hone Harawira, a hard Maori Party leftist who detests anything white in NZ, has come out in direct opposition to the Bill. Tim Shadbolt, the mayor of Invercargill, has done the same thing, promising to break the law. The Maori party, who generally vote with Labour on most issues, stands in the opposition. Unfortunately, the Greens who generally have a good track record on issues of free speech, have followed Labour like the headless chickens they are. The Human Rights Commission, the Law Society and even Greenpeace (!) have voiced opposition to the Bill, although whether Labour will be hypocrites when it comes to leftist violations it yet to be seen (which it probably will be).
Add on the complete lack of support from the middle class, and you get a beheading spectacular in nature.
The recent controversy surrounding the Electoral Finance Bill has had its impact on the most recent public opinion poll, and it's hurting Labour severely:
-Labour slips to just 35%, one of its lowest for a long time.
-John Key is on 35% for preferred PM, Helen Clark is at 30%. (the other 35% is made up of various third-party candidates)
-National is in the fifties, which means it can govern alone.
-NZ First and the Greens dip below five percent, which means that, providing the pools are accurate, they'd need to have an electorate to stay in parliament (which hopefully they won't have).
Lindsay Perigo discusses the implications of this poll on SOLO. With any due luck, the results will stay like this during the election -the one poll that truly matters.
The Electoral Finance Bill, opposed by the Human Rights Commission, the Law Society and even Greenpeace, is set to pass before long. However, there is one way we can stop it dead in its track, without Helen Clark being able to do anything: that thing is to get the NZ Governor General, Anand Satyanand, to not sign it. A petition has been put forward to make him refuse to sign the bill, by the tireless freedom fighters on Kill the Bill! So do so, before it's too late!
~Callum
Auckland has staged its second march against the Electoral Finance Bill, which took place yesterday. And a much larger crowd turned up, matching the 5,000 that John Boscawen, who the organizer of all of these marches, wanted. Keep up the good work, guys!
It was two days ago, but I'm pleased to announce that the march against the Electoral Finance Bill (that I couldn't attend, but had several friends and family attending) here in Wellington was a success, with 200 or thereabouts turning out. Unfortunately for the protesters some Young Labour idiots happened to be in town, drowning the protestors out, but apart from that everyone had a good time.
Also, Auckland's going to have another go on December 1, at 2:30pm. Apparently 2000 protesters were not "good enough" for not good enough for Helen Clark, so John Boscawen is calling on 5000-or more-to turn up then.
