Greens give warning

The debacle surrounding Winston Peters' alcohol ban bill has reinforced the Greens' determination to oppose the passage of legislation that ignores fundamental rules of common sense and democratic process, Green Party Co-leader Rod Donald said today.

"Any accusation that we could have fixed up this appalling piece of legislation misses the point that it shouldn't have been rammed through in the first place," Mr Donald said.

"The Government hadn't even seen the wording of the Peters bill when it agreed to support it through all stages under urgency, while we had just one hour to scrutinise it before it was tabled."

Urgency should only be used for matters which are genuinely urgent," said Mr Donald. "The only exception is that from time to time we have considered - and will continue to consider - approaches for extra sitting hours, and then only for one stage of a bill at a time.

"The Peters' bill is a perfect example of why select committee scrutiny is vital."

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>>