AMXL

Since the October elections, the NACT (National + ACT) government which was elected has been moving to push its policy agenda at record speed. These right wing parties won majority control in the house of representatives by painting the existing Labour-led government as wanting to run a 'nanny state' which was taxing the country into the ground.

However, the types of policies we have been seeing are not really what the people have voted for. I'm sure that the people who voted for National didn't intend vote for most of the poor policy which has been pushed through. At least, I voted for Richard Worth (National) to be the Epsom MP, and I continue to be shocked nearly every day at what National is doing to this country.

I have compiled a list of some of the things the NACT government have done that ordinary voters probably didn't think they were voting for. These are all either acts which have been passed by the government, or parts of government bills that are going through the process:

• Making the greater Auckland region into a 'super-city' with one Lord-Mayor with executive powers, and no effective representation at any more local level. Especially if this leads to more sales of city assets.
• Undermining worker's rights by allowing them to be sacked without the employer giving a reason in the first 90 days.
• Removing the obligation on fuel suppliers to supply biofuels.
• Lifting the restrictions on fossil-fuel based thermal power generation.
• Allowing 12 and 13 year old children to be prosecuted and imprisoned for offences other than murder or manslaughter.
• Requiring councils to specifically identify all protected trees, instead of making general rules about what types of trees are protected.
• Stripping away the rights of community groups to make submissions on plans under the resource management act.
• Making it prohibitively expensive for community groups (in terms of fees and securities for court costs) to seek environment court reviews.
• Abolishing the 'citizens jury' on electoral procedure, and repealing the Electoral Finance Act so private organisations can use their resources for undue political influence.
• Making it harder for people to recover from oppressive debt by making the length of time for which no asset procedures and bankruptcies are kept on record.
• Letting private companies be appointed as administrators to run public schools.
• Making it an offence, punishable by fine or imprisonment, to not answer questions relating to a student allowance (rather than simply grounds for the allowance to be stopped).
• Letting private companies run prisons.