“The government is acting with callous disregard of some of its longest-serving police officers by pushing through legislation which seriously impacts upon their human rights in relation to age discrimination,” said New Zealand First MP Brian Donnelly.

Under the Police Act, sworn officers have to retire at the age of 55. The Human Rights Act outlaws discrimination on the basis of age. All legislation with age discrimination was supposed to have been amended by the end of this year.

Police officers have justifiably expected that the Police Act would have been amended. The government has had more than six year to do so.

Now the government is pushing out for two more years the requirements of its own legislation. Many experienced policemen are going to be trapped by the governments ineptitude.

High quality police officers are being forced to leave the service – not because they can no longer carry out their duties, but because they have turned 55 years of age.

All it would have taken to keep their experience was a single amendment to the Police Act. I have discussed the matter with New Zealand First’s police spokesperson, Peter Brown, and he assured me he will immediately rectify this situation after the election.

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>>