I get that everybody loves this milquetoast country, but if you had Singapore or Belarus imposing nationwide house arrest with extremely broad police discretionary powers and heavy restrictions on the press, there would be no waffling about what to call ithttps://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/22-03-2020/the-government-is-giving-new-orders-do-we-have-to-obey-them/ …
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Australia, New Zealand and even Canada have far weaker protections for civil liberties than American audiences think (to the extent that American audiences think at all). So much is just a matter of custom and tradition; when you look at the law, there is enormous latent power.
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LOL yes please, enzed twitter, FEED ME YOUR KIWI RAGE.pic.twitter.com/CORe7gK6Lu
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Also the Lord of the Rings landscapes were unspectacular, the national dessert you stole from Australia doesn't taste very good, and a snakeless country is a joyless country. Just putting it all out there now.
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Replying to @Pinboard
i don't know, one thing the state doesn't do here is kill anyone for any reason. quite a big respect for that liberty.
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Replying to @henrycooke @Pinboard
as to comparisons with belarus or singapore, it's almost like we're a long-standing liberal democracy with conventions that do constrain executive power!!! and the restrictions on the press have nothing to do with reporting (specifically carved) but a (dumb) ban on printing mags
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Replying to @henrycooke
I put great value on the conventions; I think you are lucky to live in a country with them. But they also create a false sense of complacency, which is certainly something we've seen in the US over the past three years. I don't think Ardern is Lukashenko, but state power is power
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Replying to @Pinboard
agree that hero worship of ardern is silly and that there has been a massive grab for state power here (got a lot of heat for calling it a police state). i think you just successfully trolled me into patriotism is all.
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Replying to @henrycooke @Pinboard
not entirely sure why you're now agreeing with this dude, henry? hero worship of any state leader is incredibly naive, but to call the measures the govt have taken "slipping into authoritarian rule" is, as well. it's temporary authoritarianism to save lives.
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i'd love to hear what alternative government strategies our political genius
@Pinboard would propose.1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
I'm a big proponent of keeping legislatures in session during the crisis, as a democratic check on executive power.
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Replying to @Pinboard
i worry, too, about unchecked executive power: i'm concerned about the increasing empowerment of the police in nz as a result of our state of emergency. after living in the usa for several years, i see how dangerous empowering the police too far is. 1/2
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Replying to @trchrestomanci @Pinboard
but before SoE, people in new zealand weren't obeying the govt advice. covid-19 was spreading rapidly. in this case, i believe instilling exec power is the lesser of two evils. 2/2
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