Fishery Officers Accused Of “Treason” By Marae

“Fishery Officers have received faxes today stating that if they take action over suspected illegal activities at Potaka Marae they will be guilty of ‘treason’ and will be arrested by the ‘Aotearoa Native Police’,” said Martin Cooney, Organiser with the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) today. Attached are two of five faxes circulated today.

“The Ministry of Fisheries claims the union has been irresponsible in publicising the risk to Fishery Officers and that there is no evidence of illegal activity worth investigating on the Marae,” said Martin Cooney. “If the Ministry is correct, it is difficult to see why the Marae continues to issue statements such as these.”

“The issue for our Union is a simple health and safety one. By delaying implementing the commitment the Ministry of Fisheries made concerning the safety of Fishery Officers for sixteen months, the Ministry has neglectied its responsibility to its staff.”

“The instruction by the Union to avoid Potaka Marae has been extended until the 19th March, when our delegates are to meet with the Ministry in Wellington,” said Martin Cooney. “Despite the assurances of the Minister of Fisheries today that there is no problem, faxes like these can only serve to heighten the tension in an already difficult situation over the foreshore and seabed debate.”

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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>>