by CORANZ researchers
The “Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa” (CAFCA) has termed the present coalition government as “The Extractors” for its push for extractive industries.
Secretary/Organiser Murray Horton in the latest issue of CAFCA’s bulletin “Foreign Control Watchdog” has pledged to make the issue an election issue.
“We will carry on fighting for the big picture to make sure there is freshwater and forest left after hyper capitalism has done its worst,” he said. “This is a government which is in love with extractive industries like mining or oil and gas deposits. It seeks to expedite a return to New Zealand’s past of digging big holes and tunnels to rip out coal and gold, sending the profits overseas to their transnational corporate owners ands leaving us with, at best, big holes or at worst, long term environmental damage.”
Murray Horton had strong words for the government’s recent Fast Track Approvals Act.
“It covers a sweeping range of projects from roads to aquaculture, housing to energy plants and mines. Basically this is plunging far back into the past when development was bulldozed through ignoring other considerations.”
Democracy Eroded
Democracy is being failed he added. Minister Shane Jone had endeavoured to make the law even more limited in terms of public input and who gets asked to submit as an affected party.
“We are all affected by these projects which leave expensive toxic legacies we will have to pay for. We face the consequences of a government that validates the rhetoric of Shane Jones in his attacks on what many people value – the protection of the environment from the predations of foreign capital.”
Democracy is the most important thing that this bunch of extractors are seeking to painfully extract from the New Zealand people. whether by fast track, interfering in the court process or serving unelected transnational corporations and their lobbyists, rather than voters.
“Fundamentally this is an anti-democratic government,” he summarised.
As to alternatives for voters Murray Norton considered the only political party with a coherent policy to protect land from mining is the Green Party and Te Pati Maori. He labelled the Labour Party as ”environmentally absent and timid.”
Freshwater Concerns
Elsewhere in CAFCA’s bulletin Nikki Gladding, Queenstown Lakes District councillor and water advocate wrote on the precarious situation around freshwater. New industries were emerging and freshwater is becoming increasingly scarce.
“Consequently where water is fully allocated what we see is water trading between private interests, rather than greater public control. The longer this continues the greater the risk that private investment in increasingly valuable water will limit system change and our ability to shape the outcomes our communities expect and deserve – whether those be jobs and career paths, the ability to swim (editor’s note -and fish!) in our rivers and lakes, or access to potable water at affordable prices.
“If we don’t determine now how democratic authority over one of New Zealand’s most strategic public resources will be exercised in the days ahead, freshwater allocation may continue to evolve through administrative practice, historical allocation and market forces, rather than through deliberate democratic decision-making.”
Footnote: • Nikki Gladding’s article can be found at <https//www.aotearoawateraction.org.nz/>
• Readers are strongly urged to post comments
This coalition government is destructive in terms of public resources and environment thanks to Shane Jones and Chris Bishop.
But then as the article says Labour are “environmentally absent and timid.”
I don’t agree the Greens are an option. They have forsaken their once good environment priority for wokeism and social engineering –sad.
Which party does one vote for???
Squire We could vote for Te Pati Maori or Opportunity Parties could they be any worse?
No matter who you vote for, you MUST vote otherwise you’re giving in to the crumbling of democracy.
Greek philosopher Plato said “The price of apathy is to be ruled by evil men.”
Evil?
Replace it with corrupt? Think of “back handers” to politicians and ministers. Throw in short-sighted? Incompetent?
Plato was so correct.
Yes, you must vote no matter how disillusioned you are at recent charlatan governments who don’t deal in duty to the public but deal in in deceit and deception.
Murray Horton is in la la land if he believes the Greens and the Te Pati Māori will save our environment, really.
And the latest from Labour, co governance is still there goal, not hear say, Jackson said this on National television 2 days ago, god forbid, then you will see Māori selling to the highest bidder regardless of our environment, a recent mining extortion deal 180million or no go, as an example, all of our political party’s worry myself, not one is trustworthy.
The sad thing is that the alternative to the current Centre-Right government is a woke, broken bunch of proven non-performers who will maorify all public resources. A terrible dilemma for voters on Nov 7th!