The Human Rights Tribunal has found that the last Government and Chris Finlayson breached Kim Dotcom’s rights in not providing him with information requested by him. And awarded him $90,000 for the breach.
RNZ this morning describes a 2011 report by the Chief Human Rights Commissioner on historical child abuse in NZ. “It was never published because, she says, the Attorney General Chris Finlayson did not like its recommendations.”
The weekend Dominion Post editorial doesn’t pull any punches.
Remember the “jihadi brides” – part of last year’s beat-up about the risk of terrorism in NZ? Yesterday the central lie in the story was revealed.
A public private organisation with the acronym CERT was announced this week along with the new cyber security strategy. CERT’s role is to provide information to government so it can protect against cyber threats. Which is one of the roles of the GCSB.
Chris Finlayson has criticised the New Zealand Law Society for not being aware that a change to the Health and Safety Reform Bill affecting human rights introduced after submissions had been heard was itself being changed. But all this does is reinforce the Law Society’s criticisms that such provisions should have been part of the original bill.
Amy Adams has congratulated Chris Finlayson’s commitment to equality in Judicial appointments for the first all female Court of Appeal sitting. However each of the Judges had been appointed to the Judiciary by the last Labour Government. And Finlayson’s history of judicial appointments still favours male appointments.
Chris Finlayson has described a comment made by John Key as “wild eyed stuff” on National Radio,
The Waitangi Tribunal has released an important decision stating its opinion that chiefs never intended to cede Maori sovereignty when signing the Te Reo version of the Treaty of Waitangi.
Key has basically fired himself from most of his Security and Intelligence responsibilities. This is a big change.
Chris Finalyson’s contribution to the GCSB debate yesterday was a strong reminder that the job description for National MPs includes a requirement that they be rude and arrogant and a belief that they are somehow superior to the rest of us.
Eric Holder’s connections with New Zealand’s justice system and GCSB is justified by linking international surveillance with transnational organised crime and crimes by citizens: 5 Eyes’ (alleged) defence of democracy, reaches into homes via “domestic terrorism”, (sexual) violence against women & children, and child pornography.
John Key’s government has been gradually dismantling NZ’s democratic processes. Various activities this week are a major part of a frightening shift: a Bill enabling mining conservation land; punitive social security Act; Key’s control over NZ’s “intelligence community”.
So Chris Finlayson, Attorney General, finally managed to get his Bill through last month re-allowing the antiquated title of Queen’s Counsel to be conferred on lawyers again. The title is worth hundred of thousands in extra legal fees you can charge with your added prestige of having ‘taken silk’. Yesterday he had his first appointment to the title. It went to…
When Chris Finlayson’s on the backfoot he starts to sound bitchy. Out comes the name-calling and the put-downs – as if his opponents are going to be scared off. If Finlayson is going to throw a tizzy at anyone it should be National for first whipping up the rednecks over the ‘beaches’ and then raising Maori expectations.
Is the interminable tangled mess of the foreshore and seabed issue getting to Chris Finlayson? Something certainly is, because he’s clearly losing it. For the Treaty Negotiations Minister to tell a group of Maori protesters to “go to hell” is about as idiotic as it gets.
A fascinating interview on Nine to Noon this morning – Kathryn Ryan with Jonathan Temm, President of the Law Society, on what the […]
When Justice Bill Wilson was accused of serious misconduct, Attorney-General Chris Finlayson didn’t want to investigate telling fellow National MP Colin King “Justice Wilson is a mate of mine and there’s no way I am pursuing this any further”. Now, Wilson’s got a $885,000 golden handshake from the government to make the issue go away.
Arts Minister Chris Finlayson has backed the Hobbit producers’ refusal to negotiate with Kiwi workers.
He’s citing a Crown Law opinion that backs Jackson’s claim he can’t negotiate with workers collectively.
But he’s deliberately asked a very narrow question to get the answer he wants – an answer he’s using to back foreign big business over the rights of Kiwi workers.
Finlayson says that paying compo to women abused by cops would “open the floodgates”. In other words, he reckons all the other claims that would come out of the woodwork would cost too much. What’s right is right. No matter the cost. ‘Floodgates’ is just an admission that the hundreds have been harmed. This government doesn’t have the guts to do right by them.
Well, this is pretty embarrassing for the Attorney-General Chris Finlayson. He’s the (big g) Government’s top lawyer, and he’s just been taken to school by one of those former teachers in Labour’s ranks that National is always mocking. It’s a little bit hard to be confident in the guy’s ability to be Attorney-General when he can’t understand a simple rule and signs false documents.
It appears Attorney-General Chris Finlayson has been failing to declare his interest in a company for years. David Parker stood down as Attorney-General when he thought he had signed a false declaration. Will Finlayson? Will John Key match Phil Goff’s standards? [Update: Finlayson says he has no pecuniary interest. Irrelevant. All directorships must be declared. The A-G should be able to read the rules]
Trevor Mallard reports being asked by a press gallery member if he knows which nat is about to resign. Trev doesn’t know, but there’s a few choice candidates
Last month Colin King revealed that his National Party colleague Chris Finlayson had said he would block an investigation into the behaviour of his old mate Supreme Court Judge Bill Wilson. Finlayson should have recognised his conflict of interest and stood aside months ago but only did so once the media got the story. It says something about National’s standards.
The other day, Chris Finlayson described himself as a Pollyanna – it’s an American term (of derision) for someone who sees everything as positive, ignoring unhappy realities. Finlayson is all bouncy and optimistic, selling his ‘no-one owns it’ ‘solution’ to the F&S issue. But I have not heard a single Maori leader who agrees with his offer or anything like it.
National’s proposed reform of the foreshore and seabed legislation is no ‘elegant solution’. Instead, it is being criticised in the business press as an undemocratic favouring of Maori business interests over Pakeha ones, while iwi are saying that it doesn’t give them what they want.
A senior judge is under investigation for sitting on a case in which his business partner, whom he owed $240,000, was a lawyer. The investigation could result in a recommendation to the Attorney-General that the judge be sacked. But Attorney-General Chris Finlayson has trampled over the process and has said he will not act against Justice Wilson, who is a mate of his from their days at Bell Gully.
National is offering significant new concessions on the foreshore and seabed. It’s a whole new ball game. Coming on top of Whanau Ora its second big win in a row for the Maori Party. Is this it? Will there be an agreed solution? Can the country put this issue behind it?
Paul Quinn’s Electoral (Disqualification of Convicted Prisoners) Amendment Bill appears to be unjustifiably inconsistent with the electoral rights affirmed by s 12 of the Bill of Rights Act.
That’s the view of Attorney General Chris Finlayson, whose National Party is supporting the bill to select committee regardless.
So National has adopted Labour’s arts, culture and heritage policy essentially unchanged. Good. The flourishing of New Zealand’s arts and culture we’ve seen […]
