Thursday, 28 October, 2004

Baldock, Copeland delighted with extension on prostitution petition

MPs Larry Baldock and Gordon Copeland were today delighted at having a two-month extension in a bid for a citizens initiated referendum to repeal the Prostitution Reform Act.

The petition had 132,335 signatures as of today, almost halfway to the target of 271,000, which would put the issue on the ballot paper at the next election.

"This is an issue that the two us strongly support as individuals, and we are very happy with the response thus far," Mr Baldock and Mr Copeland said.

A two-month extension, as provided for under the Citizens Initiated Referendum Act, was confirmed yesterday by the Office of the Clerk of Parliament, Mr Baldock said.

Mr Baldock will present the signatures to the Office of the Clerk at Parliament tomorrow.

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>>