Groan. During a special visit to the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch (wearing her hijab, of course) today, Dear Leader once again said she wants to attack one of the fundamental freedoms in a democracy.

Although some of her supporters read our site, it doesn’t seem that she does or she will have seen the repeated message from all of our editors — Geoffrey, Eva and Roger — that it’s a very bad idea.

Her crony Justice Minister, Andrew Little, stated this intention last year, and it seems that limiting one of the specific provisions in the Bill of Rights Act further than how it is limited with existing laws and take the country further towards not just Authoritarianism (which we are already along the road to anyway), but Totalitarianism is fine by her.

According to this report on the Newshub website:

Labour had promised change this term but failed, but on Thursday renewed its pledge to make it happen.

“We haven’t been able to deliver that last term but my intention would be, if we’re able to form Government, that we would… Religion hasn’t been included in that, my view is that does need to change and that would be our plan if we were privileged enough to form Government again”

Labour is hoping to govern alone and knock out the New Zealand First hurdle.

It’s good that Winston of NZ First opposes this, as do National and Act.

To repeat what has been stated on here before, there are several dodgy religions in the world, and dodgy extreme sects within Islam, such as Wahabists and Salifists which have been responsible for most of the terrorism. If their frankly unacceptable beliefs were given legal protection they would be certain to make full use of it against their critics.

But Dear Leader’s grasp of how things work in the real world is clearly deficient.

And as for her beloved virtue signaling in her hijab, there is a good criticism of that by a Muslim on the Stuff website here.

The runway is orientated north–south, the taxiways are at different orientations, although the one in the foreground of the view has obviously been truncated from a runway in the intervening years.

An account of Tuesday evening’s ‘Save the Airport’ meeting organised by National Party candidate Tim Costley is here.

by Geoffrey Churchman

When I saw Richard Mansell’s nomination for one of the two vacant seats on the Waikanae Community Board I was delighted: Richard will make an ideal member with his love for the Waikanae ambiance, his involvement in community causes and, naturally, his business acumen.

We met to discuss the role and his ambitions as a board member over coffee in Relish, one of the particularly nice cafés Waikanae is endowed with, in what can be considered the most historic part of the town.

He quickly made clear that he is not running for the WCB to push his business interests (which are not in the Waikanae Ward anyway) and is genuine about wanting to help achieve the best for Waikanae residents, the town he has lived in for over 50 years since he was 5 years old.  Needless to say, he has a very good knowledge of the town’s history and is aware of what potential scenarios exist with housing development northwards which NZ’s relentless population growth will ensure happens.

Helping Waikanae folks where possible with new economic opportunities in predominately home-based businesses, as well as preserving what’s good about their lifestyle, is his ambition.

One of the immediate development issues that the WCB will be dealing with is the controversial Summerset plans for a large retirement village just east of the Expressway, nestled between Park Ave and Ferndale. (We’ll be posting more on that).

He is in accord with all the things that I wanted to see happen before quitting the board, including solid progress towards a proper new library, a new community hall for Waikanae beach, and better facilities for Waikanae Park including proper ancillary buildings – at present there aren’t even toilets there so what do people do when caught short?

Like me he is keen to see extended the river bank walking and cycling tracks east of the railway bridge towards Reikorangi – at present once past where the water treatment plant is, there is little alternative to the road which has insufficient pedestrian space for sharing with road vehicles.

When it comes to dealing with KCDC bureaucracy he obviously has plenty of experience and we have common views about the way the whole set-up functions.  He readily agrees that the organisation seems somewhat unwieldy, but from his business point of view it’s good for him as he is involved in building overflow accommodation for the staff who have no workspace in the HQ building.

Understandably, he was interested in what led to my and Jill Griggs quitting: the way I put it, in the battle of the people versus the council bureaucracy I made a tactical retreat from fighting powerful forces (the Chief Executive and Mayor plus 4 sycophantic councillors) on the fields to fighting in the mountains.  He knows that among elected members he’ll have allies as well as those who are unhelpful.

But he needs your support first — so when your voting papers arrive mark “1” next to his name!

Dear Councillors, 

Re: information concerning the Gateway and the “Consultation“

The Mayor, in various newspaper columns and Councillor Buswell in press releases have told everyone in Kapiti that there was resounding public support for the Gateway. The evidence they have relied on is the Maclean Park Management Plan Refresh in 2017 (“MPMP”).

The KCDC website repeats the same story.

