Monday, August 28, 2006



A terse rejection

The Justice and Electoral Committee has finally reported back [PDF] on Rodney Hide's (formerly Deborah Coddington's) Sex Offenders Registry Bill. The bill would have established a registry of sex offenders, tracking them for an extended period of time after release from prison, and requiring them to update it whenever they moved or face jail. It was, in essence, a tool for their continued persecution despite having completed their sentence. The committee's response was mercifully terse:

The previous Justice and Electoral Committee received advice from the Ministry of Justice and the Police. Both advised the committee that the bill would not achieve its intended purpose.

[In conclusion] we concur with the advice received from the Ministry of Justice and the Police. We also consider that this bill will not achieve its intended purpose and recommend that it not proceed.

(Emphasis added)

So, two moral panic bills disposed of in less than a week. Now, if only the Young Offenders (Serious Crimes) Bill will be handled so sensibly...

1 comments:

"Rodney Hide's (formerly Deborah Coddington's ... bill"

In the same sense as Georgina Beyer (formerly George Bertrand)?

I guess they did a good job, although the need for reverse liposuction escapes me...

Posted by Rich : 8/28/2006 01:25:00 PM