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Dunne Proposes Bill Of Rights Violation

An Open Letter To Peter Dunne

Dear Mr Dunne

I write to you as the parent of three children and as a spokesman for Libertarianz. In your open letter, published in the press two days ago, you spoke of the concerns of many parents that children might be exposed to and pressured into using mind-altering drugs. My party shares that concern. However, we regard your suggested changes to existing anti-drug laws as nothing short of absurd. If you want to prevent children from being harmed through drug use, then surely you should advocate increased parent accountability.

You speak of minimising the risks associated with drug use. Yet the biggest "risk" is the harm done not by the drugs themselves but by the crime and misery which results from drug prohibition. If drug utilisation by children is the problem, then make parents and guardians answerable for their lack of adequate supervision. Don't punish the thousands of adults who make a conscious informed decision to use drugs themselves, but punish them if their children do.

And in any case, Mr Dunne, didn't you realise that forcing adults into drug rehabilitation programmes is a breach of article 11 of the Bill of Rights Act 1990, which states that everyone has the right to refuse to undergo any medical treatment?

Two hundred years ago the American Congress ratified ten constitutional amendments, thereby creating their own Bill of Rights. Read through those ten amendments, Mr Dunne, and see if you can find any mention of drugs. You won't. For a hundred years, the American government entrusted the care of children to their parents. It allowed people to get on with their lives with minimal interference. And from that beginning a great nation evolved. Why couldn't we do the same in New Zealand?

Yours sincerely

Richard McGrath, Deputy Leader, Libertarianz

For further information,

e-mail: mongrel@winz.co.nz Phone: (06) 378 8488

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