Further revelations that clubs will be caught by the Government's draconian smoking legislation show that the proposed law is ill-conceived, badly drafted and badly thought-out, ACT Internal Affairs Spokesman MP Penny Webster said today.

"Realisation by clubs that they will not escape the restrictive laws should send a warning to both Judy Keall and Annette King.

"This Government is so politically correct that it does not think through issues sensibly or practically. It appears to be anti-business and anti-freedom and choice.

"Every private club that employs staff or has an off-licence is going to be affected. Clubs will find they cannot even designate a smoking area if, as proposed by the legislation, one employee refuses to allow smoking.

"Many restaurants in pubs and clubs are already voluntarily smoke-free. Draconian legislation is not needed: it must be scrapped," Penny Webster said.

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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>>