We are working on a brand new version of the game! If you want to stay informed, read our blog and register for our mailing list.
Bill: Regaining Sovereignty Act, 3911
Details
Submitted by[?]: Borgerlig-Demokratiske Union
Status[?]: defeated
Votes: This bill proposes the withdrawal from a treaty. It will require half of the legislature to vote in favor[?]. This bill will not pass any sooner than the deadline.
Voting deadline: April 3912
Description[?]:
| Mr Speaker, we are not satisfied with the current policy of unconditional foreign aid and were horrified to discover that past administrations have sacrificed our sovereignty on this issue by signing an international treaty that strips democratic decision-making from our citizens and advances a supranationalist globablist agenda where the people are only allowed to choose from a narrow range of pre-selected variations of left-wing policy. We respect the charitable work of the ICRC and would be prepared to continue to donate a certain sum of our current membership fees without remaining a formal member, but we are not willing to deny our people a say on whether their tax money is spent well overseas. Many experts and academics have warned that international aid is ineffective and at risk of being squandered by corrupt third world governments if it comes without severe conditions, and we share these concerns and would like to tie aid to trading rights, as free trade benefits both parties and will advance their economies. Erwin Schausberger (FV) Minister of Foreign Affairs |
Proposals
Article 1
Withdraw from the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
| Date | 14:17:31, September 23, 2015 CET | From | Venstre | To | Debating the Regaining Sovereignty Act, 3911 |
| Message | Mr. Speaker, This would significantly damage our standing as a humanitarian nation. What claim do we have to working with others if even the most sensible cooperation on fighting the effects of disasters and poverty is absurdely dismissed as some kind of left-wing conspiracy? It is clear that the sole purpose of this Bill is to allow for draconian attacks on foreign aid, which we reject. Halvor Birkeland Venstre's spokesman on Foreign Affairs |
| Date | 14:26:14, September 23, 2015 CET | From | Folkepartiet (People's Party) | To | Debating the Regaining Sovereignty Act, 3911 |
| Message | Herr Talman, This is a moral outrage. Just like our common humanity is unconditional and loving your neighbour ought to be unconditional, I cannot believe the government of our nation is seriously considering a cynical quid pro quo in which aid is deprived of its true purpose in favour of forcing developing nations to import our goods. Has the right in this country become so afraid of the Sivilisasjonspartiet that our compassion and will to share some of our wealth has made way to cynicism and selfishness? They wanted to close our borders and now they want to close our treasury to the real needs of developing nations. That saddens me. There are other ways, within the framework of this treaty, to stop giving unconditional aid. But then condition it on other matters, such as good governance or democratic standards, or direct the funding through NGOs. As it stands, I am afraid this is merely a cynical way to empty the development aid budget into Trade and Industry. Nelline Opland FP Leader |
| Date | 16:57:56, September 23, 2015 CET | From | Borgerlig-Demokratiske Union | To | Debating the Regaining Sovereignty Act, 3911 |
| Message | Mr Speaker, the honorable lady might be too young to know this fact, but it has been FV' s longstanding policy to implement changes to the current policy of sending taxpayers' money overseas without conditions, thus effectively financing the failed political structures that keep third world countries poor. It is not a concession towards the SP and certainly not driven by being "afraid" of said party, which would be irrational as FV has actually overtaken it in the last election. Free trade is probably the single most effective way of leading a country out of poverty, which many professional economists will confirm. Unfortunately, the backwardness of many regimes around the world does not allow them to see this fact, which is why the continue to shut themselves off from the world market, to the heavy detriment of their own people. It is actually a gesture of benevolence to introduce them to the global economy by encouraging them to open up their markets, which does not just force them "to import our goods", which they cannot even afford in most cases, but, which makes the real difference, allows them to sell their own products to other countries, their main advantages being low prices and rare resources. The treaty does in fact lock us into providing high levels of welfare to third world countries, thus compelling us to prop up failed states. It is our democratic right to abandon this policy, which is not fair to the Kazulian people. The honorable lady's idealism prevents her from seeing this point, but I do not blame her as this is a fairly natural occurrence for people of her age. This government, in any case, governs first and foremost in the interest of the Kazulian taxpayer, and will not apologize for this fact. Erwin Schausberger (FV) Minister of Foreign Affairs |
| Date | 17:18:32, September 23, 2015 CET | From | Folkepartiet (People's Party) | To | Debating the Regaining Sovereignty Act, 3911 |
