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Submitting on Seabed and Foreshore No 2

  • November 24th, 2010

The government must be desperate to get their Marine and Coastal Area Bill through.

My written submission went in on Friday at the last possible time.  I was called on Monday and asked to appear at the earliest possible occasion.  So I'll be before the Maori Affairs Select Committee this evening at 5-30 pm.

I'm not looking forward to this duty. I've spoken to some deeply unimpressed submitters from yesterday. The Chairman's prickly response to John Boscawen's reasonable protest yesterday does not bode well.

Sending a Bill of major constitutional significance to that Committee contrasts badly with Dr Cullen's establishment of a Special Committee, including Parliamentary heavyweights, to consider his Foreshore and Seabed Bill. 

The result was vastly improved legislation. It benefitted from National's intense political challenge, the earnest work of United Future, and the need to ensure that NZ First could support it.

Unfortunately, from what I heard of yesterday's contributions, Labour are not performing the duties of an Opposition. They are not defending their own record and testing the government lines. Perhaps that will change as the MPs warm up to their task. It is hardly fair to expect them to be across the issues in submissions they can not have seen until Monday midday at the soonest.

I fear, however, that we are back in the political state suffered from mid 1980 to 2003, when the major parties colluded to ensure that ordinary New Zealander's concerns about racist law were stifled, and never debated in Parliament without snide references to "red neckery". Dr Brashes Orewa speech blew that cosy consensus open. Have the establishment parties now drawn the curtains closed again?

If so I forsee them being re-opened by Winston Peters. He could swing from them back into Parliament.  

Back to this evening. The competence and strength of each committee changes with personnel so I will not prejudge the perspicacity or pertinacity of the current members of the Maori Affairs Committee who I do not know. But  I was substituted to sit on that committee  several times during my time in Parliament. Not only was it ineffably light weight in effort, the members formed a discourteous cross-party club, happy to dismiss outside views as not needing discussion. I was grateful to Georgina Te HeuHeu for intervening to prevent them spending more time attacking me one morning for questioning a department boss than they did questioning him.

Comments

Gravatar
  • peterquixote
  • November 24th, 2010
  • 7:27 pm

Stephen, thanks for your submission but we are New Zealanders and we don't care about the delicate details.
The position now is that nobody owns the foreshore, except maybe Maori who can do what they like with it.
We are taking back our foreshore and I can guarantee you that.
To do this we will appoint Winston Peters to a position of power.
Peters will achieve 5% of votes, and that will be the end of the smiling girl Scout Key Government .

Gravatar
  • Chuck Bird
  • December 6th, 2010
  • 9:23 pm

Stephen, I heard Mike Hosking interview John Key on NewstalkZB.  He mentioned how Finlayson was referring to well qualified people who opposed this legislation as clowns.  He quoted your submission and asked Key directly if he considered you also a clown.  Instead of defending you Key said no comment.  It looks like you are wasting your time with National.
BTW – have you read Coddington's column in the Herald.  I do not know why she ever became an ACT MP.  I suppose it was to do with the libertarian faction who supported everything from legalising all drugs to consenting incest.

She is a very opinionated woman for someone so dumb.  I remember talking to her when Don Brash joined National.  I said ACT will be in trouble.  She tried to tell me that Brash being National would help ACT. 

I have since heard that she was part of a group her encouraged Brash to join National thereby undermining ACT while she was an ACT MP. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Gravatar
  • peterquixote
  • December 6th, 2010
  • 10:02 pm

the clown here  is Finlayson, and his future political life is not

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