The 80 year old head of south Canterbury finance recently appeared on a TV interview following his companies 75% increase in pre-tax profits over last year. He put the companies success despite the recent troubles his competitors down to diversifing there assets and having only 15% of there holding invested in wellington and Auckland. He went on to say that he had long been an advocate of a indepented South Island Republic and that it would be the Switzerland of the South Pacific.
I for one could not agree more the productive in the south have long been forced to pay to "fix" the problems of the north only to cause more problems that wellington then uses to justifie taking even more money from the south. With the exception of Jim Andertons electric and a few hippies at golden bay the south island is on a whole far more opposed to the crap passed in wellington. The individualist mentality is far more common in the south.
Should a south Island republic be established I predict the following outcome
-The capital shall be established in Christchurch, The old university site (now the arts center) shall be made the parliamentary buildings.
-The RMA act will immediately be over turned, all bureaucrats directly employed by local or central government currently enforcing the act in a best case scenario shall be banished permanently to the North Island, In a worst case scenario the farmers will get there way and they will be publicly hang (not a good look internationally, great attempts should be made to avoid this).
-The Republic shall withdraw all existing ties with the UN
-All rural schools closed down by the Labour government in that last 8 years shall be reopened.
-The running of health and education and setting of laws and regulation regarding vice shall be the responsibility of provincial governments
-Drink driving on rural roads will be permitted between the hours of 9 at night and 5 in the morning providing the vehicle is a land-rover or Toyota Hylax, the hazard lights are on and speed is kept to below 1/3 the speed limit.
-The open road speed limit shall be increased to 120km/h
-The unemployment benefit shall be abolished in time
-Tax shall be lower then any time in recent New Zealand history
-The south republic shall fluoish while the north falls to the statis of a 3rd world state.
Any thoughts?