Again, I ask you, does any of this sound familiar?
A crash programme of massive cuts; demolishing public services; privatising public assets; centralising political power; sacking civil servants; sweeping away constraints on corporations and oligarchs; destroying regulations that protect workers, vulnerable people and the living world; supporting landlords against tenants; criminalising peaceful protest; restricting the right to strike.
Sounds like the agenda of the new hard right racist climate denying Government right?
Sure, but it’s also the agenda of the far right Atlas Network think tank!
George Monbiot has done an expose on how the Atlas Network influences UK politics and TDB has highlighted the links between them and NZ politics.
Right now NZ is passing draconian anti gang law that could easily be used against environmental protesters or Māori protestors.
In Judith Collins as the new Minister for the GCSB, SIS, Defence and Attorney-General we have an enormous amount of power for someone who has a long track record of basing power.
She is the most irresponsible appointment by Luxon which only highlights Luxon’s weakness as leader (something we’ve seen since this Government formed as Seymour and Winston consistently overshadowed him) .
No one as ruthless, dangerous and manipulative as Judith Collins should ever be allowed anywhere near the Intelligence Apparatus!
It’s like giving an arsonist a flame thrower and a subscription to Burn Porn! (do not google that!)
She is the most unsuited human being for that level of power and if ANYTHING keeps you up at night, it should be Judith Collins as the Minister for Spooks!
Now if we look at the Atlas Network’s influence elsewhere, they have used extreme powers to blunt protest movements…
The dark-money junktanks, and the Atlas Network, are a highly effective means of disguising and aggregating power. They are the channel through which billionaires and corporations influence politics without showing their hands, learn the most effective policies and tactics for overcoming resistance to their agenda, and then spread these policies and tactics around the world. This is how nominal democracies become new aristocracies.
They also seem to be adept at shaping public opinion. For example, around the world, neoliberal junktanks have not only lobbied for extreme anti-protest measures, but have successfully demonised environmental protesters as “extremists” and “terrorists”. This might help to explain why peaceful environmental campaigners blocking a road are routinely punched, kicked and spat upon, and in some places run over or threatened with guns, by other citizens, while farmers or truckers blocking a road are not. It might also explain why there is scarcely a murmur of media coverage or public concern when extreme penalties are imposed: such as the six-month prison sentence handed in December to the climate campaigner Stephen Gingell for slow-marching along a London street.
…so I ask again, when will these draconian powers being passed under the guise of combating da gangs get used against protestors protesting the extreme policies of this hard right racist climate denying Government?
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We’ve lost our focus on the environment and Housing crisis towards a poisoned regulatory environment one of the things we can expect to see is a reduction in government spending and a reduction to our climate commitments. To get to carbon neutral by 2050 required a number of changes being pushed so far out now they’re meaningless. Infrastructure funding reductions with respect to the types of infrastructure the government invests in – reduced. All of this now is viewed through the lense of national security because its such an issue for this government that doesn’t require extremely huge some of money theh can get away with a handful of deployed personal. Climate is such an issue now simply because Simon Watts is minister.
Everyone assumes that for whatever reason that there issues are different from others and its going all over the place. It’s the diversity of opinion that’s making it very difficult to mange anything. If you really want to herd voters then give them tid bits. Yknow not just promises but give them lunches in schools free public transport. But grow the food and build the buses yourselves and so on. We simply can not get the type of change needed on the time allowed by going with National or even Labour I look forward to Sundays Blog on Chloe. Something got to change.
They seem to especially hate Greta Thunberg. They particularly resent the fact that she sometimes flies two places. As if the airline is going to say “Greta isn’t coming? Okay cancel the flight.”
So your point is what Martyn? That the government shouldn’t try to curb the power of gangs?
I have written repeatedly how we attack gangs and curb their corrosive connections to South American Cartels who use a level of violence and sophistication far beyond the domestic gangs. This nonsense measure by National will only radicalise gangs, it won’t curb them.
I have written about this many, many, many times
I bet a suitable ‘homeland security’ act is already in polititians desk drawers just waiting for a incident
I suppose the real question with Atlas Foundation links to NZ First, ACT, Natz is how much money and influence did they give / have in our last election?