Nandor wants more government, less freedom

I offer you the spectacle of a self-declared "anarchist" who wants to get more government into your business. Nandor Tanczos's proposed private members' bill on waste minimisation would require every one of NZ's 250,000 businesses to:

• write a detailed waste management plan;
• have it approved by your local bureaucrats;
• risk a $40,000 fine if you don't;
• display a politically correct A3 poster espousing do-gooder government policies on recycling;
• give every customer a a politically correct flyer espousing do-gooder government policies on recycling.

Thanks Nandor. Once again, we see that the Greens instinctive answer to every fashionable concern is to call for either:

1. a ban; or
2. more meddling;
3. more bureaucrats.

The good news is that Nandor is reconsidering. A bit.

...Part 7, which requires every organisation to develop a waste minimisation plan, needs to be either removed or significantly amended. My own business experience tells me that this provision would be a significant burden to business owners.

Yes. It would.

One suggestion put to me is to clarify the law so that waste minimisation plans are not compulsory, but could be required by councils in certain cases, such as a large public events or significant building developments, as part of the consent process.

I wonder how "significant" a building development would need to be? Or how "large" a public event? I wonder who would decide?

Do yourself a favour and just try and think of any feel-good government programme like this that hasn't gone hog wild once it was introduced. Ponder the thought that the next step will be rationing the number of sheets you use to wipe your bum: sheets that have been compulsorily printed with politically correct poetry espousing do-gooder government policies on recycling. Ponder it and then do yourself a favour and make a submission against the Bill.

Submissions close on August 4. You can go here for details, but don't go there using your Firefox browser since the Parliamentary website real, really jams it up. And if you'd like some ammunition you coud do worse than have a look at these two recent 'Not PC' posts:

• Recycling - Not PC
• Cardiganned councillors get out the red armband over recycling - Not PC

The first one starts with PJ O'Rourke's point,

that when used items have real value -- Ferraris for example -- they don't need to be 'recycled,' they get sold. 'Recycled' is what happens to stuff with no value, or with so little value only a government regulation can make enough people care.

LINKS: Have your say: Waste Minimisation (Solids) Bill - Clerk.Parliament.Govt.NZ

TAGS: Environment, Conservation, Politics-NZ, Politics-Greens