Trevor Loudon

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Trevor Loudon is a New Zealand political activist who was vice president of the ACT New Zealand Party from 2006 to 2008.[1] He has been involved in right-wing politics in Christchurch for many years, most notably the Campaign for a Soviet Free New Zealand[2]. He is also a student of Zenith Applied Philosophy (a New Zealand breakaway sect of Scientology).

He describes himself as "[Believing] in freedom with responsibility, not freedom from responsibility. My ideal society is one in which government is slashed to the bone and people are free to reach their potential." In addition to his libertarian economic views he is strongly anti-communist, in a 2006 post to his blog (see below) he stated "Socialism, is in short a manifestation of mental illness or major character deficiency."[3] he has also stated a belief that communists are responsible for "supplying much of the world's illegal drugs," although he supports drug legalisation (while being personally against drug use)[4]

He maintains a sometimes controversial blog entitled New Zeal. Many of his posts have been exhaustive investigations into the former political careers of political opponents whom he sees as "menace[s] to liberty". Favourite subjects for attack are Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand co-leader Russel Norman[5] and MP Keith Locke, as well as academics he views as left-wing, posts about whom are titled "Socialist Academic Profile". (S.A.P.)[6]

[edit] Controversy

Loudon sparked some controversy when in December 2005 his blog featured a post titled "Himmler and Benson-Pope; Spot the Difference?" comparing Labour Cabinet Minister David Benson-Pope to Heinrich Himmler. A spokesman for Benson-Pope said that the joke was in bad taste, stating that "Mr Loudon is clearly a failed stand-up comedian with bad taste and poor judgement and he's perfectly suited as office holder of the ACT Party." Loudon claimed that the post had been a joke that "went around the Internet. Quite a few people posted that." [7]

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ ACT Board Election Results. ACT New Zealand (2006-05-27).
  2. ^ New Zealand and the Soviet Union 1950-1991: A Brittle Relationship. A. C. Wilson. Wellington: Victoria University Press and the New Zealand Institute for International Affairs, 2004.
  3. ^ Are Socialists Psychos?. New Zeal (2006-12-12).
  4. ^ Drug Freeland Part 1. New Zeal (2006-12-19).
  5. ^ Was the Green's "Mr Clean", a Marxist-Leninist?. New Zeal (2006-01-31).
  6. ^ S.A.P. Number 8, Brian Roper. New Zeal (2006-07-14).
  7. ^ ACT vice-president defends blog comments. Stuff.co.nz (2006-04-01).
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