"It appears that the Christian Heritage Party has no sense of shame, irony or proportion, given its recent accusation that our President, Doctor Margaret Sparrow, is leader of a "death squad." Craig Young, Research Officer of the Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand said today.

"This is a grave offence to all New Zealanders who settled in this country to avoid the ravages of totalitarian regimes that have real death squads."

"And the Christian Heritage Party is hardly in a credible position itself when it comes to the issue of child protection. It opposes the repeal of Section 59 of the Crimes Act, which would assist efforts against reducing child battery. John Tonson, its Palmerston North candidate, is the ringleader of an anti-CYPFS pressure group. In the last Parliament, Frank Grover introduced a so- called Guardianship (Parental Consent Amendment) Bill that would have exposed pregnant incest survivors to risk from further sexual endangerment or assault from their dysfunctional parents or guardians."

"After the 1999 General Election, Capill acknowledged that his party lacked people with professional skills in areas beyond its tiresome moralist obsessions. It appears nothing has changed."

Contact Dr Margaret Sparrow President, ALRANZ Box 28008, Wellington (04) 4759886

Craig Young Research Officer, ALRANZ Box 28008, Wellington (06) 3569099/7750

© 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>>