Ron Paul and the six kinds of libertarianism

GOOD AS GOLD? PRIVATE MONEY IS BETTER - TheCypressTimes

GOOD AS GOLD? PRIVATE MONEY IS BETTER - TheCypressTimes

Liberty Scott: What's going on in the EU? Part One - What's good

Liberty Scott: What's going on in the EU? Part One - What's good: Finally, the UK government's rejection of a pan-EU treaty to create effectively an EU megastate, has started debate, albeit with many Europ...

Note to Elected Servants

Note to Elected Servants

It's not your money!!

Just talking to a poly re the FUNDING for the under ground yacht park at Takapuna (AKA NOWSC)
National Ocean Water Sports Center.

 Funding of $ 3 million from Central Government, $ 3 million from Local Government and $ 3 million from HAT (Harbour Access Trust).

Let's call a spade a spade!!

$ 3  million of Tax payers money misappropriated, $ 3 million of Rate payers money misappropriated and    
$ 3 million from HAT more ratepayers money misappropriated.

$ 9,000,000 of stolen money to be spent on another  feel good project.

Funding =  new speak for theft.
 
All for a yacht park!!

Thanks

Many thanks to all who voted for me, election night numbers were up on the last election and with specials still to come who know I might make three figures.
A good challenging campaign with meeting in Castor Bay,  Devonport, Cambell's Bay, Milford, Mairangi Bay and Windsor Park.
Thanks again to all who supported me 

Inequality

Expecting More

Econophobia

Share Giveaway

DPB fosters violence

Gone by Lunchtime

Privatise New Zealand

Government Spending

DPB fosters violence

Big Sky Southern New Zealand: Key Information

Big Sky Southern New Zealand: Key Information: A man was sentenced to fifteen years of imprisonment in a high security prison for calling Brezhnev Key an idiot. The man's wife asked the ...

Liberty v Power

Unbreaking News - Papercuts

Diddums

Poor diddums Phil Goff , of course they are rorting the system. Because it can be rorted, it is a mongrel system and must go.
Poor diddums is only up set because he has no one to do a deal with.
Vote for change.

 A vote to retain MMP, leaves the foxes in charge of the chickens.


Vote for change

Carbon Tax

Word of the day

Ineptocracy:
 (in-ept-oc-ra-cy) A system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

Unbreaking News - Poll

Lindsay Mitchell talks about poverty

Libertarianz Opening Address

Unbreaking News - PSA

Unbreaking News - Poverty.mov

Addicted to Socialism.mov

Bribery

Christchurch Earthquake Recovery Stymied by Government

Maybe there is a message?

Maybe there is a message, I note one of the major Socialist Party's bill board have the top two inches removed from the candidates head.
Is this indicative of any thing?

Only a Stray Bottle

I am astounded at the moral torpor shown by Law Society President Jonathan Temm with his comment. "It's a $70 bottle of Champagne. It's not a legal issue. It's not a story."
I am sorry Mr. Temm, the misappropriation of property by a senior Police Officer is very much a story.  It is with out doubt  theft i.e. the removal anything without the consent or lawful authorisation of the owner is theft -be it a bottle of champagne or a $2 can of  Lion Red.

The fact that it was in the fridge of  Rod Petricevic  indicates that it was in all probability  his property or the property of his estate if he is a bankrupt. 

I find it reprehensible that a police officer should  remove any  property and  later convert it to his own use.

Ten Weeks to Go

Ten Weeks to Go.

That is 10 weeks to the General Election and a referendum on what is a constitutional change. The method by which we elect our servants, the Members of Parliament, the question on whether to retain or abandon MMP.
If we chose to abandon MMP  we  must then nominate by which system we elect future members of Parliament.
The fact that such major constitution change can be effected by a simple majority vote, is in my opinion, a travesty.
But then it just adds to the long list of constitutional blunders enacted in New Zealand,  MMP being only one of those blunders brought in by a simple majority of electors  (those  who could be bothered to turn out and vote!)
As I have often said  MMP should go.  It  is a flawed system designed by politicians for the good of politicians. 

A system where no one is truly accountable.

