Monday, 6 December 2004

“Shelve the Civil Union Bill”

United Future MP Gordon Copeland today called on the Government to shelve its controversial Civil Union Bill.

“The Government has the cart before the horse,” he said.

“Parliament should first be debating the Relationships Bill, which amends around 120 pieces of legislation so that de-facto couples, whether homosexual or heterosexual, have the same legal status as married people.

“Instead the Government is pressing ahead with the “gay marriage” Bill and dividing the nation in a way I have not seen since the 1981 Springbok tour.

“It is all so unnecessary. No de-facto heterosexual couple has expressed to me any interest in civil-unioning, and why should they when they can marry at any time?

“Also information provided by the parliamentary library to all MPs indicates that once the initial novelty factor wears off, based on overseas statistics, we could be looking at only around 55 gay civil unions a year.

“Why risk creating deep divisions within New Zealand society for that? It makes no sense. I say shelve the Bill while there is still time,” said Mr Copeland.

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>>