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Nanny National Party wants Big Brother "Crime of Conversation"

"Big Brother Nats desperate for knee-jerk attention" is how Libertarianz Leader Russell Watkins today described National MP Simon Power’s call for draconian "grooming" laws to criminalise anyone 16 and over communicating with anyone under 16 with the intention to meet.

"This proposal reeks of a sick National Party, using a recent crime, when existing laws proved perfectly adequate, to woo the Christian conservative vote" declared Watkins.

"Big Brother National wants to create a new crime with a presumption of guilt rather than innocence, so that adults communication with someone under 16, including conversation about meeting, has to prove they were NOT intending to engage in criminal sexual activity with them. To justify such a draconian reversal of the burden of proof with this thoughtcrime, Power must perversely believe that the majority of adults communicating with young people by electronic means have criminal intent"

"Such a law could only be enforceable if the Police had wide ranging powers to tap private emails and conversations to discover people committing the "thoughtcrime of conversation".""Presumably, even 16yo boys flirting with 15yo girls on-line will be criminals. Cousins on the wrong side of the age line arranging to meet to go to the movies or hang out, will be guilty till proven innocent!"

"Power and the National Party should grow up and butt out of people’s conversations and focus on real crimes with genuine victims, not thoughtcrimes where people have to prove something is not in their minds."

"Parents concerned about threats to their children should teach them about being safe and monitor those too young to be able to look after themselves. There are laws covering the sexual abuse of minors, there need not be laws that presume all adults communicating with minors are doing so to meet them to abuse them!" Watkins concluded.

For further information contact: Russell Watkins (07) 543-3136 or

E'mail on hooligan@enternet.co.nz

or visit our websites,

www.libz.org.

www.libertarianz.org.nz

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