3 simple words for the Labour Party

12
1

BxkQe6YCEAAV-C3

I have 3 very simple words for all those Labour Party apologists who are trying to rinse Labour clean here.

Get.

A.

Warrant.

You can all try and spin this any way you want, but Labour voted for 24 hour warrantless searches with safe guards so loose they could poke the Eye of Mordor through. There is no reason for warrantless searches, they can get a warrant any time. Trying to claim this was an act of moderation is bullshit in the extreme.

The SIS just got caught out working with the PMs Office to falsify SIS briefing notes to smear the Leader of the Opposition months before an election for Christ’s sake. That agency now has warrantless spying. You can call that a victory as much as you like. I call it for the shit sandwich it actually is. And if you were being honest and not partisan, that’s the same conclusion you would come to.

In the mean time, the SIS can carry out warrantless spying. What a victory. And in 3 years, if the SIS are caught AGAIN using these powers to smear the leader of the Opposition months out from the election, what exactly do we do then?

TDB Recommends NewzEngine.com

John Key just mugged Democracy and the Labour Party stamped its feet got some minuscule concessions that don’t really have any safeguards and voted for it anyway. Cuddling up to an authority worshiping muddle Nu Zilind so as to not look weak on national security isn’t principled.

Sure. It’ll win them the election as the confidence in Little’s bluntness attracts those now about to hurt from the economic slowdown. But it cost us a huge slice of our civil liberties.

If Little doesn’t pledge to replace this via a comprehensive review to roll back mass surveillance powers, then he and the Labour Party he represents is no friend of the Left or working New Zealanders.

They’ll then be just as bad.

12 COMMENTS

  1. Actually I think it will go down worse than that. Middle NuZilland isn’t that keen on the warrentless searches – far from being a tick for Labour from Middle NuZilland it will be a nail in their coffin come election day. You can bet Textor Crosby worked that one out and rushed around smoothing the way for Labour to be lulled into a false sense of camaraderie and support the bill with conditions. Notice how everyone is talking about Labour not National supporting it, check out the MSM – smoothing those feathers cos our lovely opposition Labour have put some ‘checks and balances’ in. Actually I think terrorism also relates to damage to property, so those peace activists who damaged the spy dome in Waihopai – not guilty under NZ law – but yet could be considered a terrorist under the freedom fighter rules. It’s scary. Also in my view by constantly repeating the message Middle NZ support Key and National policies – not true – you are reinforcing the misconception especially as the election was skewed. Many NZer’s are very concerned what is happening under our noses and in particular that the opposition are not doing their job. It is just there are not so many avenues to voice it. Labour are the obvious choice as the party to vote for, but not if they are just as bad on human rights as National. I read that Parker was asking a few questions about dirty politics in parliament – if only more of them would pick up the pace or even better actually get together with Greens, Maori, NZ First and put together a real opposition. Otherwise all those smears that happened last election – it will be worse next time.

      • I think the Greens wiull have no problems distancing themselves from the Labour-National Grand Coalition.

        I would not be at all surprised if the Green Party builds on this issue and receives a boost in poll ratings as a reward.

        Then again, maybe I’m hopelessly naive and don’t realise that 21st Century New Zealand loves the idea of a Surveillance State (to protect us from Muslim jihadists; uppity brown people; Kim Dotcom; communist Greenies; martians, pod people, Uncle Tom Cobbly…)

        In fact, somewhere along the line, I slipped through a tear in quantum realities and ended up in a Parallel Universe where the Rise of the Surveillance State is proceeding with hardly a murmur.

        I’ve said it before; this is not the country I grew up in.

        It is a hopelessly apathetic; easily-led; twisted, variant.

  2. I wouldn’t be so pessimistic about the Labour Party.
    It really isn’t in control of its destiny.
    It is really the political expression of contradictory class forces.
    It is really two parties combined in one ‘liberal-labour’ party.
    The liberal middle class leadership think they can manage capitalism better than the bosses by suppressing conflict between Labour and Capital.
    They try to sell this as in the interests of the working class in the unions and the party.
    They can’t because 21st century capitalism is in terminal crisis so that making profits and paying a living wage are in contradiction.
    The deeper the crisis, the more Labour goes to the right to protect profits the more active this contradiction.
    This contradiction will manifest itself as a deepening internal division in the Party.
    These forces are outside the control of whoever leads the Liberal-Labour Party so long as it serves the interests of capitalism.
    Inevitably workers will break from the Liberal leadership of the Liberal-Labour Party and form a mass workers party with a program to overthrow the capitalists power and expropriate the wealth created from wage-labour.
    The liberal leadership of the Labour Party can see this coming and that is why they agree that anti-terror laws must be directed at the NZ population.
    Those who fight for wage-labour inside the party, and outside, need to recognise this contradiction and act accordingly.
    http://redrave.blogspot.co.nz/2014/12/labour-party-split-re-activated.html

  3. The poll next to this item (“Do you believe New Zealand voters are losing confidence in John Key?”) is a mess. As well as being non-exhaustive and non-comprehensive, the answers offered (about the respondent) don’t match the question (about the voters). What’s wrong with just “Yes” and “No”?

  4. As stated above “There is no reason for warrantless searches, they can get a warrant any time”

    Therefor, the debate is irrelevant. If it helps the cause at all, give them 24 or 48 hours warrantless.

  5. “Therefor,[sic] the debate is irrelevant”.
    No so, Dan. To obtain a warrant it must be proven that they have a good reason to apply for one. On the other hand warrantless searches require no proof before the search is conducted.

Comments are closed.