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Online usersPollWhat should the government do about ailing financial institutions? Nothing, except to back off and get out—as any Objectivist knows, intervention is treating the disease with the disease 84% Intervene judiciously—enough to avert a catastrophe that is otherwise imminent 3% Intervene massively—as it's doing 3% Nationalize the whole economy and be done with it. Bring on the USSA! 1% Something else (specify) 9% Total votes: 76
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ACT: The Party of Unionists? Submitted by Callum McPetrie on Fri, 2008-08-22 10:47.
The top 10 on the ACT Party List for the 2008 election goes as follows: 1. Rodney Hide Recognize #10? Probably not. (In fact, you should be congratulated if you recognize anyone from the entire second half of that list.) However, if you're in the Engineering Printing and Manufacturing Union, you'll definitely know him: he's Shawn Tan, and he's made big news in the Union recently. As well as working for, as the ACT website says, three different Unions, he's also been involved in organizations such as the "Students for Justice in Palestine", a group that is, officially, "organized on democratic principles to promote justice, human rights, liberation and self-determination for the Palestinian people, with goals that include "the full decolonisation of all illegally held Palestinian lands, the end of the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem; the implementation of the right of return and repatriation of all Palestinian refugees to their original homes and properties, as well as an end to the apartheid system of discrimination against the Palestinian population". In other words, another anti-Israel group that is, because of its support of Israel, anti-United States. Don't forget that he's also just come over from the Green Party. So, what about the other candidates on that list? Obviously, Rodney Hide and Heather Roy are at the top. Then, there's Roger Douglas and John Boscawen -not bad choices. As for numbers 6-9: well, there's a guy who's written a Maori novel. Another candidate's biggest political challenge is opposing the Trans-Tasman Therapeutics Bill. There isn't a lot to say about the others. Also, consider who you don't see on the list. The people you see above you have replaced outstanding candidates such as Lindsay Mitchell, who is one of New Zealand's leading crusaders against Nanny State. Which is a damn shame -if ACT does get into Parliament, it would be nice to see her there. Some debate has also been occuring over the EPMU's course of action regarding it's new ACT Candidate; Whaleoil calls it "disgusting". However, I beg to differ; the Union, as a private entity, has the right to hire and fire whoever it wants -which is part of Libertarianism. However, it is very hypocritical that a Union should be doing so -considering that Unions originally pushed for the banning of such practices. Original story: http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/union-accused-discriminating-against-employ...
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Good piece Callum. And you
Good piece Callum. And you are right: the only member of ACT I knew was dedicated to rolling back the welfare state, thanks to her written words, and her activism working toward that end through gaining media slots, etc, was Lindsay Mitchell, and they put a whole lot of unproven unknowns ahead of her.
If freedom is the desire, there is now absolutely no reason left to vote ACT.
Shawn Tan @ Kiwiblog
I’ve always been a civil libertarian, even when I identified with various leftist schools of thought. Now that I have embraced economic liberty too, only now can I truly call myself a coherent and consistent proponent of freedom in a holistic sense.
In his own words
Perhaps it is time for the
Perhaps it is time for the EPMU to learn a valuable lesson about the rights of employers to
1) Have freedom of association
and
2) Protect their business interests
It's all about what is yours, what you have developed, produced and cultivated and having the freedom to ensure your property continues to be yours and continues to produce and develop as you wish. Shawn Tan, while having some legal recourse, has no moral right to continued employment with the EPMU. The EPMU, while being in a position of being seen as rank hypocrites, has no moral obligation to continue employing Shawn Tan.
I am hopeful that Shawn Tan will take the moral high road and NOT seek any redress through the courts. Sure it would be a great chance to stick it to the EPMU and show them up for being the NIMBY hypocrites that they are but...
principles, principles, principles
They have to come first. You have to adhere to them utterly if you are to have any hope of convincing people that yours work.
Shawn Tan will get along just fine without the EPMU, and it's important that he is seen to do so without seeking redress - he sticks to his principles and they work. The EPMU on the other hand, gets to wallow in hypocrisy and be seen to very publicly betray their principles. After all what else could they do? Their principles don't work.
It is a shame there is a
It is a shame there is a Trades Unionist chap on the ACT list....that is a rather collectivist activity (not to mention 'blue collar') and supporting a Palestinian (which is code word for 'Terrorism') organisation is just shocking...but some of the names, yes, gosh, rather surprising who is not on the list.
The problem with ACT is the absence of any members or organisation outside of the Epsom electorate...(and surprisingly few inside)
In terms of people there are far more Libz activists then ACT ...you could take almost any part of NZ and the Libz could rustle up some chaps fairly easily, whereas ACT cannot because there aren't any.
One obvious explanation for my surprise at who is not on the ACT list could be that all these chaps left the party when it abandoned libertarianism (and politics altogether) a couple of years ago.
On election day...tick the LIBERTARIANZ box...
Hmm
Callum, I wouldn't be too quick to criticise Shawn Tan. Changing political parties is a process which is pretty public, and he must be very sure of his beliefs to do so in this way.