Easter Holidays - Unionism & Gun Club Ranges:

 My first job as a fresh English emigrant in Christchurch 1976, was with a plastics manufacturer - and it was a real eye-opener. 

- Sitting at afternoon smoko  .. the blue-overalled service engineer was complaining that he was going to have to drive up to the Marlborough Sounds TWICE over the coming weekend because he had to tow his caravan up to his holiday batch to accommodate extra guests .. as well as needing to tow his powerboat up for the fishing in the sun over the two weeks of vacations.

Admittedly this joker had been in the country for a couple of decades since landing from the heavily populated Netherlands - but I had to observe that he was "doing OK" when compared to the average European or British worker we had left up there. 

When I explained my happy wonderment that he was raising a flock of Kiwi college kids - owned his own home - plus a powerful motorcar - a caravan - a fiberglass outboard powered fishing boat - and a holiday home on that popular vacation coast .. he laughed and said that the kids and his wife all had part-time jobs to help and that they'd only flown back to visit their family in Holland a couple of times since becoming New Zealanders.

Dare I point-out that this was the "bad-old Days" when New Zealand had ten times as many sheep as people and 'Compulsory Trade Unionism' - that was being condemned by Right Wing Politicians and newspapers as .. the "UNIONS ARE RUINING THE COUNTRY".

SNAPPER FILLETS IN BEER BATTER:

- We also had 'State Housing' at low rentals to prevent homelessness, - No housing shortages - Low interest 'State Housing Corporation' First Home mortgage loans, - and our cheap "green" electric power was supplied from hydro-dams built with taxation dollars & run by the (State Owned) Ministry Of Energy.

I have had people angrily argue that I am dreaming - when I recall that in the months before a BOAC Boeing 747 carried us with our two young kids all the way around the world to Auckland - one monthly figure reported for Christchurch had been just 1 person unemployed.

And not a 'foodbank' in sight ..

Thankfully? - This awful socialist nightmare was ended by the reforms of the 1980s, that privatized power generation and much else - and changed the laws to prevent the Trade Unions from continuing to hold back the economy.

WAKE UP.

I'm not saying that everything was better then .. but a side of lamb for $5 from the Supermarket was a good start - as was my first 'Two-Two' S/A Rabbit Rifle bought from a Police & Customs Auction for $40 ..

New Zealand Police Management have presented  50 Pages of new regulations, restrictions and prohibitions - to limit and close our Firearms RANGES that are used for SAFETY TRAINING of gun owners. - They apparently want them ALL closed-down.

I wonder if the police's own ranges and the military firing ranges will be covered by these same new rules?

CAN YOU NAME THE NZ SHOOTER'S ORGANIZATION THAT HAS ACTUALLY DONE SOMETHING TO COUNTER THESE MULTIPLE ANTI-GUN OFFENSIVES?

Anyone?

Marty K.