Flavell condemns National's actions in making the unlawful lawful

Waiariki MP Te Ururoa Flavell has condemned the panic reaction of the National Government in responding to the Supreme Court Urewera judgement by seeking to pass temporary legislation under urgency next week.

"It appears that what the National Government will ask us to do, is to suspend the law temporarily - to condone the unlawful act by the Police; and then to add fuel to the fire by introducing legislation to make the 'unlawful' lawful".

"What sort of justice system do we have if the upholder of the law is allowed to break the law and get away with it?

The Maori Party will be carefully scrutinising the Court of Appeal decision and the associated cabinet papers to understand the full impact of this rushed decision in response to the Operation 18 fiasco.

"We believe that justice can only be done when it is seen to be done" said Mr Flavell.

"The facts of this matter seem unequivocal - the Court has decided that the use of video surveillance is unlawful in the absence of prior judicial authoritisation. Because there was no legislative authority the Police should not have acted the way they did.

"Two wrongs do not a right make. There is no way the Maori Party will support after-the-fact legislative change to make the unlawful lawful"

"We want justice for the people of Tuhoe who are still left out in the cold by this latest turn of events".

" Have the people of Te Urewera not suffered enough? When will they receive the apology and the recognition due to them, that unlawful police investigations were allowed to proceed, unabated, causing significant trauma to children, to families, to the small community of the Ruatoki valley?"

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