Democracy is Being Dismantled Before Your Very Own Eyes


Opinion by Tony Orman. This is an abridged version of an address to the NZ Outdoor Party’s recent AGM in Nelson

Advocate for democracy because it is the number one issue heading to 2023.
The trout and salmon and duck shooting public and their organisation Fish and game are currently under threat of a partial State takeover by the Department of Conservation. The review was initiated by the previous minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage who has made no secret of her hatred of introduced species of fish and game such as trout, deer, tahr and others..
Underlying but just under the surface of the Fish and Game Review 2021, is the replacing of democratically elected councillors with State appointments, i.e., puppets.
It’s not the first time a government has tried to take over Fish and Game which goes back to the days of Fish and Game’s predecessor Acclimatisation Societies.
For example way, way back in 1974 there was a government proposal called the Hunn Commission, to reorganise acclimatisation societies the predecessor of today’s fish and game councils.
State Control
The Hunn Commission proposal was a thinly disguised attempt to impose state control on the politically independent acclimatisation society structure with its democratically elected councils. Most concerning was the proposal for a national executive which would see sportsmen’s representatives in a minority to government appointees. 
Even back then, the imposition of state control of acclimatisation societies was nothing new. There had attempts back in the 1930s driven by the Labour government’s Internal Affairs Minister William Parry
Some attempts have been more subtle and not so blatant but nevertheless they have occurred.
This year’s attempt by the Adern-led Labour government via the Department of Conservation is probably the 15th or 16th as far as I can ascertain. 
And the current proposals would see government appointees – or state puppets – on not only the national council but regional fish and game councils too.
Inescapable is  that this is an attack on democracy by the Adern-led government.
In 2017 former prime minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer wrote a startling blog post expressing concern about the declining state of democracy in New Zealand. It surely should have been headline news but it wasn’t. Which raises a large question marks about the media’s competency and sense of responsibility. 
Palmer’s statement was aimed at a National government, led by John Key.
Palmer had very good reason to be concerned. One action by the government was totally unprecedented.
April Fool’s Day
Almost eleven years ago, on April Fool’s day 2010, Nick Smith, then minister for the environment and government sacked the democratically elected Environment Canterbury (ECan) council and replaced it with state commissioners by passing the ECan Act.
The move outraged the Law Society Rule of Law Committee which denounced the ECan Act as repugnant to the Rule of Law. Most were appalled.
But it went through pushed by National’s Nick Smith.
In April 2016 Nick Smith was at his dictatorial best when he removed the right of local councils to consider and hear submissions on 1080 poison aerial drops and put the final and only say with central government i.e. Nick Smith – with any public input totally abolished. 
It was in political terms, strange philosophically for a National government – the 1080 issue and the ECan takeover were unashamedly dictatorial state control removing any vestige of public say.
The signs of the erosion of democracy have been evident in ther instances.
Select Committees
I can recall making submissions on trout farming in the early 1970s where I was allowed to speak for an hour and then answer questions from MPs for half an hour. I made submissions to other Select Committees. To the Maori Fisheries Bill 1990 I was granted over an hour.
But the erosion of democracy was underway. 
In 2004 the government’s ERMA review of 1080 was a “kangaroo court” with submitters restricted to only five minutes. it was a token gesture to consultation. – lip service only.
The two big poison spreaders DOC and OSPRI had requested the review. That was a pointer to it being a farce. The ERMA review in 1080 gave the poison the green light despite expert and scientific-baed evidence.
Last year, the Council of Outdoor Recreation Associations of New Zealand (CORANZ) pointed out that parliament’s select committee democratic process was being undermined to the detriment of the public giving submissions.
Current CORANZ Chairman Andi Cockroft had made an oral submission to a select committee dealing with the Resource Management Act (RMA). 
After being beforehand, granted 15 minutes speaking time the chairman Labour’s Duncan Webb interrupted Andi Cockroft’s submission after five minutes and said the committee had heard enough thereby cutting the oral presentation short by ten minutes.
It was an insult to CORANZ and to democracy.
Senior Public Servant
Undeniably MPs are really public servants voted in to serve the public interest. 
Don’t call our Prime Minister our leader. Jacinda Adern is simply the most senior public servant in NZ. 
The National government was voted out in 2017. 
But the new coalition government of Labour, Greens and NZ First continued the government trend of diminishing democracy. 
Firearm law changes following the Christchurch March 15, 2019 mosque tragedy, were rushed through in just a few days. Over 12,000 submissions were considered in just two days – defying credibility and again insulting democracy.
Some columnists have examined the erosion of democracy. A number have identified complacency by the public or in other words apathy. 
Greek philosopher Plato wrote “The price of apathy is to be ruled by evil men.”
I’m deeply concerned that New Zealanders are oblivious. Some were numbed by the Rogernomics dictatorship of the 1980s. 
Others just couldn’t give a stuff born out of selfishness with no thought for future generations.
The public believe Parliament is the place of democracy – where you could get a fair hearing from elected representatives based on a historical and moral constitution of honour, truth and justice. It is not a charade.
But politicians and bureaucrats are dismantling democracy before your very own eyes.

