1858: Parliament Supreme
July 22, 2022
By AHNZ
Today in history marks a great stride forward in Government control over New Zealand and the trend to Statism. Edward Stafford’s Ministry passed the Waste Lands Act on 23 July, 1858. This established Central Government’s power to legislatively audit all the New Zealand provinces’ land law policies.
Big Government now had the power to oversee all of local New Zealand and the power to interfere ‘if required’. Stafford had neatly snatched power away from our Provinces, much to the frustration and rage of the Superintendents. Now when they tried to govern they received a condescending ‘tut tut’ letter telling them to go find a matagouri patch to sit in.
The Wild Irishman, Stafford, initially had this legislation shot down by the Imperial Government back Home but this time he succeeded. The Stafford 1.0 Government is the one that ended the era of Governors, relegating them and their Executives to the sidelines. Since then the House of Representatives has only grown and taken over more and more of New Zealand life.
“There had been objections that this measure would make the General Assembly supreme. But it already was. Its Acts overrode any provisional law repugnant to its provision, and its powers would strengthen with the spread of better steam communications and settlement.” – Bohan (1994)
“I, for one, have always said that I looked to the time when there would be in this country one Government and one Legislature.” – Stafford, ibid
As I write, Labour 6.0 runs expensive celebrity-voiced animated propaganda announcing the Central Government take-over of all New Zealand water. Ref. Three Waters, NZB3
The process of Statist take-over of all market activity by the Central Government is like cutting off healthy limbs from a body and replacing them with prosthetics. Worse, government-issue prosthetics! Bit by bit. Eventually there would be nothing left of New Zealand but one big central dictator if it were not for the latent Anarchist spirit to not to be bossed around.
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Image ref. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 5-2736N; modified by AHNZ
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