“Improving the Kāpiti Island departure point and providing an iconic visitor experience has been a discussion point for our community for many years. It was consulted on during the 2017 Maclean Park Te Ūruhi Development Plan and funding for a Gateway is signalled in the Council’s 2018–38 Long term plan, and set aside in both 2019/20 and 2020/21 Annual Plans.web site

The KCDC Application to the PGF states:

“Extensive public consultation has been undertaken on the proposal to build a Kāpiti Gateway. This has taken place in four phases: 

1) As part of the Maclean Park Management Plan refresh in 2017, many submissions called for a Kāpiti Island Visitor Centre to be established on the south side of the Tikotu Stream.  (pages 18/34)

However, when one reads the Maclean Park Management Plan refresh  2017 one finds there were virtually no submissions made in favour of the Gateway. The MPMP says 1500 people were consulted. The number who made comment on the gateway  was only 46. The Consultation is clearly set out in the PGF Application:

Lumin have been working closely with the Kāpiti Coast District Council since September 2016 providing professional services in stakeholder engagement,…. Work to date has involved extensive consultation, with more than 1,500 people engaged (page 6)

The actual number of those who commented on the Gateway as biosecurity and supported the idea was 3,  those wanting an information centre was 17. This is the extract from the councils documents. 

“Table 2 (page 10)

Comments regarding Area A – Northern Entrance 

Kāpiti Island Gateway (46 responses) 

• Make any development a Kāpiti Coast visitor centre (17) 
• Collaborate with boat club (4) Improved access to the northern end (3) 
• Small biosecurity centre (3) 
• Too expensive (7) and needs to be paid for by business (2)”

Only 3 wanted a bio centre, 17 a visitor centre: = 20

Anyone interested in the truth would say 3 out of 1500, or at best 17 out of 1,500 shows enormous opposition, not support. To so mislead the PGF and all Ratepayers needs an apology, a retraction.

President Trump wants to use Kapiti as a superb precedent when he claims to have won the election in November, if he gets only 40% of the vote.  In fact one of his campaign advisors has already gotten hold of me and asked, “Give us folks the evidence of how the KCDC mayor and Council were able to get the NZ government to accept that 20 people out of 1,500 as being the majority. And to get $2.3 million. And having the majority councillors supporting this bullshit. Gee, this is brilliant, NZ a great little democracy knows how to sell the story and get everyone to believe it!”

Christopher Ruthe

By Tony Orman

There’s an election coming later this year and in today’s increasingly bizarre world, I am in a real quandary who to vote for. I must vote.  I have a duty and responsibility to do so. 

I’m a swinging voter. That is I vary my vote from election to election to whichever party I feel has the best policies.

Apathy can be a problem with elections i.e. the danger of “I couldn’t give a stuff and won’t vote”. As the Greek philosopher Plato once said about 400 BC, “the price of apathy is to be ruled by evil men.”  Take “evil” in the broader sense. You might use “corrupt”, “arrogant” or some other adjective. You might even use the word “undemocratic”.

Getting a fair hearing

Now democracy is the very foundation of our society and that’s why we have democratic elections where every three years political parties and MPs are held to account.

I was brought up to believe that Parliament was the place of democracy – where you could get a fair hearing from elected representatives based on a history and moral constitution of honour, truth and justice. Note the phrase “fair hearing.”

Part of parliament’s system is select committees where the public can comment on a bill proposing new law. In other words you expect a fair hearing.

I recall going before a parliamentary select committee about 1971 over a National government plan to bring in trout farming. I spoke for over an hour from my 44 page submission and I fielded questions from MPs probably for half an hour. In all I was allowed one and a half hours.

Then I remembered a 1986 Conservation Reform Bill setting up Fish and Game Councils. John Henderson and I delivered our joint submission for half an hour with probably 15 minutes of questions and discussion following. Then in 1991 I made verbal submissions on the Maori Fisheries Bill where I argued that the saltwater fishery was a public resource and should not be allocated on ethnic grounds. That took over an hour.

But that’s in the past and sadly so is the expectation of a “fair hearing.”

Abrupt Dismissal

Recently the Council of Outdoor Recreation Associations of New Zealand (CORANZ) made a verbal submission on a bill amending the Resource Management Act (RMA). Despite being initially assured of 15 minutes to present the CORANZ viewpoint, chairman Andi Cockroft was interrupted by the chairman MP and abruptly dismissed after five minutes. 

A week later Andi was scheduled to give another verbal submission on behalf of Public Access NZ (PANZ). Initially given 15 minutes he was told – for no valid reason – five minutes would be his lot. Angry, he refused to attend.

His refusal reminded me of the 2007 Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA), review into 1080 poison.  Given just five minutes to present a submission, I refused since travelling across Cook Strait at $250 for five minutes speaking time was pointless. Instead John Henderson who lived in Wellington delivered my views, as best he could, under the handicap of five minutes. The RMA 1080 review was a farce – a blatant “kangaroo court” by public servants who had no intention of listening to the public.

The firearm law “reforms” following the Christchurch March 15 mosque tragedy, were rushed through with a total disregard for democracy. Forget the subject, focus on the claim of the select committee reading 13,000 submissions in just two days. It defies credibility and shows a total lack of integrity by MPs.

Dereliction of public duty

MPs are public servants. The Prime Minister is not our leader. Currently Jacinda Ardern is undeniably the public’s most senior public servant.

