15 December 2004

Last Ditch Attempt To Protect Queen’s Counsel

New Zealand First justice spokesperson Dail Jones will be making a last ditch effort to protect the position of Queen’s Counsel which the Government intends to terminate as a result of the provisions of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Bill.

Mr Jones has prepared an amendment to delete the provisions of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Bill which terminate the position of Queen’s Counsel.

“The ignorance of the Attorney-General with regard to Court matters is no better illustrated than by her insistence on creating a so-called new position of Senior Counsel, which is already in current usage in the Courts,” said Mr Jones.

“The position of Queen’s Counsel has a higher status at the present time than that of Senior Counsel. The removal of the position is an indication that Labour does not recognise the intellect and hard work necessary to become Queen’s Counsel.

“These lawyers set the highest standards and in terms of our unwritten constitution are always available to represent the Queen,” Mr Jones concluded.

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>>