Ronnie
Jedi
http://nzfoodsecurity.org/2014/05/26/treason-in-parliament/ Article
Treason is defined as “The crime of betraying one’s country, especially by attempting to kill or overthrow the sovereign or government” (Oxford English Dictionary). It is further defined as “The betrayal of a trust or confidence; breach of faith” (Dictionary.com). It comes from the Latin traditio(n-) ‘handing over’.
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It seems, therefore, that handing over control of New Zealand’s food supply to a foreign power – especially when doing so is likely to harm the people of the country – would rather fit the bill.
Yet that is exactly what is going to happen this week, perhaps as early as tomorrow, when the Food Bill is “approved” by the parties in Parliament. That’s right, they’re probably not even going to vote on it, such is its unanimous support. There was no vote for its second reading, despite 43,000 people signing a petition opposing it – it was just rubber-stamped under the smokescreen of the Budget.
Sure, there was a close vote on what would have been a useful amendment to the Bill (introducing Country of Origin labelling). But that was a sideshow, and a rather obvious one, designed to give the impression that the Food Bill was not a done deal already – and only for anyone who was looking. The whole treatment has been a smoke and mirrors job, and everyone in Parliament has been complicit, or at best negligent. This represents a collective and cynical breach of the public trust.
So how exactly does the Food Bill hand over control of the food supply, and to whom? We should be sure of this, as should our Members of Parliament (some of them have been informed directly – particularly those on the Select Committee, through notices given to them. The rest, if doing their job, should have investigated the rumours).
Well, it binds the Crown, and its subjects, into adhering to regulations that have not yet been published but will be put in place by Orders in Council made by the Governor-General (on the recommendation of a Minister). These regulations will be made to, under Section 314 (b) (iia) “give effect to New Zealand’s obligations under a relevant international agreement, convention, protocol, or treaty” (even if these have not yet been agreed).
And in case you’re wondering what an Order in Council is, it’s basically law by decree that is only normally used in an emergency, and is immune from Parliamentary oversight. From Wikipedia, which is basically right on this issue: “Traditionally, Orders in Council are used as a way for the Prime Minister to make political appointments, but they can also be used to issue simple laws as a sort of decree. Often in times of emergency, a government may issue legislation directly through Orders in Council, forgoing the usual parliamentary procedure[3][4]” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_in_Council).
So to be completely clear, the Food Bill basically allows the Government to use emergency powers to make regulations that are in keeping with international agreements – even though we do not yet know what those regulations or agreements are.
We’ve got a good idea, though. The principal obligations that the bill refers to are New Zealand’s obligations under Codex Alimentarius (see here – NZ is obligated under FSANZ with Australia). Codex is a rulebook for food production and sale straight out of the USA’s Food and Agriculture Organisation – a body that is basically just a front for big agribusiness (yes, especially Monsanto). And the rulebook is being forced on all World Trade Organization members, with the threat of the loss of trade if they do not comply.
The Food Bill is not about Food Safety, it’s about trade – and control. In fact it’s going to push up the price of food massively through regulations – expect basic staples prices to double in two to three years. If this combines with a further financial collapse (which is coming, due to the pyramidal architecture of the Fractional Reserve Banking system, though of course that’s not mentioned here)… well, then you could seriously see kiwis starving. Some are already.
And set against this picture, if New Zealanders sell or even barter food without permission from the Government – even if it is to prevent people going hungry in their communities – they can be fined $100,000 and thrown in prison for two years (Section 203 (3) (b)).
Treason!
Treason is defined as “The crime of betraying one’s country, especially by attempting to kill or overthrow the sovereign or government” (Oxford English Dictionary). It is further defined as “The betrayal of a trust or confidence; breach of faith” (Dictionary.com). It comes from the Latin traditio(n-) ‘handing over’.
>Please SHARE at bottom<
It seems, therefore, that handing over control of New Zealand’s food supply to a foreign power – especially when doing so is likely to harm the people of the country – would rather fit the bill.
Yet that is exactly what is going to happen this week, perhaps as early as tomorrow, when the Food Bill is “approved” by the parties in Parliament. That’s right, they’re probably not even going to vote on it, such is its unanimous support. There was no vote for its second reading, despite 43,000 people signing a petition opposing it – it was just rubber-stamped under the smokescreen of the Budget.
Sure, there was a close vote on what would have been a useful amendment to the Bill (introducing Country of Origin labelling). But that was a sideshow, and a rather obvious one, designed to give the impression that the Food Bill was not a done deal already – and only for anyone who was looking. The whole treatment has been a smoke and mirrors job, and everyone in Parliament has been complicit, or at best negligent. This represents a collective and cynical breach of the public trust.
So how exactly does the Food Bill hand over control of the food supply, and to whom? We should be sure of this, as should our Members of Parliament (some of them have been informed directly – particularly those on the Select Committee, through notices given to them. The rest, if doing their job, should have investigated the rumours).
Well, it binds the Crown, and its subjects, into adhering to regulations that have not yet been published but will be put in place by Orders in Council made by the Governor-General (on the recommendation of a Minister). These regulations will be made to, under Section 314 (b) (iia) “give effect to New Zealand’s obligations under a relevant international agreement, convention, protocol, or treaty” (even if these have not yet been agreed).
And in case you’re wondering what an Order in Council is, it’s basically law by decree that is only normally used in an emergency, and is immune from Parliamentary oversight. From Wikipedia, which is basically right on this issue: “Traditionally, Orders in Council are used as a way for the Prime Minister to make political appointments, but they can also be used to issue simple laws as a sort of decree. Often in times of emergency, a government may issue legislation directly through Orders in Council, forgoing the usual parliamentary procedure[3][4]” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_in_Council).
So to be completely clear, the Food Bill basically allows the Government to use emergency powers to make regulations that are in keeping with international agreements – even though we do not yet know what those regulations or agreements are.
We’ve got a good idea, though. The principal obligations that the bill refers to are New Zealand’s obligations under Codex Alimentarius (see here – NZ is obligated under FSANZ with Australia). Codex is a rulebook for food production and sale straight out of the USA’s Food and Agriculture Organisation – a body that is basically just a front for big agribusiness (yes, especially Monsanto). And the rulebook is being forced on all World Trade Organization members, with the threat of the loss of trade if they do not comply.
The Food Bill is not about Food Safety, it’s about trade – and control. In fact it’s going to push up the price of food massively through regulations – expect basic staples prices to double in two to three years. If this combines with a further financial collapse (which is coming, due to the pyramidal architecture of the Fractional Reserve Banking system, though of course that’s not mentioned here)… well, then you could seriously see kiwis starving. Some are already.
And set against this picture, if New Zealanders sell or even barter food without permission from the Government – even if it is to prevent people going hungry in their communities – they can be fined $100,000 and thrown in prison for two years (Section 203 (3) (b)).
Treason!
