Sean, one of our newest members, getting Vic students to do the “World’s Smallest Political Quiz”.

Each year, on the Wednesday of Orientation week, Victoria University has a Clubs Day in the quad. And since 2005 the Libertarianz Party have presented Vic students with a genuine political alternative. I may have left university at the end of last year, but I’m still organizing Libz on Campus (someone’s got to do it). Clubs Day is a perfect opportunity to set up a table, hand out pamphlets, advocate libertarian ideas and most importantly, recruit enthusiastic new members.

The day began well, but we had a minor setback involving me getting some verbal abuse from a Student’s Association bureaucrat who thought we had no right to be there and told me, rather forcefully, that we should just f*** off (Also, he accused me of being rude to him!). We cooperated by moving to his suggested spot in the library foyer, but that was fine because in some ways it was the better location. Shelter from the unforgiving Wellington wind is vital when you have a table covered in pamphlets, quizzes, samizdata and Free Radicals.

Luke was hungover tired and I was stressed out by my encounter with bureaucracy. I hate red tape, along with all forms of rules, restrictions and regulations. A typically libertarian attitude, but it does get me into trouble sometimes. Luckily we were rescued by two enthusiastic and very effective Libz activists, Mitch (editor of Samizdat) and Sean (pictured). Together we signed up a number of new members, collected donations, received several more expressions of interest and engaged quite a few people in debate and discussion. Not bad for a party which received 0.04% of the vote last election! Thanks Mitch and Sean, you guys are legends.

We are currently considering a regular meeting time, and developing ideas for further activism now we have some more new members.

Canterbury and Elsewhere

We also had a presence at Canterbury University (thanks to Rick for sending the full-size photo). As Rick Giles of Act on Campus describes:

Libertarianz Ben Morgan and his girl Jess. A hard worker, all on his own and signing up lots of names despite being a hard-talking no-shit tactless (but all in good spirit) typical Libertarianz libertarian. Did I used to talk to people like that?

Ben got 72 email addresses which he will follow up on. While that’s not the same as signing people up, it’s an amazing achievement for someone manning a stall single-handedly. Good on you, Ben! And Rick: perhaps it is because he is a “hard-talking no-shit tactless… libertarian” that he got so much interest? Just a thought.

The next opportunity to help us out on campus is next Tuesday at Auckland University, all day in the quad. Contact Daniel Aguilar, mexaguil@gmail.com, if you’re interested in doing some activism there. It’s fun and rewarding and I highly recommend it!

 UPDATED: PC and Daniel Aguilar had a table at Auckland University on Thursday morning. They will also be there Tuesday next week for Clubs Day. Here’s a photo of Daniel:

Politics, Libertarianz, Personal | 3 Comments »

Recently Phil and I have been experiencing a lifestyle of almost complete freedom, enabled by the good folks at Student Job Search.

Whitby: Shifting an old deck to a dumpster, digging postholes and creating new flowerbeds.

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Holidays, Wellington, Personal, New Zealand | 2 Comments »

There has been a fair bit of blogospheric speculation about links between yesterday’s attempted hijacking and terrorism. Even Instapundit linked to one such post. However the facts that the woman was confused, unable to overpower the pilots, not effectively armed and not in possession of a bomb all support the theory that it was an impulsive act by a mentally ill woman. There is no indication of planning, involvement by a terrorist organization or any plan to commit suicide.

As it turns out, the hijacker Asha Ali Abdille is well-known not only to police and other Somali refugees, but to immigration authorities, the media and Winston Peters. Since her arrival from Kenya in 1994 she has amassed a string of convictions that Peters, with a touch of hyperbole, compared to Al Capone. For example in 1995, The Dominion 26 January:

A SOMALI national, Asha Ali Abdille, appeared in Wellington District Court yesterday on charges of threatening to kill, common assault, and assaulting and resisting police.

The offences are alleged to have occurred in a Wellington office building.

Abdille, 20, had an interpreter present as Judge John Dalmer remanded her on bail without plea till February 8.

In 2004, Peters made this attack on Abdille using parliamentary privilege:

“But this (Ms Abdille’s) story just gets worse. It turns out this so-called sympathy case for bleeding heart liberals has a background Al Capone would have been proud of. She has, one, several convictions for violence and intimidation. Two, a charge of conspiracy to kill, which did not proceed because the prosecution witnesses refused to testify.

