Wednesday, March 24, 2004



Martyrdom

Nick Smith has been convicted of contempt of court for publicly commenting on a case before the Family Court. He'll probably just get fined, but the charge has no maximum sentence, so he will be forced to resign from Parliament. This will require a byelection in Nelson, which Smith will almost certainly win if he stands.

Guess he should've used Parliamentary privilege after all.

Anyway, the positive side for Smith is that by becoming a martyr for his cause, he's almost certain to get the reforms he wanted. If he's serious about them, then a fine and byelection are a small price to pay.

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