Mana Outraged At Retrospective Legislation

MANA is outraged that the Government is to ram through the Search and Surveillance Bill in the wake of the Urewera fiasco.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5651975/Covert-police-filming-to-be-made-legal

MANA justice spokesperson Annette Sykes says the government’s response to the Supreme Court's ruling from the Urewera debacle is to suspend that ruling and urgently ram legislation making illegal Police action legal.

She says retrospective law is always questionable, especially if it is to hand unquestioned power over to the Police force.

“ The Supreme Court found Police action of secretly filming citizens was illegal.

“The Police force need to have their powers reigned in, the solution is not for John Key to give them even more unchecked power.”

Annette Sykes says retrospective legislation is an extremely bad law making process which is why it is rarely used in any democratic country, with examples of its use in New Zealand extremely rare.

“Maori of course are well aware that this was the tactic used with the Foreshore and Seabed legislation and now the government is to use it off the back of the Urewera case.”

She says everyone in New Zealand concerned about basic civil rights should be outraged at the proposal to use retrospective legislation while the nation’s attention is focused on rugby.

“I would expect civil liberty and lawyer groups throughout the country to support MANA’s stance of opposing this draconian Bill.

“The Search and Surveillance Bill will grant Police vast spying abilities on every New Zealanders with them able to plant cameras in homes with no judicial oversight. That is not a democracy, that is the foundations of a Police State."

Annette Sykes says the government’s scant regard for people’s rights, which Maori know only too well, is why the country needs strong MANA representation in the next parliament.

“It is no use Maori supporting parties which are prepared to leap into bed with a government would even contemplate such obnoxious law.”

ENDS

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