A system which  allows the proliferation of do- nothing Ministers and Ministries.

A system dedicated to big government with deals cut in back rooms, where Members of  Parliament who have been roundly rejected by constituents are returned by way of the Party List.  Where cronies are afforded jobs for life by the same method.

What are the alternatives?

FPP - First Past the Post. Rejected in 1993 by an electorate who wanted to punish the politicians for their action in the previous administrations. Ironically giving the same politicians licence to ride roughshod over the electorate with little accountability and not be rejected. FPP gives the most accountability of  the five methods. However a party may win the majority of electorates without winning the majority of the votes cast.     

PV - Preferential Vote  There is one member for each electorate as with FPP.  To win the seat a candidate must have more than 50% of the votes cast. To vote electors number candidates from one upwards. One, being the elector's first choice, two, their second and so on upward in the elector's preference until all candidates are numbered. If no candidate has more than 50% of the votes cast, the lowest polling candidates preferences are distributed. If on the first distribution no candidate has achieved 50% the second lowest polling  candidate's preferences are distributed and so until a candidate has over 50% of the votes cast.

PV is about the same as FPP for accountability but gives an illusion of no wasted votes.  

STV-Single Transferable Vote  Electoral boundarys would be redrawn to give about 24 to 30 electorates for the whole of New Zealand ( about 8 for the South Island and about 18 for the North Island) each having from 3 to 7 members of Parliament. Candidates are nominated by parties to fill vacancies in electorates and ranked on the ballot paper by the party. Each electorate the has set an arbitrary figure   
To vote the elector can vote for the party list as it stands, a tick for the party (voting above the line) or by ranking candidates by preference ( voting below the line). If a vote is cast both with a combination of both the vote becomes informal.
After the election the number of votes cast is divided by the number of seats vacant plus one and one added to the quotient, this becomes the Quota. Example 100 votes are cast to fill 3 vacant seats, (3+1 = 4). 100 divided by 4 = 25 + 1 = 26, therefore the Quota is 26. Candidates who reach the  Quota on the first count are elected, any surplus votes they have are redistributed at the second count at the third count the lowest polling candidate is eliminated and that candidates second choice are distributed. This carries on until all vacancies are full. Complex Eh!

SM-Supplementary Member  Where the size of Parliament is set at say 120 members of  with 90 constituency members and 30 list members. The voter has two votes  one for the electorate member and one for a party.  The electorate members is elected under the First Past the Post or winner take all system. The list members are chosen on their ranking on the party list proportional as to the percentage vote the party receives over whole country. As the party vote is proportional this poses the question.  This eliminates the need for these professional politicians to do any campaigning or for them even to put down their G & T or leave Wellington.
       
Let us pause here and remember the old adage " Be careful what you wish for, you might get it."




 

Musings on Maori Language Week

Maori language week has come and gone, Ho Hum!
The usual cry goes out from the racist fascists that the teaching of  Maori should be made compulsory.
Don Brash, and his not-so-merry men,  have upset the same radicals and apologists by publishing their ad telling us what we all ready know! A plus is that they didn't get us to pay for it as they did with their rung-less ladder ad.
When will this nonsense stop? With a week of  TV presenters being so PC and mispronouncing Maori place names it is a great pity these same presenters could not pay a little more attention to their English.
All so much nonsense! The bull shit of every Government publication having a translation of title. In a language that few speak, to attempt to translate the complexities of modern society into a stone age language is a complete waste of time and money.
Yes, it doesn't come free.  As an example, the catalogue, signing, and posting of  a modern library into both English and Maori costs approximately $1/2m. Why bother?   All the books are in English. It is  just another way to waste the ratepayers hard earned tax dollar .
The only way to learn a language is over the breakfast tsble.         

Musings of a Racist Whitee

A couple of question.
1. Why am I a Racist Whitee?
When I question the creation and funding of the Auckland Council Maori Statuary Board.
2. Why is my accuser not a Racist?
When he calls me a Racist Whitee.

Funny eh!

Local Bodies, Murphy's Musings

As the New Zealand Central Government, to quote Lindsey Perigo "has become a drooling hydra headed monster" so too has local Government morphed into an Overweight Bloodsucking Leach.