“Three, she has already brought in several family members, some of which allegedly were not even true family members, but which checks failed to identify. Four, she moves regularly between the Somali communities in Hamilton, Hawke’s Bay, Christchurch and Lower Hutt, using intimidatory tactics to get her way. And, fifth, she is also well-known for carrying weapons and for spitting at people’s faces and then telling them she has Aids. Clearly a true role model for our refugee programme.”

In fact Abdille went to the papers with a sob story after she spent $15,000 flying 14 family members to NZ to be interviewed for family reunification visas. After the family members had returned home they were told to come back and submit to DNA testing, apparently due to doubts the immigration authorities had about their relationship to Abdille. Several sympathetic members
of the public donated money to her as a result.

Peters later claimed that his Official Information Act requests were returned with all relevant information, including Abdille’s criminal history, blanked out.

Politics, New Zealand, Terrorism | 1 Comment »

The big news in New Zealand today was the attempted hijacking of a small Air NZ flight from Blenheim to Christchurch, allegedly by a 33-year old Somali refugee who claimed she had a bomb and demanded to be taken to Australia before attacking the pilots with a knife, causing minor injuries. The taxi driver who took her to the airport said she seemed confused, and it appears that she had mental problems rather than sinister intent.

Predictably there have been calls for increased security - surely an overreaction, it is not unusual for there to be no screening of passengers on aircraft with fewer than 90 seats, because the risk is so low.

It is interesting to see again how vulnerable air transport is to disruption. In this case Christchurch airport was evacuated, there were contradictory reports to affected passengers, and to make things worse, Air New Zealand’s computer systems crashed when passengers finally returned to the terminal and rushed to check in.

There have been suggestions that this is the first incident of this kind in New Zealand (because of course we live in a benign strategic environment where domestic terrorism is unheard of). This is not true. An aircraft squawked 7500 in 1995. I only know this because I used to live in Stratford, where I met Steve, one of the hostages, who described the entire incident in detail. Otherwise I would never have heard of it.

Steve was interviewed in the Dominion, 31st October 1995:

ARMED police began searching for a man with five guns in rugged country in Tongariro National Park last night after he had earlier hijacked a helicopter and taken two hostages.
Police named the fugitive as Chris Short, 37, of Taupo.

[. . .]

At 1.30pm yesterday Mr Short, carrying five guns, climbed out of a car at Mangatepopo, near State Highway 47 (the National Park to Taupo highway), and ordered pilot Tony Brice from Eltham’s Beck Helicopters to fly him to Mt Tongariro, Mr Warne said.

Neither of two Beck Helicopters workers taken hostage in the helicopter, or a third man left near Mangatepopo, were harmed.

Steve Beck, one of the hostages, said from the Stratford home of Mr Brice last night that Mr Short had set himself up on a strategic part of the mountain with 1000 metres of visibility in all directions. Mr Beck said he thought Mr Short had two sawn-off shotguns, a .22 magnum rifle with a scope, a .303, and another high-powered rifle and a back-pack of ammunition.

“It’ll be an uphill battle for anyone who tries to go in there. It’s all steep faces, open ground and tussock,” Mr Beck said.

He estimated Mr Short was at about 4900 metres altitude. He said he looked as though he was prepared to stay on the mountain for some time. He described him as rational and dedicated to his cause, stopping 1080 poisoning in the Taurewa forest.

“We thought he was joking till he pointed two sawn-off shotguns at us and said this is a hold-up,” Mr Beck said. “Then we thought he was after our money but he was protesting against 1080 poisoning.”

[. . . ]

Mr Brice said he had pretended he was not the helicopter pilot, but Mr Short recognised his uniform. Then Mr Brice said he couldn’t fly because there was too much cloud but Mr Short pointed the gun at him and made him fly anyway.

[. . . ]

Mr Short asked for nothing but the helicopter cellphone, which they gave him, with a spare battery. After sharing a cup of tea with Mr Short, the two men flew back to safety and alerted the police.

And from 4th November:

HIJACKING a helicopter had wrecked his family’s life but lifted a huge weight off his back, gunman Chris Short said yesterday.

He walked into Taupo police station at midday yesterday. His surrender ended four days of drama after Short, 37, a Taupo butcher, forced the helicopter crew to fly to Mt Tongariro on Monday.