All three government parties — Labour, Greens and NZ First — are guilty of dereliction of duty to democracy. But then National isn’t blameless. Remember the shameful act of the Key government sacking Canterbury’s democratically elected Environmental Canterbury Regional Council (ECAN) to take over with their own State puppet commissioners? Or National’s Nick Smith giving himself sole power to approve 1080 aerial drops? And earlier there was the shonky 2007 ERMA review into 1080 which I referred to above.

The arrogance of power

The warning signs of politicians ignoring their role as elected representatives and public servants, have been happening for some time.  

No wonder the public rate politicians, political parties and governments as among the most despised people and institutions.  

There is an urgent crisis about the accelerating and alarming erosion of democracy and the strangling of the people’s voice. It needs strong reaction from an outraged public which is timely, as this is an election year. There’s an arrogance of an increasingly powerful, dominant bureaucracy with apparently most politicians now afflicted with the same amnesia about their democratic duty. Democracy is a big issue.

This election make sure you vote and give them the message.

(This was written at the end of June, but it seems Tony is still undecided. —Eds)

More arrests including a 69-Y-O. Some of these kinds of events are actually acted. It’s difficult to tell, but the clue is they openly advertise for crisis actors and employ them to create false flags. Ole Dammegard is an expert in that field having researched them globally for 3 decades. Check out his work. Either way, if they are crisis actors or the real deal they are sending the same fear message to you. Also, at the end of the day the more you react, the greater ‘license’ they have to crack down. […]

Police State Victoria is ramping it up, arresting elderly persons & raiding fruit & veggie markets — Rangitikei Environmental Health Watch

Joe Biden: “It’s estimated that 200 million people will die, probably by the time I finish this talk.” That’s nearly 2/3 of the U.S. population.

While Left-wing authoritarians love exaggerating Cv-19 statistics, even they might question that one…

Joe Biden: “It’s estimated that 200 million people will die, probably by the time I finish this talk.”

That’s nearly 2/3 of the U.S. population. pic.twitter.com/lp23K11K3o

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 20, 2020

200 Million Dead, by Joe Biden — STRAIGHT LINE LOGIC

With the government deciding that with no community cases of Cv-19 south of the Big Smoke for over 3 months, people are now safe to go about their normal activities, there should also be unrestricted “meet the candidates” as well as hui on issues (such as the pending Paraparaumu airport closure) events.

For those who aren’t excited by such, but are still interested in knowing more than what the Mainstream Media are going to tell you — and when the moderators of the TV1 and TV3 leaders’ debates are John Campbell and Patrick Gower respectively, you can’t help but sigh — there is Policy  :–

“This makes voting easy: all the policies, parties and candidates, all in one place. 

→ See where the parties stand on key issues
→ Learn more about the candidates running in your area: 
→ Save the policies you like most, and view policies without party labels to browse free from bias
→ Share policies and candidates with friends and family 

“We’ve summarised 900+ policies from 550+ documents and speeches, and surveyed 500+ candidates across every electorate. We’ve also launched resources for teachers and schools and a policy idea competition for students.

“Please consider sharing Policy with your friends and family: research from the Electoral Commission shows that one in three non-voters cite ‘not knowing who to vote for’ as their main reason for not voting.

“You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date.

Ngā mihi,

Chris, on behalf of the Policy team”

Contained on this NZETC archive webpage —

Dear David Murray [Salient editor],

Behold, Gurunathan Krisnasamy, the half-baked Malaysian trotsky is in a state of great confusion. Teetering on a shaky platform, he is stumbling after every passing bandwagon. His political stand sways like dirty linen in Wellington winds. During his pangs of activism, I urge students to tolerate his ravings and hullaballos on campus.

In Vol 40. No. 4 of Salient, none of the writers had aimed at winning the favour or sympathy of the Kiwis. The basic issue was to get the facts right and to educate those who erred (distorted the truth). Judging from his comments. Guru is clearly much divorced from the social problems and the true life of the working masses back home. Or maybe he lacks the insight and hence ability to distinguish between the “typical” and “extreme” scenes.

Secondly, his narrow minded argument on the “morality of rip-off” is clearly aimed at stirring up chauvinistic sentiments. This extremely political suicide approach defeats the idea of uniting the many. Who are our enemies and who are our friends? This issue is a question of class not racial chauvinism. I reckon it is Gurunathan Krisnasamy who is suffering from acute colonial hangover, resulting in a highly feverish and confused mind, and has thereby gone amok in his attacks. Instead of recommending him to a Bomoh, I suggest he do his homework. It is pathetic to be watching a lone ranger jumping at the wrong gun.

Barefoot doctor.

(“Trotsky” is a reference to followers of Leon Trotsky, a communist who was a contemporary of Lenin and Stalin, and later a rival of Stalin. This helps explain a lot… Thanks to reader Bob for bringing this to our attention. —Eds)