National hates democracy

Yesterday, Parliament passed the Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Amendment Bill, extending the Canterbury dictatorship for three years. Today, Local Government Minister Chris Tremain issued a press release saying that Cantabrians were "better off" without democracy. I guess we're just lucky that Christchurch doesn't have a commuter rail system, or he'd be telling us that dictatorship will make the trains run on time as well.

This isn't an isolated incident. National has consistently pursued anti-democratic policies aimed at removing public control over public decision-making. Their local government "reforms" (sadly now law) are all about enabling the Minister to sack elected local representatives and impose further dictatorships. Their RMA "reforms" are similarly about cutting the public out of decision making and allowing Ministers to dictate ordinary resource consent decisions. At the Parliamentary level, they tried to get rid of MMP, and now they're pushing for a four-year term. I shudder to think what else they'd do if they thought they could get away with it.

One of our two major parties is openly opposed to the democratic system which empowers and legitimises it. We will not be safe until they are out of power.