Safety with sensitivity
It’s risky for a sensitive law like the government’s recent Countering Terrorist Fighters Legislation Bill to be pushed through in such a rush.
As Labour’s Foreign Affairs spokesman I spent a lot of time last week helping to make the wisest changes we could to the bill in the short time we were given.
The bill deals with some profound issues: it may extend SIS powers to allow our spies to search our homes without a warrant for up to 48 hours. Passports will be able to be revoked for up to three years (the current limit is one year).
Some of the people making submissions on the bill only had 24 hours to read the bill and present their submissions. I hope they felt they were able to give their best, and that their input wasn’t compromised because of the government’s rush.
One of the more powerful presentations came from Dr Anwar Ghani, president of the Federation of Islamic Associations in NZ and Rehanna Ali his sister. They described the pressure and stigma many of the 40,000 Muslims in New Zealand are feeling right now, despite being one of the most peaceful and law-abiding communities in the country.
Many are subject to insults and suspicion, because of the events in Iraq and Syria, many of it directed towards Muslim women, because they are identified through the wearing of the hijab or headscarves.
It reminds us how sensitive we must be to the wider implications of pushing this bill through in haste.
For years I have benefited from the support of a strong Muslim community in my electorate. They have been telling me – and I agree – that we need to take care we don’t overstep the mark in responding to imagined or possible threats from a few radical and isolated individuals.
Taking away someone’s passport, for example, is an extreme measure. It’s a basic right of a citizen to have a passport. So withholding a passport should happen in only the most extreme cases. It should never be done on a whim.
We need to make sure New Zealand stays the safe place it is. But we need to move carefully and with sensitivity, not blunder forward without thinking through the consequences. Nobody knows or wants that more than our Muslim community.
Law like this should be subject to the full scrutiny of the democratic process. That means allowing the Law Society, Privacy Commission, Human Rights Commission and indeed the public, the time to read the bill thoroughly, process it and have meaningful input.
It was wrong of the government to ram through a bill that impacts on our civil liberties without allowing us all to give it the consideration it deserved.
It’s risky for a sensitive law like the government’s recent Countering Terrorist Fighters Legislation Bill to be pushed through in such a rush.
As Labour’s Foreign Affairs spokesman I spent a lot of time last week helping to make the wisest changes we could to the bill in the short time we were...
It’s risky for a sensitive law like the government’s recent Countering Terrorist Fighters Legislation Bill to be pushed through in such a rush.
As Labour’s Foreign Affairs spokesman I spent a lot of time last week helping to make the wisest changes we could to the bill in the short time we were given.
The bill deals with some profound issues: it may extend SIS powers to allow our spies to search our homes without a warrant for up to 48 hours. Passports will be able to be revoked for up to three years (the current limit is one year).
Some of the people making submissions on the bill only had 24 hours to read the bill and present their submissions. I hope they felt they were able to give their best, and that their input wasn’t compromised because of the government’s rush.
One of the more powerful presentations came from Dr Anwar Ghani, president of the Federation of Islamic Associations in NZ and Rehanna Ali his sister. They described the pressure and stigma many of the 40,000 Muslims in New Zealand are feeling right now, despite being one of the most peaceful and law-abiding communities in the country.
Many are subject to insults and suspicion, because of the events in Iraq and Syria, many of it directed towards Muslim women, because they are identified through the wearing of the hijab or headscarves.
It reminds us how sensitive we must be to the wider implications of pushing this bill through in haste.
For years I have benefited from the support of a strong Muslim community in my electorate. They have been telling me – and I agree – that we need to take care we don’t overstep the mark in responding to imagined or possible threats from a few radical and isolated individuals.
Taking away someone’s passport, for example, is an extreme measure. It’s a basic right of a citizen to have a passport. So withholding a passport should happen in only the most extreme cases. It should never be done on a whim.
We need to make sure New Zealand stays the safe place it is. But we need to move carefully and with sensitivity, not blunder forward without thinking through the consequences. Nobody knows or wants that more than our Muslim community.
Law like this should be subject to the full scrutiny of the democratic process. That means allowing the Law Society, Privacy Commission, Human Rights Commission and indeed the public, the time to read the bill thoroughly, process it and have meaningful input.
It was wrong of the government to ram through a bill that impacts on our civil liberties without allowing us all to give it the consideration it deserved.
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