The government is finally moving the legal system into the 21st
century, with wiki-based laws. The idea is that the people
are
the customer, and the customer should have a say in the rules.
This is, oddly, a government-sponsored revolution.
Of course, this would not be possible in a government where
corporations have sway over the legal process. It could only
happen in a true democracy, not a fascist state.
href="http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=9079">New
Zealand to Pioneer Wiki-based Laws
Daily Tech
September 28, 2007 4:55 AM
New Zealand will allow citizens to decide what is legal or
not via wiki
New Zealand's Policing Act governs what is
legal and what
is illegal for its citizens. Now New Zealand will take a
grand,
bold step by allowing its citizens to collectively rewrite its laws in
pure democratic fashion.
While the idea hearkens back to ancient democratic forums, the medium
is decidedly high-tech -- the nation will use a wiki to allow citizens
to contribute to the new policing act. The page will help
people
organize their thoughts and collectively make decisions...
...New Zealand Police Superintendent Hamish McCardle, href="http://www.police.govt.nz/news/release/3370.html"
rel="nofollow">responsible for the review,
calls the move "a new frontier in democracy" and sees the pilot as
essential for police to understand public sentiment. "It's a novel move
but when it comes to the principles that go
into policing, the person on the street has a good idea ... as they
are a customer," he claims.
The old Policing Act dates
back to1958, and modern police feel the code could not accurately and
fairly police its citizens in the modern landscape.
New Zealand Police boldly decided that changing the law should not be
relegated to government politicians and bureaucrats...
They've already run into a snag. If you go to the site, this
is what you see:
Home Page
Even Wikis need a break.
The response so far has been better than expected and the Police Act
Review Team would like to take some time to collate the submissions and
suggestions made thus far. Thanks to all contributors.
The Police site explains that the Wiki contributions will not
necessarily constitute the final law. Rather, they will be
considered as suggestions by the legislature. Even so, it is
a delightful mechanism to help people be more involved, more informed,
and possibly more creative.
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Hmmmm.......
I have elsewhere suggested that this treatment be given to emergency planning, so that what the government proposes to do gets to be reviewed by the citizens it is supposed to help, letting them knock the props out from under the really stupid ideas, poke holes in the flimsy ones, and beat on what's left to see if anything holds up. After it's been attacked from all sides, we can see if there is really anything useful there.
Recall Hurricane Katrina and the emergency plans that had been secret but were now revealed. The police planned to lock down the neighborhoods and disarm the citizens, but not to stick around to perform any actual police work. The police also planned to tell people they had to abandon their pets if they wanted to escape, and they planned to return to the emptied neighborhoods to shoot the pets. The authorities planned to have several hundred buses ready to evacuate the city, but failed to tell anyone the buses were there. They planned to force the entire population to use a single escape route, resulting in a 10-hour 200-mile traffic jam. They planned to put everybody into the arena but didn't expect the arena to be wind-damaged and flooded, or that the evacuees would need food, water, and toilet facilities. The plans for evacuating hospitals somehow omitted clinics, elder care facilities, and small facilities handing terminal patients.
We need to see these plans committed to written descriptions, with all details, and published where the public can find fault, add suggestions, and raise questions that got forgotten or never thought of before.
We need to see these plans committed to written descriptions, with all details, and published where the public can find fault, add suggestions, and raise questions that got forgotten or never thought of before.
I agree with you