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July 12, 2008 10:31am by David Farrar

I like it

No Minister notes ACT’s clever new authorisation statement. What a very smart idea. Natonal should do the same!

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Comment34

NZ Politics
ACT
Electoral Finance Act
No Minister

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Comments (34)

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Lee C

A superb idea. Free speech will have its way.

All the same, I am certain that someone will claim that the EFA has had nothing but a positive effect on the nature of our political intercourse.

But then I would always take the glib and dismissive obscufications over the informed and educated observations when it comes to matters relating to constitutional and human rights issues.
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July 12, 2008 10:39am
getstaffed

Excellent move. Compliance becomes Defiance. Well done ACT.
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July 12, 2008 10:58am
PhilBest

I like it too, DPF. Well DONE, ACT. Now if only they could get back in the game on the back of something like this just like that one significant “worm” TV debate did for Dunne and United Future years ago……..
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July 12, 2008 11:05am
roger nome

Yeah! Free Speech for all! Except the EPMU of course.

[DPF: And who passed the law that may stop them? And who is a cheerleader for that law? Roger is. I merely ask the law to be applied consistently]
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July 12, 2008 11:18am
PaulL

You supported the law roger. You can hardly complain if the law restricts the speech of the EPMU in the same way it was expected to restrict the speech of the EB. We on the right have pointed to the equivalence of the situation of those two organisations for many years, I guess the courts noticed too.
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July 12, 2008 11:31am
side show bob

Some days Roger it’s probably best if you just stay in bed, I’m picking it’s one of those days.
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July 12, 2008 11:50am
Grant Michael McKenna

I’m picking it as one of those decades 🙂 At the current rate, National will lose in 2023…
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July 12, 2008 11:54am
calendar girl

Shows the worth of hiring a great ad-man rather than one of the factory hacks – well done, John Ansell.
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July 12, 2008 12:08pm
burt

ACT have nailed it here, I like the they way they have stuck it to the self serving pricks.
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July 12, 2008 12:19pm
reid

Another John Ansell special. Go John.
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July 12, 2008 12:23pm
riki

“the nature of our political intercourse.”

Good line Lee.

I notice overtly how the intellectuals have replaced the word ‘intercourse’ with ‘discourse’

They then camouflage the reference with hyperbole phrases that are thoroughly confusing but give you marks for using them even if you don’t show understanding.

I’m walking through academia in a complete fog yet passing on a B average. Applying myself of course helps, but I’m writing on phrases I’ve got no idea how to discuss.

I’m not sure if that makes me clever or whatever, but I’ll take the grades 😉
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July 12, 2008 12:51pm
riki

“Another John Ansell special.”

Wasn’t he that Pommy soccer coach.

Haven’t heard of him in yrs, but I think he’s showing his age.
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July 12, 2008 12:53pm
tim barclay

The “guts to do what is right”. How can they do anything with only 2 MPs, where are the other 59 votes coming from, presumably gutless wonders.
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July 12, 2008 12:55pm
reid

Sorry, I thought that was the Nat’s billboard guy.

Who was it then?
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July 12, 2008 1:09pm
BlairM

As talented as Ansell is, it sounds more like something Vince Ashworth came up with himself. But well done either way.
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July 12, 2008 1:14pm
Lee C

‘Yeah! Free Speech for all! Except the EPMU of course.’

I agree with roger on this. It is appalling that a government could be allowed to secretly draft a law so badly, disregard advice so blatently and ram it onto the statute books with urgency, that it silences the right to political expression that only twelve months ago, the EPMU regarded as their democratic right.

Could it be that the EFA is a crock of shit, now even roger has woken up to the fact and is in broad agreement with his former adversaries?

Otherwise, what was his point, that he is happy to admit that the law was originally drafted for partisan reasons, but because it is applied against a body for which he has partisan attachments, that to expose the law as bad is somehow – partisan? All you do is further display a partisan mind set.

To summarise the attitude displayed; you would support unfair or badly written partisan laws as long as they are not unfair against you and yours. That isn’t law-making, it is the prerogative of tyranny.

Here’s an idea roger. Why don’t you form an opinion of your own, apply your evident moral outrage against the actual cause of the problem, and show us all that you have matured into a thinking person who doesn’t draw all his opinions from the Labour Party teat?

Although you and the EPMU may not be able to work out that very the Law you supported is biting you in the ass, for the very reasons many of us suggested it might in the first place, be at least grateful that there are people like some of us, who are prepared to oppose stupid laws whether or not we stand to gain from them.