© Tony Orman – politicians and bureaucrats are dismantling democracy before your very own eyes.

         








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5 Responses to Democracy is Being Dismantled Before Your Very Own Eyes

  1. Bud jones JonesQSM says:

    Tony is making some excellent points here. He is the most senior & most experienced sportsman in the country. He has been through just about every outdoor issue & battle to ever concern thepublic recreationist.His mentor, the great J B Hendersontaught him theart of dealing with politicians who would dismantle democracy even while we watch.Beware of Ardern’s stealth plan to use the He Puapua plan to turn the country into an apartheid.On track for 2040.DON’T
    T TURN YOUR BACK EYES EVERYWHERE

    his mentor

  2. Rob+McMillan says:

    Tony Orman is absolutely right. I believe New Zealand is currently in serious danger of a disastrous plunge which will destroy all that was fine and good about our people and country. George Orwell’s prediction of a nightmare apartheid/communist takeover is closer to becoming reality than seems to have dawned on most innocent Kiwis. Today’s school children are being taught a “history” in which the hard work of six, or more, generations of white settlers and their genuine friendship/comradeship with the earlier Maori settlers is dismissed as “colonialism.” Not a word here about the establishment of decent housing, roads for transport, the telephone, a national hydro-electricity system, radio, trains and ships and air transport — things the stone age Maori had never dreamed of. Never mind that perhaps 15-19 per cent of those who “feel” Maori can honestly claim more than 50 per cent blood from that honoured race. How many of our population today with some Maori ancestry can claim 50 per cent Maori blood? Five per cent? Ten … You would be lucky. How can these “feel-they-are-Maori” get away with re-writing the Treaty of Waitangi (some original copies still survive!) and claiming an impossible “partnership” with the Crown? Meanwhile, along with the innocent school children who trustingly learn that 80 per cent of our population (including most parents) are “colonialists” who have “stolen” the country from the “indigenous” and rightful owners. Really, it is all good stuff, because if you will believe that you might accept that 20 per cent of the population who claim to be Maori should have a 50/50 share of managing the country along with the other 80 per cent (who, really, are just colonialist usurpers) … and reaping the rewards whether then have worked for them or not. It is all made a lot easier to understand if you pay just a little attention to the news broadcast by radio, television and newspapers which all bleat the same story as our “beloved leader” and Prime Minister, the curiously attractive/ugly Ms Ardern.

  3. Charles Henry says:

    Read what Richard Prosser has to say – his words not mine

    Former NZ First MP, Richard Prosser, wrote this powerful message to us all, from England, on 16 May, 2021:

    “Dear New Zealand,

    While you remain asleep, scornful and credulous, your nation is being stolen, and sold out from under you.

    Yes, it is.

    No, this isn’t conspiracy rubbish. It’s true and it’s happening.

    Yes, the Government is lying to you. Yes, the ‘Opposition’ is in bed with them. Yes, the media are in on the act as well – everything you are being told, through every official and officially sanctioned channel, is a lie. Yes, it is.

    I have Told You So at every opportunity and at every step along the way, and so far, I’ve been 100% right, which is pretty good, even for me. Accuse me of blowing my own trumpet if you like – I don’t really care; it does sadden me to see from afar what is happening to my homeland, under the very noses of the very people to whom it’s happening, who continue to not believe it, even while they are experiencing it. But personally I’m not affected by the scorn – I’ve always been a seer, and I’ve lived my entire life subject to ridicule because of that. But here I am, being right again. There is no pleasure in that.