With over 40% of the work force drawing their pay from the public sector the country is truly in trouble.

The need to downsize both Central and Local Government is imperative, before New Zealand drowns in this sea of bureaucracy and strangles itself with red tape.

Both have taken on function which should be left to the private sector.

Local Government was a bit like Topsey it just "growed". After the abolition of the provinces in 1878 management of infrastructure passed to the cities, boroughs, towns and counties in a rather ad hoc fashion. When a need arose or appeared to arise the citizens did the usual Kiwi thing and formed a committee. Hence we ended up with a multitude of boards, there were drainage boards, river boards, domain boards, harbour boards, rabbit boards, highway boards. The list goes on and on.

It was relatively easy for citizens to set up a new local authority and as only rate payers had a vote, fiscal responsibility was the policy followed by most local authorities.

"He who pays the piper calls the tune". Alas good old egalitarian N.Z. had to stuff it up and and introduce adult universal suffrage for Local Body elections. The start of squeaking wheel politics.

The 1989 Labour Government in true socialist style set about reforming Local Government with amalgamation of  Local Bodies reducing the 800 or so to 86. This was done with little consultation.

That socialist Government also drafted the "Resource Management Act", a document that probably ranks with Karl Marx's "Communist Manifesto" in the advocacy of the destruction of private property.

Labour was replaced in the 1990 election by the Bolger National Socialist Government which rather than consign, the communist document to the rubbish bin, promoted the bill and made it law.

The two acts the "Local Government Amendment Act" and the "Resource Management Act" rather than reducing the size of Local Government led to the creating of the cancerous bloated bureaucracy we now have.

Certainly the number of local authorities was reduced but the number of bureaucrats exploded.

The Helen Clarke led Labour Government, gave local authorities the power of general competency, this allowed local authorities to enter into any lawful activity.
Go into business and incur debt in the name of their rate payers, a lot like giving your credit card and car keys to your teenage son. Wants became needs and the proliferation of edifices endemic.

The Clarke Government saw Auckland as dysfunctional and in true socialist fashion decided that more amalgamation was the answer. A decision made with little thought as to the ramifications and little concern as to the final cost - to be born by the ratepayers of the greater Auckland region.

The amalgamation of eight local authorities, all with their own long term plans and their own annual plans.
Though all complying with the Local Government Act and a myriad of other acts, regulations ect. Each had their own way of running their patch.
Eight different philosophical outlooks, eight different, non compatible, IT systems.

Why for a population of 1.3 million do we need three health authorities yet only one council ?

Another crazy socialist scheme, as I have said before all government should be made smaller, the myth that bigger is better is just that a myth.

Again, Labour was voted out before the legislation could be enacted.
History repeats itself, on gaining office the National Socialists rather than consign the entire flawed concept to the shredder. Took up the bill, putting their coalition partner in charge of the process and rammed it through.

One speculates if they actually thought, their party hopping, now ACT's Epsom candidate could win the Mayoralty.
Someone should have told him, he had no chance of winning, with the corrupt Local Body postal voting system.
Yes, it is a corrupt system, any voting system that allows ballot papers to be distributed and returned by un-secured mail. Where there is no check on the identity of the voter can and will be corrupted.

This system must go, just as MMP must go.

People go into politics for three reasons.
 What they can rip off out out of it
 They are control freaks.
 They are NIMBYs.
Some enter for all three, this applies equally to national or local body.


We now have the Auckland city, not much super about it, same old seat warmers, same old dead heads, same old mudguard politicians. Now joined by the new breed, the professional politician with shinning morning face, laptop in satchel. All joining the talk factory an expensive way of keeping them  off the streets.

But remember, you voted them there, true there will be less of them but I predict the bureaucracy will continue to grow; there will be more crony appointments, more statuary boards.
More bureaucrats promoted above their level of incompetence, more racist appointments, rates will continue to rise. If not next year certainly the year after the next Local body election.    

Grow up

Message; to Alasdair Thompson show some back bone, you owe no one an apology, your statement is based on actual research. 
Women receive equal pay for equal work.
Message to the any one who disagrees with Wayne.
Stop whinging and  grow up.
New Zealand has become a nation of whingers and spineless  appeasers.
Get real it is an unequal world and always will be.

