As someone who believes in the power for good of the State, when I see it functioning in the interests of business, I hate it!
A member of a government group offering advice on improving the health of the Hauraki Gulf has resigned, saying fisheries officials “shut down” criticism and ideas and had a one-way agenda.
…Corporate fishing interests are what are stripping our coastal fisheries not recreational fishers!
Recreational fishers are collecting food for whanau and family or releasing the fish they catch, it is the corporate fishing industry that is causing irreparable damage with bottom trawling that is unsustainable and environmentally destructive…
The Hauraki Gulf Fisheries Plan he’d worked on sets out action to manage fisheries in the Gulf. But Orton, a charter boat skipper, alleges fisheries officials at the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) had a set agenda.
“I believe that this whole process started with a preconceived outcome,” he said.
“It worries me a lot because it’s not democratic.”
Seven years ago, a plan to protect the Gulf called Sea Change was announced that proposed phasing out bottom trawling and dredging by 2025. Orton said he and others tried to get this into the latest plan.
“When we suggested this, it was basically shut down,” Orton said.
Instead what MPI has called trawl “corridors” have been put forward.
“A corridor is a narrow strip. It’s quite misleading. They’re very large areas of high economic value,” Orton said.
He revealed in some cases, the trawling zones would be right next to protected areas.
“Making some areas completely locked up, high protection areas and then right beside it you’ve got almost a scorched earth policy where you can keep bottom trawling, keep purse seining,” Orton said.
“MPI has been pressured by large fishing companies. One hundred percent.”
…MPI sees its job as protecting the corporate interests off the fishing industry, not the environment or recreational fishers who are catching food for family.
This acquiesce to business interest is at the heart of almost all social policy, look at the insanity of trying to regulate big sugar in this country…
Captured rule-makers stand in way of effective food health labelling
Powerful commercial actors often have the financial incentive and resources to influence regulation and policy. Unfortunately, the design and formulation of food health labelling schemes are no exception.
…what the exposure by Guyon Espiner has shown us is that corporate power has the ability to directly impact policy for THEIR benefit not the benefit of us, which is what the interests of Government should be, since we elect them!
We see this same acquiesce with agriculture polluting our water; the Forestry Industry slash run off; Trucking industry being allowed to be heavier and cause more damage to our roads – over and over again we see industry that is barely regulated while being heavily lobbied!
The disgusting right myth spread by right wing liars is that NZ is an over taxed, over regulated economy when that is total bullshit!
Max Rashbrooke highlighted the horror of NZs under regulated market…
The bad news is that, to investigate 200,000-300,000 terrible rentals, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has employed a frontline inspectorate numbering … 37. Each inspector will have to check somewhere between 5000 and 8000 rentals.
…there is only 37 inspectors of rental properties for 300 000 terrible rentals?
Similar poorly funded regulation is apparent in the 82 labour inspectorates who are supposed to police hundreds of thousands of migrant worker exploitations!
Time and time and time again in New Zealand we see an old boy matrix of vested interests who occupy market dominance and act like a monopoly, duopoly or oligopoly raking in vast wealth while leaving the local small and medium sized operators outside the cosy relationships!
Up and down NZ, small and medium enterprises are unable to compete because of the lack of basic regulation in the market!
We’ve seen it with the Supermarket duopoly, the medicinal cannabis oligopoly, the Gib Board monopoly – each time under regulated and poorly regulated capitalism continues to screw over us the consumers at a time of a cost of living crisis!
Frustration inside the drainage industry has reached boiling point recently with anti competitive practices and crony capitalism that would make your average South American Drug Cartels blush.
We are not an over taxed, over regulated economy!
Our top tax rate is the 39th highest in the world behind all the Scandinavian countries plus Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and South Africa!
Australia’s top tax rate is 47cents!
Our GST rate doesn’t even get us into the top 50 and our corporate tax rate is 40th while Government spending against GDP ranks 56th!
And we are voted easiest to do business by the World Bank!
I’m not looking for socialism here folks, just basic garden variety regulated capitalism!
We can’t drain the swamp because the crocodiles have learnt to shoot machine guns at anyone who attempts it.
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Cowardice, or not wanting to step on the toes of your major financial backers? What do you think Stuart?
wealth is for those who can afford lobbyists.
the admin class in NZ are througly corrupt and cheap