| Message | *Nelline laughs* Well, Herr President, what can I say? What a gracious compliment! It's not every day in Parliament that one gets complimented on one's youthful looks by a man so distinguished and senior as His Majesty's Minister of Foreign Affairs. And if he means to say that idealism comes with youth, I also gladly accept that point. I guess that also means the Minister for Internal Affairs, being but a single year my senior, must be the exception that proves the rule. At risk of astounding the Minister with a sudden display of pragmatism, however, he forgets that nowhere in my previous speech did I say that I consider propping up regimes displaying bad governance and disrespect for human rights anywhere near acceptable. In fact, if he will permit me to refresh his memory... *Finn Martinsen interjects "If it hasn't been too clouded with age!"* ... I thank colleague Martinsen for keeping things light-hearted. If the Minister will permit me to refresh his memory, I did in fact offer alternative ways of achieving the same aim: conditioning aid on good governance and observance of human rights, as well as monitoring requirements. Nowhere does the current law state that we cannot choose whom we give aid to. I suspect the age gap between the Minister and myself may make this seem a bit novel, but I would offer a suggestion: use the development aid budget for development aid and the trade and industry budget to promote trade. What's the problem with that? Nelline Opland FP Leader |
| Date | 17:35:54, September 23, 2015 CET | From | Borgerlig-Demokratiske Union | To | Debating the Regaining Sovereignty Act, 3911 |
| Message | Mr Speaker, I am glad that the hon. lady has been flattered by my remarks - even though colleague Martinsen considers my age detrimental to my cognitive capabilites, it at least means that I am still well-versed in the concept of courtesy, which I think is quite a useful asset in a political environment where we have so many lovely young ladies in senior political positions. What the hon. lady is saying is, in fact, impractical because it starts from a different premise. Whereas she does not object to the sheer dimension of development aid we currently send overseas per se, this government does. Kazulian tax money should be spent on Kazulian citizens, and even though it is legitimate to take into account the plight of third world countries, we are not prepared to tell our constituents, who pay offensive rates of tax, that they ought to work harder so that we can retain our policy of retaining "high levels" of development aid. This government was elected to cut spending, and it will deliver. Sparing foreign aid is not an option. It would make little impact if we only "promote trade" through the Trade and Industry budget because we cannot do much without putting a good deal of well-meant pressure on third world countries. In order for them to recognize the benfits of free trade, we must persuade them to open up their markets and participate in the global economy. Good governance and human rights are important factors, but history tells us that most nations only develop on a political level after they've adopted a sound economic policy in the form of market-based solutions and free trade. Erwin Schausberger (FV) Minister of Foreign Affairs |
| Date | 17:51:15, September 23, 2015 CET | From | Folkepartiet (People's Party) | To | Debating the Regaining Sovereignty Act, 3911 |
| Message | Herr President, Though I consider the government's cuts to the development aid budget callous and objectionable as well, that is not the point I was making. Rather, the current line of debate concerns the fact that the government is cynically proposing to make international aid, which is a moral obligation, dependent on our own benefit. He may deny it all he wants and try to frame it in terms of benefit to the other side as much as he likes, but the fact of the matter is that my distinguished contemporary the Minister of Internal Affairs has rubbed off on him and that the government's only aim is indulging in selfishness on a national level. If this was really all about sound economic policy, then the government could simply have conditioned aid on certain policy conditions, as a kind of economic good governance. As the Minister is proposing it, however, he does very much mind who they trade with: with us, and the policy as he presents it is very much unconcerned with the receiving nation's attitude towards the rest of the world. As for the cuts, I'm sure that with the bureaucratic inefficiency that came with the legacy of the late Matthias Nilsen, which we have still not managed to disentangle, they can be made elsewhere by tackling waste. Kazulian citizens are proud of our nation's compassionate and open reputation, and rightly so. Nelline Opland FP Leader |
| Date | 18:12:44, September 23, 2015 CET | From | Borgerlig-Demokratiske Union | To | Debating the Regaining Sovereignty Act, 3911 |
| Message | Mr Speaker, no one in this government denies that we have the benefit of the Kazulian people in mind when we discuss possible changes to foreign aid policy - unless the honorable lady, we do not believe that foreign policy is an area where we can simply forget about the national interest and the taxpayer's legitimate demands. I am the Foreign Minister of Kazulmark and not some kind of third-world lobbyist. *jeers from the opposition benches* I gather that the hon. members opposite object to the term "third-world lobbyist". Well, let me clarify: I oppose the idea that our foreign policy should be guided solely by the interest of other nations and governments. We wish to reach an agreement with developing countries wherein both parties gain, which is a pareto-optimal solution. We will not sacrifice taxpayers' money for the sole purpose of being able to portray ourselves as selfless philanthropists. We are first and foremost committed to the people who have elected us, and everything else would lead our political system ad absurdum. Erwin Schausberger (FV) Minister of Foreign Affairs |
subscribe to this discussion - unsubscribe
Voting
| Vote | Seats | |||||
| yes | Total Seats: 68 | |||||
| no |
Total Seats: 71 | |||||
| abstain | Total Seats: 0 |
| Random fact: Players using inactive accounts and/or accounts from outside nations may only propose bills and/or contribute to discussions, whether IC (in-character) or OOC (out-of-character) with the general consent of the players in the nation. |
| Random quote: "You can't give the government the power to do good without also giving it the power to do bad, in fact, to do anything it wants." - Harry Browne |