27 August, 2004

Dunne: Zaoui case cracks a million

Asylum-seeker Ahmed Zaoui has cost the taxpayers at least one million dollars, according to figures released today by United Future leader Peter Dunne, who renewed his call to end the "Zaoui industry".

Latest figures, obtained by Mr Dunne under parliamentary questioning, show that to date the taxpayer had footed a Legal Aid bill of $208,329, Crown Law Office costs of $603,161, Corrections expenses estimated at $68,000 for holding Mr Zaoui, Labour Department legal costs of $42, 750 and court costs of $85,600.

"That makes for a total of $1,007,000 - a truly exorbitant drain on the New Zealand taxpayer - and those are just the legal costs. There are other costs not factored in, so one shudders to think what the total cost is," he said.

"This case has to be moved quickly because it is simply getting ridiculous.

"And as I've said before, while Mr Zaoui may well be unhappy that the law requires that he stay in jail while his case is being considered, Kiwis are getting equally resentful at having to foot an ever-growing bill.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

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>>