It is difficult to underplay what an enormous abuse of power to the interests of every New Zealander that the Regulatory Standards Bill represents to Māori and every New Zealander.
I believe that the last election was dominated by voters who felt an intense post Covid Bitterness that was directed at Jacinda Ardern for having the temerity to save 20 000 lives froma. ocne ina. century pandemic.
Thus misplaced fury saw Kiwis elect a Government consisting of National, ACT and NZFirsty without truly appreciating the fine print.
Chris Luxon was portrayed as a great deal maker, but the deal he ended up making with David Seymour and Winston Peters saw deeply unpopular and reactionary policy pushed at the expense of the common good.
The Regulatory Standards Bill was one such policy.
Rejected by 98% of those who submitted against it, the Regulatory Standards Bill allows for the creation of a taxpayer funded Board of corporate interests to vet all legislation to ensure it doesn’t impinge upon the profits of the ultra wealthy.
It is an law that uses a very narrow libertarian definition of freedom to place property rights above human rights.
It bypasses the obligations of the Treaty and environmental concerns to ensure the ultra wealthy will always ensure their interests are paramount when it comes to passing laws.
This is an obscenity.
We elect representatives from our communities as politicians to pass laws based on their values and their principles, allowing unelected corporate interests to inject themselves into the decision making process to undermine those laws is the very antithesis of democracy.
There is a reason Labour, the Greens and te Pati Māori have all stepped up and said that this law will be the first they burn if they win power next year, because it undermines the very values of our democracy to enable big business.
Democracy should be for the people, by the people and in the interests of the people, The Regulatory Standards Bill turns New Zealand into a country for Big Business, dictated to by Big Business, in the interests of Big Business.
The passing of this law is a bleak day in our Country.
