No relief from US terror demands

The Greens are asking Air New Zealand to drop the lid on the latest US demand that air passengers be prevented from queuing to go to the toilet.

"The Bush administration has gone potty if it thinks New Zealanders will sit down in the face of such silly directives from the US authorities," said Mr Locke, the Green Foreign Affairs spokesperson.

"Is Air New Zealand now going to issue immodium with its cup of tea and biscuits?

"This latest silliness comes on top of US demands for Air New Zealand to put sky marshals on its planes. Will they be used to break up dangerous toilet queues? The image of sky marshals waving their pistols at incontinent passengers to force them back to their seats is too terrible to contemplate.

Mr Locke said the latest farcical directive from Washington did have more sinister overtones.

"John Howard has a track record of doing George Bush's bidding on just about anything, but we shouldn't be following Qantas or the Australian government on such over-the-top responses to terrorism.

"We should be joining the growing number of countries rejecting the more stupid security demands of the US administration. Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Portugal and South Africa have all refused to allow sky marshals on their planes. Our government should say we will be following suit.

"We're all for combating terrorism," Keith Locke said. "But if this US administration was serious about it they'd stop acting like the rulers of the world and start working in genuine partnership with other countries. Maybe George Bush doesn't like queues because he's so often at the back of one when it comes to upholding human rights."

© Scoop Media