One of the problems with a Libertarian form of Government, a problem in the sense it scares many people and confuses the rest, is how infrastructure projects or hospitals or schools would be initiated under a Libz Government.

Many people have visions of a free for all with half finished roads and hospital construction projects being abandoned when developers run out of money, others cannot quite see a spontaneous thought of "let's build a new motorway" popping into the head of the average Billionaire, and generally speaking there is a mental block with regards to many of these matters.

I suggest it is this which scares people from voting Libertarian more than anything else; and also gives ammunition to the Socialist line that it is more sensible for the State to do all these things, due to confusion and lack of credibility to a Libz free for all.

Needless to say both the Socialists and the general public are wrong and we are right; and here is why...

What would be a good idea is to follow the model used regarding Oil exploration permits in New Zealand, whereby the Government calls for tenders and companies seeking an exploration permit in an area can submit a tender stating the specific area they will be searching in, their intended progress and timeline, and their financial means to carry out the project.

A benefit of this...(and there is much about the oil exploration process in New Zealand which is wrong and silly)...is only a company financially capable of oil exporation is issued a permit, and a timeline of work means no permit is given to someone who will simply do nothing.

It would be a fairly straightforward matter to simply call for tenders for anyone wanting to build a road, or school, or hospital, or hydro-dam or whatever.

Companies can then submit their business plan showing what they want to do, their timeframes, and showing they have the financial means to complete the project by way of bank loans, listing on the Stock Exchange, issuing bonds or whatever.

This will prevent a free for all which may lead to half finished projects creating an eye-sore on the New Zealand landscape and damaging the credibility of the Libertarian way of doing things.

But rather than a bureaucracy being created to administer this I believe get by with a relevant Minister and small staff of officials, who, afterall are not actually initiating anything themselves, but rather simply reviewing timeframes and financial capabilities of companies suggesting entirely private projects.

An example of this is a small panelbeater in, say, Henderson asking to build a motorway between Te Kuiti and Gisborne (!) and being rejected because it would take 25 years and the net assets of the company are $200,000; whereas Fulton Hogan suggesting the same project with their track record of road construction, and ability to raise a large amount of money to finance the project, and assurance it would take only 8 years, may well get the go ahead.

Needless to say there are some issues in such a project all of which would be dealt with by market forces...

1. The purchase of farmland and houses along the proposed route would be a matter entirely for landowners and the company to decide for themselves; and if no one sells any land then the scheme would never get off the ground and the Government is kept out of it (by repealing the compulsory acquisition legislation)

2. It is likely that any future bond or share issue will be looked at very closely by investors after 3 dozen finance company collapses in the last couple of years, so selling a single share or bond to finance the project will require confidence of some rather suspicious people who would need to be convinced that dividends and interest payments would and could be met.

3. Whether there is any need for a motorway between Te Kuiti and Gisborne is irrelevant as far as the Government is concerned, and if there is no particular need for it that would show up when trying to raise the financing.

The main reason I am suggesting a Minister giving the go ahead, rather than just letting everyone get stuck in, is how it 'looks'.

It looks better, and is more reassuring for the masses if someone gets through a rudimentary 'box ticking' exercise at Cabinet Minister level, although obviously, in practice, the Panelbeater from West Auckland would never get such a project off the ground due to the implausibility of any claims they would make in a prospectus seeking to raise finance, but rather than having a situation where someone could be most welcome to just go and try, it is better to put a 'circuit breaker' into the mix so as not to scare the horses.