We will still be here when you grow up and have realised your mistake.
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July 12, 2008 1:15pm
Lee C

riki – I just really dig the word ‘intercourse’ and like to drop it wherever I can….
(Which I realise rather puts the kibosh on my grand-sounding speech about ‘growing up’ but still. it’s all part of the preliminaries of a good, hard mass-debate.)

sorry.
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July 12, 2008 1:17pm
labrator

Well I managed to swing a Labour voter over to Act in the last month. This will help with swinging a few more.
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July 12, 2008 1:31pm
andymoore

😉 only, National does not have the guts to do what’s right.
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July 12, 2008 1:34pm
PhilBest

# PaulL (1671) Add karma Subtract karma +12 Says:
July 12th, 2008 at 11:31 am

“You supported the law roger. You can hardly complain if the law restricts the speech of the EPMU in the same way it was expected to restrict the speech of the EB. We on the right have pointed to the equivalence of the situation of those two organisations for many years……..”

Yeah, PaulL, some guy wrote a brilliant letter to the DomPost about the Unions and the EB, that went something like this (Sorry I can’t acknowledge the guy by name or quote it word for word)……one of those groups is an archaic organisation with beliefs stuck in the past which refuses to move with the times, and which insists on exercising a totalitarian grip over the freedoms of of its members………the other, of course, is a church…….!
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July 12, 2008 2:10pm
Tauhei Notts

The guts to do what’s right.
Nobody told them that Parekura Horomia has more guts than anybody else in parliament.
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July 12, 2008 2:59pm
tim barclay

Act is nothing without the support of a major party. Nothing. Posturing about “guts to do what is right” is nothing unless one of the majors has the “guts” too. Labeling everyone else as cowards is a really smart way to get support, really smart.
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July 12, 2008 3:00pm
Inventory2

Why though has ACT not mentioned Jim the Progressive in their statement?
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July 12, 2008 3:22pm
first time caller

“Guts” is a really unattractive word. I hate to break it to ACT as I don’t dislike their policies, but “guts” is a word commonly used by Clark…”I’ve had a gutsful…”.

Huge turnoff, negative word…
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July 12, 2008 4:24pm
Mike Readman

National should sdo something else the same as ACT too. Copy all their policies.
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July 12, 2008 4:39pm
reid

Inventory2, you could say the same thing about them using the word ‘bribe’ on their 20-point plan. WhaleOil has a useful interview probably about 3 weeks ago now with Rodney that covers why they used that word, amongst other things.

Worth looking at. Go John Ansell.
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July 12, 2008 5:33pm
John Ansell

Guts is ACT’s comparative advantage, Tim. Why shouldn’t they use it?

Neither National nor Labour can honestly campaign on doing what’s right for the country, since they know their policies will make us poorer.

And if you’re suggesting ACT should suck up to National, you’re not paying attention. National have never, and will never, do ACT any favours unless voters tell them to.

John Key has already ruled Roger Douglas out of his Cabinet – not that he wouldn’t reverse that decision in a heartbeat if he needed ACT to be PM.

That’s because they’re a conservative party, and a conservative believes nothing should ever be done for the first time. So the last thing they want is ACT forcing them to do things.

The Nats recently tried to scupper Rodney’s Regulatory Responsibility Bill when Rodney was absent from the Select Committee, before realising that they didn’t have the numbers.

The problem with this country is the lag time between when ACT has an idea and National finally gets around to adopting it.

Take tax cuts. ACT hit the ground running in 1995 with a lower tax policy, National finally start talking about a similar level of tax cut in 2005, and Labour reluctantly adopt a modified version in 2008.

We could have got rich 13 years quicker if we’d bought the idea direct from the manufacturer. If voters can be turned from late adopters into early adopters, we’ve got ourselves a country.
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July 12, 2008 11:21pm
reid

Why did the Nats want to kill the Regulatory Responsibility bill, John?
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July 13, 2008 12:20am
John Ansell

Because they don’t want to be tied to having to produce legislation that actually works.

Like the Fiscal Responsibility Act, a Regulatory Responsibility Act would not be binding. But it would be embarrassing for any government to fail its simple tests. (That’s why no finance minister has run a deficit since the Fiscal Responsiblity Act came in.)

Under a Regulatory Responsibility Act, no government would want to have to answer “No” to questions like, “Will this legislation actually work?” and “Do the benefits outweigh the costs?”

Take the Electoral Finance Act. With a Regulatory Responsibility Act in place, Labour, United Future, NZ First and the Greens would have had to specifically vote to ignore these tests – hardly a good look.

