I was pleased to be able to speak at the Auckland celebration of Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's 65th birthday. It was one of many taking place around the world.
One of the problems with the Prisoners’ and Victims’ Claims (Expiry and Application Dates) Amendment Bill—and it is a problem with the Act that came into force under the last Government—is that it gives the impression that victims are getting serious financial compensation. In fact, they are not. It is just crumbs from the table for a few victims. The real question of proper compensation for all victims of crime is not addressed in this bill.
While I welcome the news that SIS files on sitting MPs have been closed the bar has still been set too low for putting opposition MPs under surveillance. According to Paul Neazor, Inspector General of Intelligence and Security, the test should be whether the Member ‘is suspected of undertaking activities detrimental to security.’
The Aucklander reported today that the Minister of Transport has asked consultants to conduct a study into whether the next Harbour crossing for Auckland should Read More
The New Zealand Transport Agency, in many ways, has done a good job, but it is handicapped. Firstly, the Government sets very strong policy guidelines, particularly from the Minister of Transport, Steven Joyce, who lay down the seven roads of national significance that the New Zealand Transport Agency then had to fund.
I’ve long been trying to find out what New Zealand has signed up to under the UKUSA electronic spying agreement. It has been a somewhat Kafkaesque exercise because the government wouldn’t directly admit the existence of the agreement, or whether New Zealand had signed up.
New Zealand should reject any role in processing asylum seekers offshore, as proposed yesterday by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Green Party Foreign Affairs spokesperson Keith Locke said today.
Prime Minister John Key should withdraw his support for a regional processing centre for asylum seekers in the wake of its rejection by the Timor-Leste Parliament, the Green Party said today.