He appeared in Taupo District Court yesterday on two counts of kidnapping, one of armed robbery for taking a cellphone from the helicopter crew, and possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose.

For some reason the late, former Labour cabinet minister Trevor de Cleene accompanied Short to the station. I hear these days Short is known as an accomplished bowhunter. I suspect that might have something to do with his firearms license being revoked after that helicopter stunt.

It does show how strongly some people feel about seemingly minor issues like 1080. The controversy has led to violence and civil disobedience in rural parts of NZ more than once.

Police, Infrastructure, New Zealand, Terrorism | No Comments »

There is no greater threat to liberty … than the fourth kind of politics, the politics of speech rationing. It is commonly called campaign finance reform, but it’s nothing of the sort. It is simply the assertion of the government of a new, audacious right: the right to determine the timing, content, and amount of political advocacy about the government.

George F. Wills

A very timely reminder of what the Electoral Finance Act speech rationing is all about.

Hat tip: Bernard Darnton, who saw it all coming.

Free Speech, Politics, Libertarianz, Labour, New Zealand | 2 Comments »

After enjoying Maori support for Labour for decades, Helen Clark no longer visits Waitangi on February 6, because in 1998, Maori activist Titewhai Harawira made her cry, and in 2004 she was ‘jostled’.

After Brash’s Orewa speech, Maori hated National. Yet after a simple and effective visit to a predominately Maori Auckland street, John Key has captured Maori hearts and minds. This year he rocked up to Waitangi with Helen’s nemesis Titewhai Harawira. Then he entered the meeting house and shook Tame Iti’s hand.

Let me rephrase that. He walked up to the leader of the Urewera 17, who were ‘allegedly’ plotting to assasinate Key himself - and shook the man’s hand.

Let’s review.

Waitangi Day, February 6.

Clark: Cries and refuses to come back.

Key: Strolls in and shakes the hand of the man who plotted to kill him.

Key may not have policies, but he sure has balls!

Politics, New Zealand | 3 Comments »

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Youth

Libertarianz education spokesman Phil Howison today slammed Helen Clark and John Key’s mirror-image plans to nationalise New Zealand teenagers.

“Forcing students to stay at school until they are 18 will cause unruly classrooms, bored students, stressed teachers and an increased burden for taxpayers” says Libertarianz education spokesman Phil Howison. “It is essentially an admission of defeat for state education. If eleven years in state schools leaves most students unemployable, what difference can adding two years make?” Howison asks. “Clark and Key have come up with plans combining the worst excesses of Nanny State. Add to it the plans to screen toddlers for ‘anti-social behaviour’, schools such as Westlake Boys High School which hold back even academically gifted students for a year if they have a ‘bad attitude’, and the threat of boot camp for students who refuse to comply, and you have the blueprints for unprecedented state control of New Zealand youth.”In her attempt to cram reluctant learners back in the classroom, Clark also condemns those who actually want to be there to disruptive and unruly classrooms. “Students who are hostile towards their compulsory schooling usually end up being disruptive and lowering the quality of the learning environment,” Howison says, pointing to Hutt Valley High School as a particularly grim example. He also laments the unnecessary stress that will burden teachers as they struggle with
classroom discipline, becoming babysitters rather than educators. “Forget about Key’s boot camps - schools these days seem to be just as rife with violence, bullying and substance abuse as the prisons. But all teenagers, not just youth offenders, are forced to attend!”

The extra $150 million of taxpayer loot that Clark is prepared to spend on turning schools into prisons will hit the taxpayer where it hurts again. “Clark’s scheme will take many young people out of the workforce where they are learning to be self-sufficient and productive, leaving them with no choice but to accept government handouts” says Howison. “And Key’s plan is no better. By supplying government funding to even more tertiary courses, he would extend government control of higher education, leaving a mere facade of private ownership while leaving the door open for waste and abuse.”

“The first step of the Libertarianz transitional education policy will be to lower the compulsory school leaving age to zero. In a free society, all interactions including the decision to stay at school must be voluntary. To help young people gain meaningful employment and encourage private apprenticeships, Libertarianz will remove minimum wage laws and make the first $10,000 of income tax free,” Howison says. “Libertarianz believe in the separation of school and state, allowing new methods, subjects and ideas to evolve in a free market system.”

