Politicians Confiscate Marriages
August 9, 2020
By NZB3
Forming a pair bond and raising a family is a key application of any individual’s right to Freedom of Association. Naturally, The State want to control it.
The most Anarchist wedding contract you can have, in my estimate, is the one with the least red tape; A Registry Wedding. You and your fiancee should be able to walk in to any courthouse¹ in the land and have them put a rubber stamp on your contract. And, there, done, you’re married.
That’s how I did it and it cost about $250.00. It’s also how the greatest Libertarian in television history, Ron Swanson, got married to Lucy Lawless’ character in Parks and Recreation.
Question: Can I get married at the courthouse in New Zealand?
Answer: No. Not anymore.
As of 2020 Registry Weddings are all over. Already being phased out, I understand the COVID-19 crisis accelerated the end to March 2020…
“Registry weddings are being consigned to history, with staff handing low-cost marriages over to independent celebrants. Court staff across New Zealand stopped conducting registry weddings in July [2019]..That left the only registry weddings available at the Department of Internal Affairs offices in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch – but they too are being given the axe”- Registry weddings axed in favour of celebrants; RNZ (2019)
So, now, The State forces you to go through one of their licensed brokers if you complete a simple contract like this. The costs and the pool of who gets to be one of these functionaries is, of course, firmly in the Executive Government’s control rather than the Judiciary’s. This makes marriage political and, over time, probably, more costly to the consumer. It’s an instance of Crapitalism, the granting of monopoly rights to rubber-stamp a contract to a certain sector of registered persons (eg priests, celebrants) who will be ingratiated to The State for their livelihood and position.
Anyone wishing to marry is forced to deal with and be dependent upon one of these functionaries and their affectations and their costs and terms. At the court, the staff take instructions from the customer and there’s nothing to negotiate. No politics was involved. As of now no New Zealander book a date at the court house for a plain vanilla rubber-stamping of a contract with a couple of witnessess.
Judicial Branch of Government Simply Abdicated?
Sadly, rather than stand up for their proper and customary role the Judiciary gave it up willingly. According to the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registrar-General our Judicial branch don’t consider weddings to be “court business” or “core business.”
Apparently they just decided to set their own policy and change the New Zealand constitution, handing over all responsibility to whoever is running the Beehive at any given time. Who did this? A secret cabal of judges? A union of court registrars?
And, what other functions might they simply decide to yield over to politicians at any moment? Might our Judiciary decide not to hold trials anymore? Might they absolve themselves of probate from now on? Might they cease all involvement with International Law and just dump it all on the United Nations?
How about Public Law, is that ‘court business’ or will and over-worked legal system inform us one day that they’re cutting it and leaving the matter up to, say, Local Government to assign a bureaucrat to administer? Imagine wanting to take The Auckland Council or its Mayor to court for banning Stefan Molyneux and Lauren Southern from speaking back in 2018. Instead of hearing the case, the High Court just refers the complainant to one of the Mayor’s staff!
New Zealand’s democracy is supposed to be transparent and supported by a Separation of Powers. As the surrendering of this judicial function (marriage contract notarising) shows, the nature of The State is changing toward a more totalitarian one.
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Note: In a very similar way, we’re supposed to believe that the Police don’t consider their traffic camera network “core business” either and are handing them over to politicians; Ref. Politicians Grab Surveillance Cameras; NZB3
1 A courthouse ought not be run by The State either, but that’s another matter
Image ref. Bluff Courthouse; Ref. AHNZ
Image ref. Supreme Court Judges in their new dressing gowns; Stuff
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