Privy Council must stay

The Labour Government is poised to give Margaret Wilson the power to make decisions which could determine New Zealand’s legal destiny for the next 20 years or more.

“The Supreme Court Bill gives the Attorney General the power to make recommendations on all five Supreme Court Judges,” says National’s Justice spokesman Simon Power.

“Essentially, she’ll be making the calls on the people who could fundamentally influence the Kiwi way of life for the next 20 years.

“National favours the retention of the Privy Council, it gives us international legal expertise and extra credibility at no cost to the taxpayer,” says Mr Power.

“New Zealand also receives the benefits from an accepted international standard of criminal, constitutional and commercial law.

“National’s also questioning the objectivity of any New Zealand based Supreme Court, where the personnel are drawn from a very small pool of legal experts.”

“This Labour Government has no right to throw off nearly two centuries of legal history without any public mandate,” Mr Power says.

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