“It’s enough to make you vote Libertarianz!”

ENDS

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Education, Politics, Libertarianz, Labour | No Comments »

The more sophisticated election-robbers will prepare the playing field prior to an election while refraining from crude stunts like arresting candidates, beating up opposition voters or burning ballots:

“My old boss once said, ‘Only amateurs steal an election on election day,’” says Hennemeyer. Controlling the process itself is generally far more effective and difficult to prevent than blatantly stealing an election at the polling-station level.

According to Foreign Policy, the top way to steal an election is to stack the electoral commission.

It’s much easier to steal an election when there are fewer checks on executive power and no legal framework for resolving disputes. When the laws are vague, election commissions are often powerless to confront a powerful central leader. “When you have a partial constitution that doesn’t lay out the details of election law properly, that’s a problem,” says Chris Hennemeyer, director of African programs at the election-monitoring group IFES, adding, “It’s a tried-and-true technique to stack the electoral commission with your cronies.”

Vague electoral law, a powerful central leader, a partial constitution and powerless electoral commissions. Anything sound familiar there?..

Second on the list is media manipulation.

In countries with little or no independent media outlets, opportunities are rife for leaders to use state-controlled media to broadcast propaganda or discredit the opposition. Crackdowns on independent media are also common in the run-up to elections…

The proliferation of Internet news sources and text messaging can make it harder to control the flow of information, a fact exploited by Ukrainian bloggers during that country’s “Orange Revolution.” However, as bloggers critical of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak learned this year, they are not immune to government crackdowns or jail time. There are low-tech solutions as well. Since World War II, the U.S. government’s Voice of America service has provided relatively unbiased information to citizens without access to free media.

Again, in New Zealand we see state-controlled media and the shutdown of dissenting websites. Closer to the time we’ll see whether the government attempts any of the other items on FP’s list. However, all the warning signs are there - Labour is attempting to manipulate the electoral playing field to disadvantage the opposition. It’s theft, it’s corruption and it should not be allowed in a free country.

Free Speech, Labour, World | 4 Comments »

The real name of the anonymous blogger known as Idiot/Savant is a secret in the New Zealand blogosphere. I do not know the reasons why he chooses to hide behind a pseudonym, although there are many valid reasons why he might choose to. Simple privacy is reason enough.

However, Idiot/Savant’s real name and New Zealand residential address is known to Pacific Empire, and although I will not reveal it here, I would like to show you an aerial photograph of his house.

Now this may seem like a breach of I/S’s privacy - and it would be, if I had actually revealed his name and address - but this information is no more than Idiot/Savant thinks is fair for others who choose to express their political opinions online.

The requirements for [complying with the Electoral Finance Act] were not onerous - adding a statement setting out his name and address - and would have historically been required if he had published his advertisement in any other medium. But apparently, that was too much for him, so instead he has chosen to play the martyr and silence himself instead.

This is not something anyone should have any sympathy for.

No, Idiot/Savant. It is your hypocritical position on free speech that no one should have any sympathy for.

Hypocrisy? Oh yes. When websites and website authors are threatened by governments overseas, such as in Malaysia, Idiot/Savant leaps to defend them:

At the same time, they’ve claimed that they are not trying to “strangle internet freedom”. Of course not. They’re simply trying to silence everyone who disagrees with them, which is of course completely different.

How insightful. Yet I/S thinks that the Electoral Finance Act shutting down a website because someone wishes to hold a political opinion anonymously is somehow NOT an attack on free speech.

As the Tui ads go, Yeah Right.

Hat tip: DPF

In the interests of fairness, here is an aerial picture of my own house.

Free Speech, Politics, New Zealand | 13 Comments »

While in Christchurch for Christmas, Luke and I stayed at a cousin’s place in Addington. Addington is conveniently located close to the center of town, and has a fairly good shopping area. It also has a high crime rate, evidenced by the barbed wire surrounding many Addington businesses. The suburb was home to one of the main Christchurch prisons until 1999 - the prison has since been converted into the Jailhouse backpackers/youth hostel.

In the middle of Addington, the Epitaph Riders Motorcycle Club had their headquarters. The empty shell of their compound still stands, a testament to the darker side of Christchurch history, and the bad old days of gang warfare. Lets have a closer look:

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Police, Black globalization, New Zealand | No Comments »