DOWN TO THE DOCTOR’S: Gangs, gold and government immigration goons

Libertarianz leader Dr Richard McGrath takes an irreverent look at some of the past week’s headlines.


1. Irony in Mob man’s patch conviction – The first victim of Wanganui’s dress code is the local Mongrel Mob president, whose physical assault by some Hell’s Angels members at a service station in 2006 was the catalyst for Michael Laws’ legislative assault on the people of Wanganui. Halfway through this news article it is revealed that the Wanganui District Council wanted tattoos included in the dress code but that a parliamentary committee (rightly) considered this unworkable. Did Laws ever consider that banning gang paraphernalia might make gang members harder to distinguish? Aside from considerations over freedom of speech and expression, as outlined in the toothless Bill of Rights Act 1990, gang patches (and tattoos especially) are highly visible ways of identifying gang members. The police are delighted when they find tattoos on criminals, and are happy to take a photographic record of this type of body art as it often helps greatly in the identification of suspects at a later time. If Michael Laws really wanted to help with the detection and prosecution of criminal gangs, a cost-effective measure would be to fund the tattooing of gang members – by voluntary fundraising of course, not by looting the ratepayers of Wanganui.

2. Gold above $1,000 – The price of gold has pushed through the US$1,000 an ounce barrier, as the dollar itself weakens under the onslaught of the Fed’s printing presses. The chickens are coming home to roost for the Federal Reserve and for those who think they can spend their way out of poverty. Peter Schiff predicted the price might break $2,000 an ounce this year. Well, there are still nearly four months to go. Who would bet against the man who predicted the recession in the face of laughter and derision from his fellow financial commentators?

3. Lab mice face retirement – In a story sure to please both the scientific community and the animal rights lobby, lab rats and mice might soon be a thing of the past, as moths, caterpillars and fruit flies take their place. This will save money and should ultimately lead to cheaper products such as cosmetics and medicines. Instead of dying in the laboratory, I guess the mice will now revel in their natural environment, where they can be torn apart by cats and large birds.

4. Immigration red tape for hiring staff ‘totally absurd’ – Those wanting to employ foreign workers must disclose to the immigration bureaucrats details of their employment structure, wages, time sheets, bank statements, tax returns and financial records. Seems foreign aid is acceptable as long as it doesn’t involve offering people the dignity of employment. At the same time our government encourages the influx of refugees from foreign cultures with such lovely practices as female genital mutilation and practicing Islam, a religion whose revered prophet was a paedophile, and whose disciples are actively trying to destroy Western culture. The libertarian take on immigration is to let people into New Zealand on the understanding that they obey our laws and have no claim on the welfare system or any other taxpayer funded services. As far as employment is concerned, the same applies – let New Zealanders employ who they like, for whatever wage they are happy to take, provided these employees respect our laws and customs and don’t hurt others.  


See y’all next Wednesday!
Doc McGrath