The concept of property rights in NZ is pretty much the same as anywhere else. Basically you have certain rights to do as you would please, as long as you:
1. Don't so anything that could conceivably hurt others in any respect. This seems reasonable enough if we are talking about noise, water seepage, fire hazards, etc. The government's definition of this can get pretty bureaucratic.
2. You comply with the government's spending priorities, whether its community swimming pools, libraries, changing rooms and public toilets. Civil amenities seem pretty important, except why should one have to pay for them if you don't use them. Certainly there is a public good in the collective provision of these facilities, but there is a difference between things which are 'necessities of nature (i.e. desiccating) and swimming at a pool. Swimming in private pools is not a nuisance, so why would we require public pools. Why not just establish rules to protect neighbours so that anyone could establish a pool and sell access as a service. Libraries are no different. Libraries now even function on a commercial footing.
Over the last 2 decades we have gradually seen governments selling off government profitable businesses, they have placed previously non-profit businesses on a commercial footing, yet we don't see any reduction in taxation. Instead we see a growing intrusion of government into our lives through the local council. NZ is worse than most local governments in this respect. They want a $230 - $500 building permit for all manner of things.
The property holder is paying the cost in terms of rates or land taxes, which are very high in NZ. I will pay about $1350 this year, and that excludes the $1/bag I pay for rubbish, and I pay for some library services, and of course $3/day to access the public swimming pool. All this arises because the government is so inefficient of course.
I also want to correct the perception that Mauris have rights to their traditional lands. Mauris can be quite proud of this. Having fought for their land, they might wonder why they are so disempowered. They might have forced the hand of the British, but really they ended up conceding. The Maoris had a good position, but with the Treaty of Waitangi, they gave it away and became ordinary taxpayers. They think they have rights? Well I actually don'y even know if they pay land taxes for this land. Its an interesting point. But regardless the terms of the Waitangi Treaty ceded their sovereignty to the British.
So Mauris can run around professing to be a proud people. And yes they are, but its not because they fought for their land rights. They in fact surrendered to the British government like every white person I know, and has done so (by birth) ever since. Basically we are all prisoners under the vestiges of the British feudal system. The baron has merely changed. We are slaves to our assets because that's how we best work for governments as common lap dogs. We feed consumption and they tell us when so they can be fed without inflicting pain on us too much, as if we needed to feel pain at all.
I'm not advocating a departure from responsibility. On the contary, I am advocating that government should be operating under the same standard of justice, because quite clearly there is a double standard. That double standard was created when arbitrary legislation was enacted in place of common law.
1. Don't so anything that could conceivably hurt others in any respect. This seems reasonable enough if we are talking about noise, water seepage, fire hazards, etc. The government's definition of this can get pretty bureaucratic.
2. You comply with the government's spending priorities, whether its community swimming pools, libraries, changing rooms and public toilets. Civil amenities seem pretty important, except why should one have to pay for them if you don't use them. Certainly there is a public good in the collective provision of these facilities, but there is a difference between things which are 'necessities of nature (i.e. desiccating) and swimming at a pool. Swimming in private pools is not a nuisance, so why would we require public pools. Why not just establish rules to protect neighbours so that anyone could establish a pool and sell access as a service. Libraries are no different. Libraries now even function on a commercial footing.
Over the last 2 decades we have gradually seen governments selling off government profitable businesses, they have placed previously non-profit businesses on a commercial footing, yet we don't see any reduction in taxation. Instead we see a growing intrusion of government into our lives through the local council. NZ is worse than most local governments in this respect. They want a $230 - $500 building permit for all manner of things.
The property holder is paying the cost in terms of rates or land taxes, which are very high in NZ. I will pay about $1350 this year, and that excludes the $1/bag I pay for rubbish, and I pay for some library services, and of course $3/day to access the public swimming pool. All this arises because the government is so inefficient of course.
I also want to correct the perception that Mauris have rights to their traditional lands. Mauris can be quite proud of this. Having fought for their land, they might wonder why they are so disempowered. They might have forced the hand of the British, but really they ended up conceding. The Maoris had a good position, but with the Treaty of Waitangi, they gave it away and became ordinary taxpayers. They think they have rights? Well I actually don'y even know if they pay land taxes for this land. Its an interesting point. But regardless the terms of the Waitangi Treaty ceded their sovereignty to the British.
So Mauris can run around professing to be a proud people. And yes they are, but its not because they fought for their land rights. They in fact surrendered to the British government like every white person I know, and has done so (by birth) ever since. Basically we are all prisoners under the vestiges of the British feudal system. The baron has merely changed. We are slaves to our assets because that's how we best work for governments as common lap dogs. We feed consumption and they tell us when so they can be fed without inflicting pain on us too much, as if we needed to feel pain at all.
I'm not advocating a departure from responsibility. On the contary, I am advocating that government should be operating under the same standard of justice, because quite clearly there is a double standard. That double standard was created when arbitrary legislation was enacted in place of common law.
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