In coming out against ACT’s bill, voters can see what kind of government National is planning to be.
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July 13, 2008 12:52am
Ryan Sproull

I wonder what would happen to someone if they tried to publish something like that in a country that didn’t have free speech.
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July 13, 2008 1:35am
clintheine

Good on ya John. I know who’d I rather have in my corner. Give ’em heaps.

I fear that National is going to be a rather disappointing bunch unless ACT give them some teeth and a spine.
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July 13, 2008 2:04am
OECD rank 22 kiwi

Right on John.

It’s hard to believe the opportunity costs involved in letting a Labour government set the tax agenda for the last nine years. The main problem is the enablers (Labour party voters) who facilitated the disaster that is the current economic recession in New Zealand. John Key really needs to seek the participation of ACT in the next government this November, for the sake of his own longevity in politics if not for the sake of the country itself.

It’s interesting to note the All Black performance today and their loss to the Springboks. If John Key goes a full term of three years then the Rugby World Cup would have occurred before election day. If the All Blacks fail to win the Rugby World Cup then this could have a negative impact in the polls for the ruling government. That government doesn’t need the double lameness of rubbish rugby team, rubbish economy. John Key really needs some economic solutions to turn the New Zealand economy around. Only ACT has the ability to achieve this outcome, Roger Douglas as Finance Minister would be legendary.

I guess what I’m saying about the All blacks is that it mirrors the fortunes of the New Zealand economy. They used to be good, now they’re doomed to failure. Only ACT can provide the circuit breaker to get the economy up and running again. Maybe then the All Blacks might play with the pride and capacity to dominate the world once again. Even better, New Zealand might actually be good at something, anything, other than rugby.
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July 13, 2008 6:56am
John Ansell

We need to focus people on the opportunity cost of waiting for National to implement ACT policy.

ACT had the solutions to crime, treaty issues, tax, education, health, super etc. way back in 1995. Most of them are now in place in countries that (surprise, surprise) are now richer than us.

Had National listened to ACT in 1995, we’d be where Ireland is by now, or higher. (As it is, we can no longer tell Irish jokes, because we’re the joke. We can’t make fun of Tasmanians either because we’re over $100 a week poorer than them. We’d be the poorest state of America too – we’re poorer than Mississippi.)

Had National listened to ACT in 1995, breast cancer sufferers would be getting their wonder drugs free, as they do in Australia.

Had National listened to ACT in 1995, kids would be going to great schools of their parents’ choosing, as they do in Sweden (where only the Communists now opposed vouchers).

To be fair, National did bring in private prisons and privatise ACC, only to have those decisions reversed for the dopiest of communist-inspired reasons.

Privatisation is the norm all round the world – except North Korea, Cuba and Burma. So despite what the focus groups say, National should hae the guts to say so.

In Britain, the Labour government now insists on private prisons, and is now privatising part of the monolithic NHS. The Swedes privatised Stockholm’s hospital.

As these examples show (see more in ACT’s 20 Point Plan), lefties in other countries have woken up and joined the real world. Our Clarxists are stuck in a time warp, so the Nats should not be signing up to their policies.

Why does National still believe in essentially communist education and health systems (albeit with escape hatches for the rich).

It’s tragic the price we pay for the conservatism of our leftist and centrist politicians.

It took beak-in-the-sand Kiwis nine years to twig that Labour was making them poorer.

So getting them to look past knee-jerking to National as the alternative will be a tough sell.

Doing what’s right for the country is a piece of cake. All the experts agree on what’s needed. Douglas and Hide could get the basics in place by Christmas if enough voters would get with the programme.

Key would end up doing much the same stuff, of course. But he’d take three, six, nine years – whenever the focus groups say it’s safe to tip-toe boldly.

Labour Left, of course, will never do it. That’s why they’ll be a long time dead.

Then I’m picking the likes of Darren Hughes will emerge as a Rudd figure and go against type, a la Douglas in 1984. He’ll have grown up by then and moved to the right. Labour Right could be more than a match for Labour-Lite National.

Meantime ACT is our only option. Spread the word.
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July 13, 2008 11:47am
PhilBest

# Ryan Sproull (543) Add karma Subtract karma +0 Says:
July 13th, 2008 at 1:35 am

“I wonder what would happen to someone if they tried to publish something like that in a country that didn’t have free speech.”

More of your devil’s advocacy, Ryan.

We could perhaps analyse freedom of speech by how easy it is to incur legal penalty and/or end up in jail, just how restrictive and punitive the laws are. And the EFB in NZ is a disgrace by any such standard, let alone its appalling crafting by a bunch of bumbling legal illiterate socialists.
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July 13, 2008 2:35pm

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