Sunday, July 25, 2004

our "ragbag" justice ministry has given the Supreme Court a terrible name


The Chief Justice, Sian Elias, recently gave evidence to the Constitutional Affairs Committee in the UK Here'sthe transcript

Speaking to British MPs, Dame Sian described the justice minister's responsibilities as "ragbag" - and revealed she does not like the name of the new Supreme Court she heads.

“It is a terrible shame that we are trapped into supremacist language and I do not like the name Supreme Court." she was reported to have said.

If she thinks that the Justice Minister's responsibilities were a bit a of a ragbag, as the Dominion Post reported, why didn't she tell out select committee that, instead of blabbing off in the UK?

Or, if the above transcript was all she said, why then, is some of what was reported in the Dompost not actually on the transcript? Cam anyone assist where her comments about the name of Supreme Court and "ragbag" came from?

What she did say, though, was that the removal of the Privy Council was a move made by the people of NZ.

"We did not get involved at all in the decision whether appeals to the Privy Council should be abolished, because it was a judgment for the people of New Zealand to make."

Oh yeah? Sounds like Dame Sian thinks that it was the people of New Zealand who decided on the Supreme Court and rejected the Privy Council

That’s crap, as most people opposed it. The Supreme Court of New Zealand is not the people's court at all.

It’s the Governments court.

UPDATE Thanks to Rodney¸I've found out the full transcripts fun over several pages here, here
here
here, and
here

So there you go. The "supremacist comments are in question 1090 ( link 4) and the "ragbag" comments is
in question 1050 (link 2)

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