Nothing to do with local government

May 22nd, 2012 at 9:02 am by David Farrar

A Waimate councillor is calling for cannabis decriminalisation for the good of her community.

Sandy Mulqueen has formed a lobby group and has made a submission in the council’s long term plan outlining a project to decriminalise marijuana for personal and medicinal use. …

She believes the project will benefit Waimate.

Her proposal has not impressed Mayor John Coles who says she should take the matter up with central government.

“She’s come to the wrong place; I will leave it with my council.”

The group plans to compose an information brochure to go to every Waimate resident aged over 16, with reasons for, and details of the project, and a voting form.

“Completion of this project will have a positive effect on the well being of our community and better reflect the wishes of the people in Waimate and the wider community; thus it fulfils council’s core purposes under the Local Government Act,” she says.

This is proof positive why we need to tighten the focus of local government. This is an issue that has nothing to do with the Waimate District Council.

As it happens, I also support a change to our drug laws – along the lines recommended by the Law Commission. However that doesn’t mean I want local Councils getting involved and lobbying on the issue. Cr Mulqueen should focus on roads, rates and infrastructure.

Tags: cannabis, Local Body Politics

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012 at 9:02 am and is filed under NZ Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

17 Responses to “Nothing to do with local government”

Yvette (2,428) Says:
May 22nd, 2012 at 9:06 am
Further …
A public education programme will be developed to engender support for law change and encourage sign-up for a supporters card.
Ms Mulqueen then plans to develop budgets for affected activities and enlist the support of other councils and stakeholder groups to develop a regulatory framework.
A mandate, backed by a comprehensive plan, will then be presented to the Government.
– http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6961899/Councillor-for-cannabis

Besides being nothing to do with local government, does marijuana smoking cause cancer or not?
If New Zealand is to be ‘smoke free’ by 2025 [but exporting 6 billion cigarettes a year to Australia] will legalising marijuana just replace the cancer risk of tobacco products?
[ and will the fine for smoking a tobacco product be greater then than that for smoking marijuana? ]
Vote: 0 0 You need to be logged in to vote
m@tt (503) Says:
May 22nd, 2012 at 9:21 am
“Cr Mulqueen should focus on roads, rates and infrastructure”

No.

Cr Mulqueen should focus on what the people of the area want. That’s the role of a council and the people on it.

It may well be that the people of that area do or don’t want the council involved in this issue, but that’s a different question and it’s a question for them, not you, and not central government.
Vote: 0 0 You need to be logged in to vote
Graeme Edgeler (2,979) Says:
May 22nd, 2012 at 9:33 am
This is proof positive why we need to tighten the focus of local government. This is an issue that has nothing to do with the Waimate District Council.

But only because that is already what the government says. Maybe the local community thinks this should be a local matter. In the UK, councils have responsibility for education and policing, for example. Police resource focusing is one way of effectively decriminalising personal marijuana use, as you yourself have noticed.
Vote: 0 0 You need to be logged in to vote
kiwi in america (1,930) Says:
May 22nd, 2012 at 9:37 am
m@tt
Councils only got the right to waste time on issues like this after Labour’s 2002 Local Government reforms that gave the green light to add advocacy over issues usually the preserve of the national parliament. The explosion in debt and higher than inflation increases in rates not to mention regulatory gridlock and overreach have all been the unfortunate results of this loss of focus. Fortunately the current reforms being mooted by National takes councils back to their core business.

If the good people of Waimate want the drug laws changed then they have a local MP who can be lobbied to put in a private members bill to that effect. What councils and counsellors get to spend ratepayers money on is not determined by what a vocal lobby group might want but what the Local Government Act says it can spend money on. Councillors who choose to spend their time on private hobby horses should do so in their own time and not on the ratepayers dime.
Vote: 0 0 You need to be logged in to vote
Yvette (2,428) Says:
May 22nd, 2012 at 9:40 am
further from the same article –
“Bringing cannabis under a regulatory framework will allow us to collect real data from users, growers and suppliers of all types of cannabis products, including medicinal, agricultural and industrial, which will accurately determine the costs and benefits to society.”

was it not a drug, and one that may cause cancer [reputedly to a degree higher than tobacco products] it does have considerable farm and industry potential and in that respect is possibiy as valid as council involvement in the proposed economies [if any] of any Auckland loop rail.
This may be slight of hand [like the Aids Foundation's perversion of purpose: to supress AIDS by promoting the homosexual lifestyle as acceptable] – legalise marijuana use through developing the hemp industry: textiles and other products.
Is devloping local industry opportunities and jobs not a local government interest?
Vote: 0 0 You need to be logged in to vote
JeffW (226) Says:
May 22nd, 2012 at 9:52 am
David
If local government only did what it should do, rates could go substantially. Where’s the fun in that?
Vote: 0 0 You need to be logged in to vote
flipper (1,738) Says:
May 22nd, 2012 at 10:16 am
GE…
You are not seriously suggesting we should copy UK local govt are you?
If you are, I suggest you go take a very close look at their hodge-podge of authorities.responsibilities etc.
More to the point, there is the “minor” population differential.