    Here’s what you can look forward to in the short-to-medium term: China will become the new colonial overlord of New Zealand. New Zealand will become the New Zimbabwe of the Pacific. A few elitist ‘Maori’ (I put that in inverted commas because most of them will be mostly white, many will have non-Maori names, and none of them will actually represent either real Maori or anyone else apart from themselves) will gain majority control over much of the land and natural resources of the New Zealand islands. They will be doing this on behalf of their masters in Peking as well as for their own benefit.

    Please don’t allow this state of affairs to drive a wedge between real Maori New Zealanders and real white (and other) New Zealanders. It’s simply Divide And Rule being applied, and it can only succeed if you pander to it.

    Food production and distribution will be completely centrally controlled. Your water will be centralised, then privatised, and you’ll need a permit to collect rainwater, which you will have to treat to NZ Drinking Water standards, which will include the addition of fluoride and chlorine.

    Chinese troops and Police will become common sights on your roads and streets. Direct air links, and the exchange of students at all levels, will become much more frequent. Mass immigration from mainland China will occur. In one generation, that is twenty to twenty-five years, Chinese-born people will be the numerical majority of the total population of the New Zealand islands. 25 years is not a long time – the Falklands War was 40 years ago.

    The New Zealand dollar will collapse. It will be replaced by a new currency backed by, and value-linked to, the new Chinese digital currency. You will have no ability to trade internationally other than via China and her banking system. Te Reo Ngapuhi and Mandarin will become compulsory languages.

    Politics is not the answer to this situation. Rather, it is the cause.

    If you do not want the future I have described, you are going to have to fight. By fight, I mean rise in armed insurrection against your Government and its agencies. I will say this again – Party Politics is what got you into this mess, the one you still don’t believe could ever happen even while you are experiencing it, and it won’t get you out.

    You are still strong, now. I thank all the Gods that ever were, that you didn’t hand in your guns. Yes, you are going to need them. Stock up on ammunition, now, while it is still legal to bring it in. What a shame no one makes ammo in NZ anymore, beyond the assembling of it from imported components. But regardless of that, stockpile as much as you humanly can.

    Also you will need to stockpile preserved foods, medical supplies, batteries, radio gear, fuel, and internationally accepted money such as silver and gold – actual metal in the form of coins and ingots, not any kind of paper or electronic promissory notes.

    Keep your friends close, and embrace your neighbours. Stand together and stand strong. You are already at war.

    Do not look to the Parliamentary Opposition for help. They are one and the same with Government. They are the enemy within, and they are both in league with the enemy without.

    It goes without saying, but I will say it anyway – don’t allow yourselves to be injected with the poisons currently being touted as the cure for the non-existent pandemic that has been the excuse for the accelerated rollout of this great and terrible situation of our times. The injections are a death sentence in a syringe. Those who survive them will be sterile. You are being culled.

    To those who read this and think “Prosser has actually gone completely f*kin mad” – no, I haven’t. All this is true. Feel into yourself as you read these words – you know it’s true, and that’s because I’m a Truthsayer – why do you think they had to get rid of me?

    I can’t physically get back for this fight. But there are Leaders among you – know them and gravitate to them.

    Our friends and family in this world of nations are still our friends and allies, but you will have to prove yourselves before you can expect tangible assistance. And many of them are also dealing with their own versions of the above, which means their ability to help is greatly lessened. You are mostly on your own. Gird yourselves with that in mind. You have great ability and deep resourcefulness – you are, all of you, born of warrior stock. Now is the time to rise, stand, and fight.

    Be calm, be strong, have faith. Do this, or be undone.

    The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of tyrants and patriots – Thomas Jefferson”

  4. Rochelle says:

    Do you have the primary source for this (so one can prove Prosser actually did say this)?

    • Yes, that was me.

      It’s on my FB page, but a few people have shared it – the version posted above was put up by Carol Sawyer, who took out the RightWatchMan link I was commenting on, and added a pic of me instead. I have to say it’s a better presented post than my original.

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