"The National Party are a pack of backsliding born-to-rule hypocrites who have lost touch with their founding principles ," announced Libertarianz spokesman Richard McGrath today.

"On their website, they talk of protecting businesses from those seeking to impose political agendas and onerous restrictions. They claim to support the right of New Zealanders to hold their own views in a society tolerant of differences."

"Hah!" expostulates McGrath. "They talk of protecting businesses from those seeking to impose political agendas and onerous restrictions, yet their party has come out in support of restricting or even banning smoking in hotel bars," points out McGrath. "Where's the consistency in this blatant attempt to outflank the left-wing Labour/Alliance authoritarians?" asks McGrath.

"Let me spell a few things out for the Nats which are apparently a little too complicated for them:

a.. Number one: to smoke or not is a voluntary choice for every individual to decide for himself. b.. "Number two: hotel bars are the private property of their owners, not of the government. c.. "Number three: no-one is forced to drink in a smoky hotel bar. They can buy alcohol at the supermarket and drink it at home. d.. "Number four: no-one is forced to work in a smoky hotel bar. They work there by choice. e.. "Number four: people don't frequent hotel bars for the sake of their health, they go there for their own pleasure. In fact they often go there to get away from meddlesome politicians." McGrath confirmed that a Libertarianz government would leave hotel bar owners free to decide if they wanted a smokefree policy or not.

It's enough to make you vote Libertarianz!

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>