According to the Manawatu SubStandard, the Police have dropped charges of "dishonouring the flag" against Tame Iti. Given last year's judgement on flag-burning, they were almost guaranteed to lose, and its good to see them acknowledge the fact. Charges of recklessly discharging a firearm have also been dropped, presumably on the basis that an outcry from right-wing politicians is insufficient for a conviction. Instead, the Police are focusing on the charges where they may actually have a case: unlawful possession of a firearm, and possession without a license. Which again, is fair enough. In this country, we demand that people who want to own guns jump through a few hoops first (primarily to do with not being a dick and not wanting to use them on other people); if Iti hasn't bothered, then he deserves to be charged and convicted.
was the flag australian?
ReplyDeleteI hope it was that would make a good story.
besides I dont like having laws on the books that are not enforced.
I think Tame was trying to demonstrate a lack of respect for New Zealand by shooting the flag. Good to see we respect that action.
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Its good also the Police can be present at a protest, allow guns to be shot (apparently there was more than just Tame Iti with a firearm), spend a few weeks looking for evidence, and then decide not to bog the courts down with this issue.
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It sends a clear message that the right to protest is alive and well, and any-one can bring a gun to a protest, wave it about, shoot a few flags and expect Police to sit back and watch.
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It does seem a bit strange the right-wing politicians made a fuss about this. What's the big deal about firing a gun at a protest anyway? It's not as if they were also setting cars alight and abusing the visiting judges (or at least that's just hearsay).
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ACT should be focusing on the real issues: mismanagement by Labour with things like the half a billion dollars te Wananga has grabbed, the Corporate Welfare grants to companies like EDS and Hubbards, the issue of trusting their Politicians like John Tamihere and "I will not take a golden handshake". Not declaring $140,000 in your annual return is a darn easy mistake to make too, I hear people do that all the time. Then there's Job Jolt, the Hip Hop trips, etc etc. Nope, ACT are going to be pretty busy without worrying about any minor infractions at a protest.
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Mind you, there may soon be a few more protests, so the Police better work out what laws they will be enforcing on a consistent basis.