Sections 171-13 HRS (2016) Gives the State the Right to Privatized Publicly Held Assets
Sections 171-13 HRS (2016) Gives the State the right to privatize any or all publicly held land-based assets. Let’s be clear about this: that’s all publicly owned lands. Let's think about this for a minute. Parks are public land, and your public small boat harbors, public golf courses, and public right-of-ways are all public lands. We're talking about all land, even submerged and so-called fast publicly held land. Theoretically, since 2016, the State has had the right to privatize any public lands asset. They now want the right to unrestricted privatization.
What does this mean to you?
Like to golf on the public links? Corporations would love to get hold of these little gems in paradise. When they do, you’ll have to set up a little putting green in your backyard because you won’t be able to afford what the corporations will be charging for green fees.
Like Kapiolani park? Bet you do. How about a pay-to-enter Kapiolani park, when nearby hotel corporations lease that out?
Like fishing? There are a lot of you out there. How much would you be willing to pay private corporations for the right to fish on the Penguin Banks?
Some of you like to surf, after all, this is Hawaii. This might be tough to do in the not-too-distant future unless you can cough up the bucks for a pass to one of the leased surf spots on leased submerged lands off of the North and South shores. Think that's not possible? There is legislation moving through the house and senate right now that will make that a reality for some lucky big-money corporate interests.
Sound farfetched? Think again. There are ten million visitors a year to Hawaii (2018 numbers). The pressure from big-money multinational corporations is enormous. If they could, they'd privatize every square inch of publicly-held land, submerged, fast, and dry-inland. Every inch. The profit potential is enormous. And now that our legislators have given themselves the right to bless private bids for public lands, anything is possible.
This is textbook irresponsible legislation on the part of the people who are supposed to be managing and protecting your public assets. Politically, Hawaii likes to identify with Blue-leaning dogma, but in actual fact, your legislators are far-Red leaning, same as their campaign donors and private-life business affiliates, but they campaign as if they were Blue. It’s the classic shell game that continues to confuse Hawaii voters, tricking them into thinking that their public assets are being responsibly managed.
It’s time to wake up Hawaii, before all of your public assets are in the hands of corporations and inaccessible to you, the public. Your cost of living is going through the ceiling because the Governor of this State and its legislature, and State agency leadership, is selling you out to private financial self interests. Ed Underwood's DOBOR, right now, is involved in vociferous negotiations with salivating private financial self interests who want private control of Hawaii's submerged/fast lands, in this case, associated with all public harbors.
Demand that Sections 171-13 HRS, and all similar legislation, be stricken down and replaced with legislation that guarantees that public lands will remain untouched.
Do nothing? No grumble later.
This is wrong!!