RoR: Forum

Bravo, Julian & your partners-in-crime! :-) Non-Kiwi SOLOists who read this will no doubt marvel how it's the same-old same-old all over the world. But at least we're kicking ass! :-)

Linz

Post 1

Sunday, September 4, 2005 - 2:36am

Thanks Linz! :)

I am constantly amazed by how many people associate Libertarianz and the fight for liberty with the name: Lindsay Perigo. :)

Cheers
Julian

Post 2

Sunday, September 4, 2005 - 3:11am

Impressive stuff, Julian! Like you, I can't get over Lockwood Smith's about-face - but who knows? Perhaps he's been reading this forum!

Post 3

Sunday, September 4, 2005 - 3:18am

Well done that Man. If only Lockwood meant a word of it, he might not have introduced NCEA. :-/

Post 4

Sunday, September 4, 2005 - 3:58am

Wouldn't mind seeing a few "Food Miles" lables enforceabley stuck to those Greenies. 3001 miles in any direction would be just dandy.

Hey, like the new Lockwood Smith game show! That's what he used to be, don't forget. Frontman for University Challenge or something other. The man's got talent. And if the razzle dazzle fails he can always flee by jumping out a window!

Post 5

Sunday, September 4, 2005 - 4:02am

Lockwood is a complete charlatan. A Narcissus. A phoney who represses his true self for the sake of respectability. He promised he would stop Political Correctness in the education system in its tracks ... the lying, shallow, wanking bastard! He acquiesced to PC in state education to an unprecedented extent. By the admission of his chief flunkey, Matthew Hooton, another phoney, he was too scared to take on the teacher unions & the education bureaucracy. Lockwood Smith is about the lowest person in Parliament. He voted against the decriminalisation of homosexuality. Hypocrisy doesn't come much lower than that. "Freedom this & freedom that"?? Libertarians should not be taken in by him for a second. The creature is bereft of a shred of genuineness. He's a total fraud. A poseur addicted to his mirror.

Post 6

Sunday, September 4, 2005 - 4:45am

I found it interesting to read the comment in Julian's article "...We also met too many people who didn't want to hear anything we said. They were not planning to vote..." and then the comment by Linz saying "Non-Kiwi SOLOists who read this will no doubt marvel how it's the same-old same-old all over the world."

New Zealand politics seems to be quite different from Australian politics. There's a lot of apathy in Australia but most people vote because generally if you don't vote, you have to pay a fine. Australia has compulsory voting at all levels of government (federal, state, local). Occasionally the idea of voluntary voting is brought up but there is not much support for it. As a result, campaigns are based on "Vote for this candidate, not that candidate", rather than trying to persuade people to vote in the first place.

NZ's population is much smaller than Australia's and yet there seem to be more objectivists and libertarians in NZ than Australia.

Linz & Julian, you have obviously been doing a very good job in NZ to be able to establish a website used by people locally and overseas and a political party. I would be interested in your opinions on the differences between NZ and Australia.

Post 7

Sunday, September 4, 2005 - 6:05am

Julian Pistorius, hurray! You are my hero. You too Linz. Heros. Lets see how many votes you can get!

Post 8

Sunday, September 4, 2005 - 8:07am

Hey Jillian

It's nice to see an Australian posting.

I'd actually be interested in *your* opinions on the differences between NZ and Australia. I can't speak for the rest of the NZers on this site, but I for one cannot fathom why there seems to be so little in the way of a libertarian movement in Australia.

In NZ the movement was helped enormously by having someone of Linz' stature and quality devote himself unequivocally to it. But even if Australia doesn't have that, its a mystery why we never hear anything out of Australia, except for occasional mumurings from various think-tanks. Why is that?

Tim

Post 9

Sunday, September 4, 2005 - 12:12pm

Lockwood Smith sounded outrageously libertarian when he spoke in at Sandspit in the Rodney Electorate - more so than Stephen Franks from ACT, a conservative party who are supposedly more "liberal" than the Nats. The crowd loved it - Sally O'Brien, Michael Murphy and I were gobsmacked. His message was consistent, though he dodged someone's question about how he would expand our freedoms and reduce the size of the Nanny State.

Jillian, this particular NZ Objectivist is headed to Sydney in mid-October. Where in Aus are you?

Post 10

Sunday, September 4, 2005 - 2:02pm

Hi Tim

In relation to why you never hear anything out of Australia, I think it's because any group in Australia that is right-of-centre is strongly influenced by social conservatism and religion.

The right-wing of the Labor Party is very influenced by the Catholic Church. With the combination of the Catholic Church and the trade union movement, this group has had enormous support for a long time. They're proud of their ruthless control of the Labor Party as a whole.

The Liberal Party is increasingly influenced by the conservative Christians of Protestant & Catholic backgrounds. There is pressure to present a united front in opposition to Labor, so it's hard for minority groups within the party to get anywhere.

People active in politics who are non-religious and pro-gay are either a minority in the two major parties (Liberal and Labor) or support the left-wing minor parties, eg. the Greens or the Democrats. As a result, the left is often seen as having a monopoly on alternatives to social conservatism.

This is my opinion and other people in Australia may disagree with it, but it doesn't seem like there are any Australians here to agree or disagree.

Hi Andrew,

I'm in Sydney. Feel free to send me a message if you want to meet.

Jillian.

Post 11

Sunday, September 4, 2005 - 6:01pm

Thanks for all the supportive comments! :) I couldn't have done it nearly as well without Jasmine's help. Also, every Libertarianz candidate that goes out and talks to people, usually ends up riding in on Linz's coat tails, or benefits from all the hard work he's done years ago!

As PC and Linz said, it is very suspicious that Lockwood has suddenly started using the F-word. I have a theory though. I suspect that as a consumate politician, he is astute enough to realise that there is a groundswell of support for libertarian ideas in New Zealand. He has probably seen that the tide is turning towards freedom, and wants to ride that tide to power. As Tim mentioned, never mind that the groundswell is occurring due to the incredibly hard work that a few Libertarianz, and especially Linz, have done over the years.

Libertarianz has always said that we welcome people stealing our ideas and taking them to parliament. I just hope Lockwood really is stealing our ideas, and not just paying lip-service to them, as Andrew's experience might indicate.

As a final thought, Hooch (Helen Hughes) quoted this to me recently, and I have witnessed it personally:
"Never think that a small group of agitated people cannot make a difference. It is the only thing that ever has."
Margaret Mead.

Cheers
Julian

Post 12

Sunday, September 4, 2005 - 6:23pm

Lindsay:

"Lockwood is a complete charlatan. A Narcissus."

Excellent characterisation.

I saw him once down here in Canterbury in a gusty nor'wester. He didn't look comfortable. Strange thing, his hair didn't move at all :-)

Ross

Post 13

Sunday, September 4, 2005 - 9:04pm