11 January 2001

New Zealand MP, Ron Mark, today poured scorn over the proposal by National MPs, Nick Smith and Bill English, who called for law changes to allow councils to ban the drinking of alcohol in public places.

“The arrogance of Nick Smith and Bill English knows no bounds. They must think we are all stupid. Their recently aired concerns over drunkenness and drinking in public places would be commendable if it wasn’t for the fact that both these MPs voted to lower the drinking age from 20 to 18 in 1999.

“Talk to any bobby on the beat anywhere in the country and they will tell you that the problem of teenage drunkenness, violence and unruly behaviour has worsened since the legal age for drinking was lowered.

“If Nick Smith and Bill English had not been so arrogantly dismissive of the concerns of elderly New Zealanders who wanted them to vote against the Bill in the third reading, we wouldn’t be facing the problems we are today”, said Ron Mark.

Ends

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>