So Alasdair  hang in there, your board is proving to be as spineless  as the DonKey led Government.

Public Art; Muphy's Musings

Statues, murals and monuments adorn the parks and plazas of our city and towns.
Most of it I can take or leave, Rodin said "a statue is just a lump, it is how you look at the lump that maters."
However I am a firm believer that public art should be privately funded.
The Takapuna Community Board when in it's death throes splashed out $25,000 on a sculpture by James Wright to be erected at Hauraki Corner.
Cost of sculpture $ 15500, installation $ 9500.
The sculpture was not installed due to road works.

Enter the Auckland Council Arts Department, the sculpture will now be installed however, surprise, surprise installation costs have now inflated a little.

Breakdown of project costs;
Original Artist fee & sculpture $ 15,500
Consent foundation ect. $ 9,500
Total $ 25,000

New Auckland city; Design Manufacture $ 15,500 no change
Building consent fee $ 5,500
Resource consent fee $ 3,000
Consultants fee for resource consent $ 5,000
Installation $ 1,500 no change
Stone Plinth $ 3,000 no change
Site work &foundation $ 5,000 no change
Lighting & power supply $ 3,000
Plaque $ 500
Transport $ 500
Contingency $ 3,500

Total $ 43,000

Yes! They know how to spend your rates dollar wisely.

As I said at the start of this post I have no objection to public art provided it is entirely PRIVATELY funded.

Why do we have an arts department? It's just another boondoggle, another sheltered workshop for the otherwise unemployable.

Note $ 13,000 in resource consent.

Local Bodies 2 , Murphy's Musings

Local bodies 2
We now have Auckland city, not much super about it, same old seat warmers, same old dead heads, same old mudguard politicians. Now joined by the new breed the professional politician, shining morning faces, with laptop in satchel, vowing to change the world. But ensuring, that though re-organised it remains the same.
Joining the talk factory; council or board, an expensive way to keep them off the street.

But remember you voted them there, true there are less of them, but I predict the bureaucracy will continue to grow; there will be more crony appointments, more statuary boards.
More bureaucrats promoted above their level of incompetence, more racists appointments. Rates will continue to rise not this year but certainly the year following the next local body election.

The answer is not bigger Government but smaller. Local Government should be devolved.

The power of general competency should be removed from local authorities.

No one should be allowed to incur debt on behalf of another person, another generation yet to be born.

Remove the power from the politicians and bureaucrats and you stop back scratching, which at the end of the day is corruption.

Local bodies should return to their proper functions.

That is not building, owning and running theaters, stadiums, swimming pools or railways.

Not spending the ratepayer hard earned dollars on world cups and yacht races, those who want theaters, swimming pools or stadium should put their money were their mouth is.

The squeaking wheels should be ignored; we as a nation must stop running to government when we think we have a need.

There is no money tree; every cent spent by government must be appropriated from the ratepayer or taxpayer.

Student Debt

While much breast beating goes on about the millions of dollars owed both by expats and residents.
There is a simple answer, in the case of the expats.
Sell the debt by international tender, the debt dodger will not want their credit rating affected.
Not a good look for a high flyer.
The same  for the resident non payer, again sell the debt to a local debt collector.
  
 

First Post

                                                   Se Vis Pacem Para Bellum

                  First post to the blog of Michael Murphy, Libertarian of the North Shore.

                                                        Telling it like it is.

                                          The Government has Only Two Functions.

                                                      Defence of the Realm

                                        Protecting Citizens from external aggression.


                                                     Administration of Justice.

                                                 Protecting citizens from one another.
                                                Protecting Citizens from Government.

Sadly the incumbent Government of New Zealand and it's predecessors have failed miserably at both these functions.

As a Libertarian I believe in the freedom of the human individual, it therefore follows that I must question all propositions.  Even if they have the appearance of being pro freedom.

                                             A Nation can not Tax it's self to Prosperity.


                                               Nor can it Legislate it's self to Morality.
                                                
                                                   Or Regulate it's self to Happiness.