PRESS RELEASE Libertarianz Party FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Local Govt & RM Amendment Double Whammy for Property Owners

Libertarianz Leader Peter Cresswell is outraged at today's announcement by Helen Clark and Minister of Local Government Sandra Lee to grant local authorities "a power of general competence" in order to "enhance the well-being of their communities." "The well being of everyone in a community is more likely to be enhanced by retaining a tight leash on councils," says Cresswell, "since most councils have already well demonstrated they struggle for competence."

"Local government throughout New Zealand's history has demonstrated its utter incompetence in handling the loot they confiscate from ratepayers by wasting it on such idiocies as the New Plymouth Wind Wand, the Auckland Britomart edifice, and the Palmerston North empty civic building." he said. "Even worse when they engage in bullying and cover-ups, as Auckland has in Adrian Chisholm's case."

"More substantially," says Cresswell, "there is a crucial constitutional principle at stake -the constitutional principle that citizens may do whatever they wish, apart from what is specifically outlawed, whereas governments and councils may only do what is specifically legislated for. The main purpose of this constitutional principle is to keep a leash on government, both central and local. It is this leash that is beginning to gnaw at local governments, and it is this leash that Clark and Lee propose to untie."

"It is a dangerous step to take," warns Cresswell, who points out that councils are being given more 'freedom' at he same time as the Resource Management Amendments Bill threatens to take away even more freedom from New Zealand property owners. "The constitutional principle is being reversed," he says. "Even as they propose giving local government wider powers to act, they are taking away the power of individuals to act for themselves," says Cresswell. "Every property owner should rise up in protest," he says.

"Libertarianz will be making a strong submission on the consultation document," says Cresswell. "Frankly, I see no role for local government at all," he says, calling for the abolition of local government, allowing "true devolution of local decisions to individuals to enhance their own wellbeing without confiscated loot from land owners"

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It's enough to make you vote Libertarianz!

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For more information contact: Peter Cresswell LIBERTARIANZ LEADER Phone: (025) 861 927, Fax: (09) 631 0034 E-mail: organon@ihug.co.nz

www.libertarianz.org.nz

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