One thing though…water charges in UK attract VAT; Rates are exempt.

The NZ system is OK for business so they do not scream over GST on Rates. It is very bad news for individuals, especially those on fixed incomes.
Vote: 0 0 You need to be logged in to vote
Longknives (2,589) Says:
May 22nd, 2012 at 10:43 am
This ought to change Philu’s rather negative view of South Islanders!
Vote: 0 0 You need to be logged in to vote
Will de Cleene (485) Says:
May 22nd, 2012 at 10:45 am
Perhaps Cr Mulqueen is fomenting useful mischief in the same way that US states are challenging the federal drug laws with medpot shops. LA now has more medpot outlets than Starbucks.
Vote: 0 0 You need to be logged in to vote
Longknives (2,589) Says:
May 22nd, 2012 at 10:48 am
Though I hear the man himself was recently sighted just off the Coast furiously paddling North….

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/6963587/Tons-of-dope-found-floating-in-sea
Vote: 0 0 You need to be logged in to vote
Pete George (17,895) Says:
May 22nd, 2012 at 11:15 am
This is similar to the attempts to get councils to ban fracking – getting involved in national political issues.

It’s not actually local democracy at work, it’s small local pressure groups trying to impose their views on the local council. I highlighted this in What the Frack?

This same Niamh O’Flynn was involved in Occupy Dunedin, and has since been on local TV claiming “an Oil Free Otago Representative says there is still strong public resistance to any type of drilling, even if it’s for gas”.

If issues like this are to be dealt with at local body level it has to be done democratically with open debate and not by bullshitting levels of support for pushing personal agendas.
Vote: 0 0 You need to be logged in to vote
kowtow (4,588) Says:
May 22nd, 2012 at 11:46 am
GE

That’s simplistic. Much of the funding and policy for police and education comes from central govt in the UK.
Vote: 0 0 You need to be logged in to vote
Bevan (3,952) Says:
May 22nd, 2012 at 11:56 am
Cr Mulqueen should focus on what the people of the area want. That’s the role of a council and the people on it.

The majority of the men in her area may want free blow jobs from prostitutes. Should she dedicate her time to that little gem next?
Vote: 0 0 You need to be logged in to vote
wreck1080 (2,921) Says:
May 22nd, 2012 at 12:13 pm
Off the topic , but, related to local govt.

Our mayor of Tauranga, Stuart Crosby blamed the government for out of control council spending. He said the widening of council spending options (by labour) meant they had to go beyond their traditional functions.

But, I think that is utter crap right? Just because you are allowed to spend money on non-core services does not make it mandatory.
Vote: 0 0 You need to be logged in to vote
philu (13,393) Says:
May 22nd, 2012 at 4:25 pm
“..and one that may cause cancer [reputedly to a degree higher than tobacco products]..”

utter utter fucken lies..yvette..

..post yr evidence..!

..you can’t…

..’cos there isn’t any..

phillip ure@whoar.co.nz
Vote: 0 0 You need to be logged in to vote
philu (13,393) Says:
May 22nd, 2012 at 4:30 pm
to the site host:

..if as you say you support a law-change…wouldn’t you be happy the issue be advanced from whatever quarters…?

..and if as you say you support a law change..cd you link us to the posts/articles you have written advancing that cause..

..in this powerful forum/platform you have/operate..

phillip ure@whoar.co.nz
Vote: 0 0 You need to be logged in to vote
bhudson (3,668) Says:
May 22nd, 2012 at 4:33 pm
Furthermore, one of the most potent carcinogens in tobacco smoke, benzo(α)pyrene, is present in even greater amounts in marijuana smoke. As marijuana smokers frequently inhale and hold the smoke in their lungs, this increases the amount of tar deposited in the respiratory system by about a factor of four.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-teenage-mind/201102/does-marijuana-cause-cancer

http://lungcancer.about.com/od/causesoflungcance1/f/marijuana.htm

While THC itself might not be linked to cancer, smoking marijuana is another matter. Also, lung cancer is not the only cancer which it may place the user at risk of
Vote: 0 0 You need to be logged in to vote

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Kiwiblog