Monday, November 19, 2018
The Forthcoming Referendum on the Growing and Supply of Cannabis for Personal Recreational Use
Presently before the Parliament is the Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill which would facilitate easier access to cannabis-based products for medical reasons. Currently, such use requires Ministerial approval on a patient by patient basis. On the horizon however is a much more radical and wide spread reform. In exchange for Green Party supply support after the 2017 General Election, the present Government has committed to holding a referendum before or at the next Election in 2020 on whether the law should be changed to allow the growing and supply of cannabis for personal “recreational” use. More...
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Armistice Day and Its Sequel
The centenary ceremony for Armistice Day, 11 November 1918, at Auckland Domain, set amidst over 18,000 white crosses representing every New Zealand service man or woman who was killed in World War I, was predictably moving. There is a view that World War I represents the birth of the nation of New Zealand. Probably an exaggeration but I have always thought that the two World Wars are hugely significant in New Zealand’s history and in shaping who we are. My father drove tanks and slept in trenches in North Africa, Crete and Italy in World War II and my boyhood was shaped by his stories and photographs from “the War”. More...
Wednesday, August 08, 2018
An Easy Read of the Rule of Law in the World of Fiction
It is now over 8 years since the Human Rights Review Tribunal first ruled in the Atkinson case that the then policy of the Ministry of Health that family members who provided care (usually full-time) for their seriously disabled (usually intellectually disabled) adult children were not entitled to be paid for so doing, notwithstanding that the State was prepared to pay professional care givers to do so. The Tribunal declared that the policy was discriminatory and unlawful. Appeals by the Ministry of Health to both the High Court and the Court of Appeal were dismissed, it being held that the policy constituted unlawful discrimination under the Bill of Rights Act [Ministry of Health v. Atkinson [2012] 3 NZLR 456 (CA)]. More...
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Bullying, Harassment and Gender Bias
Bullying and harassment have become big topics in the judicial and legal profession of late, highlighted by accusations of sexual harassment of young women summer clerks and a survey conducted by the Criminal Bar Association which claimed that a majority of those surveyed had witnessed or complained of bullying from the Bench. More...
Monday, May 07, 2018
Criticising Judges
Catriona MacLennan is an Auckand barrister and journalist who has distinguished herself for many years now by her perceptive articles in both legal and news media publications. She has made a name for herself for her authoritative writings on family violence and related issues and is the spokesperson for the Auckland Coalition for the Safety of Women and Children. She presumably knows quite a lot about the evils of domestic violence. We need more lawyers like her willing to use the media to draw attention to deficiencies in the legal system and to expose injustice wherever it occurs. More...
Monday, December 11, 2017
America's Cup Part 3A
Last week, I expressed my concerns about the damage being done to Team New Zealand’s hard won reputation because of the coincidental request by it of the Government and/or the Auckland Council for a “hosting fee” for the holding of the next America’s Cup Event in Auckland and the revelation (by TNZ) that it had been offered over $100 million by Abu Dhabi and by Sochi in Russia (neither being noted for premium yacht racing) to shift the Event to their location. The Mayor of Auckland was reported as saying that the request for a fee (over and above the funding of the infrastructure costs of holding the Event expected to be between $140 million and $190 million) “came out of left field” and was mentioned by Grant Dalton for the first time on 19 November. More...
Monday, December 04, 2017
America's Cup Part 3
I have twice before written a commentary on the America’s Cup. I feel qualified to do this, having served as a director of Team New Zealand from 2004 to 2013, been a member of the Challenger Commission for the Valencia Regatta (2007), a member of the International Committee that investigated safety rules following the death of an Artemis sailor, Andrew Simpson, in San Francisco and other related activities. More...
Wednesday, November 08, 2017
Pro Bono Publico as an Aid to Living a Balanced Lifestyle
It is some considerable time since I have written a piece for what was referred to by senior counsel in the High Court in Wellington recently as “Jim Farmer’s blog”. This was cited by him, in presenting the appeal by NZME and Fairfax against the Commerce Commission’s refusal to allow a merger of those companies on public benefit grounds, as being an example of the many sources (other than his clients) through which the “news” can be obtained. If this assertion is true, then my apologies to the New Zealand public for being deprived of the news for so long. More...
Monday, April 10, 2017
Terence Arnold Retires From the Supreme Court Bench
Retirement from the Bench at the age of 70 is compulsory. It has become customary for a retiring Judge – at least in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court – to have a final sitting which is addressed by the Attorney General (or the Solicitor General in his stead) and by the Presidents of the New Zealand Law Society and the New Zealand Bar Association or their representatives. The retiring Judge then replies. More...
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
From Violence to Redemption
Domestic (and other) violence rightly gets a lot of press these days. It is now identified as one of the largest social problems in New Zealand with suggestions that we are among the worst countries in the world in this respect. The message is loud and clear: “It is not OK” is the catch cry and who could responsibly take issue with that. More...