The House has turned the delusions of paranoids into reality - Mild Greens.
"On sanctioning fascist surveillance and criminalisation, the House has turned the delusions of paranoids into reality."
Mild Green Open Letter to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade SELECT COMMITTEE
Submission on the Terrorism (Bombings and Financing) Bill
30 November 2001
The Mild Greens fully oppose proposed fascist surveillance and criminalisation amendments on the grounds that they:
1. presume terrorist motives in New Zealand
2. fail to acknowledge causes of global alienation and anger;
3. fail to acknowledge corruption in US administration and global influence;
4. manufacture consent with the so called "war on terror" - as evident in the attempt to bring forward legislation
without consulting public;
5. continue dangerous precedents and trends in invasion of privacy and freedom - root causes of dissent and dysfunction.
6. serve to provoke terrorist acts, rather than diffuse them.
Powers have been given to police and security forces worldwide which are outrageously counter-productive. In USA
military style forces fight a pathetic and grossly unjust war on medicinal marijuana users, for example, pretending that
their war against drugs is an honourable and winnable one.
Police have "home invasion" powers in New Zealand - again related particularly to drug warrants - which were granted in
1927 when abuse of drugs other than liquor was negligible (Dangerous Drugs Act, Hansard Debate July 27, 1927).
M.P.s at the time were concerned Police were being given powers to which they were not entitled. (NZ followed the League
of Nations in appeasement of Egypt's politically motivated suppression of hashish, - setting the precedent for the
"injustice industry", wholesale invasion of civil liberties and institutionalised suppression of debate - and policy
principles.
In many ways September 11th may be seen as a wake up call to the USA's crude domestic and foreign policy - intrinsically
driven by the corrupt and iniquitous War on Drugs, and associated Single Convention(s) on Narcotics.
Twenty first century society needs co-operative communities, harm minimisation, and social equity, not criminalisation,
thank you very much. Instead of buying into the USA's selfish and destructive wars, NZ Parliament should lead the world
out of the New Dark Age.
The most reliable way to prevent terrorism is by conducting government in a manner that wins the public's trust and
destroys the appeal of the lunatic fringe. It would be ironic if anti-terrorist legislation helped destroy the
protections ... and turned the delusions of paranoids into reality.
/
Joseph D. McNamara, Bombs and the Bill of Rights, Wall St. J., May 5, 1995
RECOMMENDATION:
That NZ government, rather than pander to oppressive controls stand up against social and economic injustice.
Particularly, the CRIMINALLY gross health law and order inequity and institutionalised corruption of global "drug
prevention", (aka. the "War on Drugs") requires principled and urgent action.
Yours Sincerely,
Blair Anderson, Kevin O'Connell, Policy Analysts
Mild Greens, 30th November 2001