You shouldn’t be able to steal cake and eat it too – but maybe the Treaty says otherwise

“But you haven’t given enough weight to my Treaty rights?”

Someone by name of Narelle Henson can’t yet celebrate. Nor can Alf’s mates, who share her opposition to the notion that jailbirds should be able to vote in general elections.

Narelle Henson expressed her views in an article in the Waikato Times under the heading You can’t have your cake and eat it too.

She was unsympathetic with the case brought by Arthur Taylor, a bloke she reckoned had broken the law 150 times who was appealing to the law for the opportunity to choose the lawmakers.

Taylor and six other inmates hope to stop the general election, on the grounds the banning of their voting went against the Bill of Rights and the Treaty of Waitangi.

Narelle thinks this is preposterous.

John Colman gets his right of reply

One John Colman has demanded the right of reply to something Alf posted  so long ago he had forgotten it. He imagines his constituents in Eketahuna North had forgotten it too.

The original item dealt with this Colman feller’s contretemps with the Brethren Church and our legal system and with some of the more robust language he could pull from his colourful vocabulary.

Alf is happy to give Colman his right of reply, but not exactly the way Colman expressed it. He has excised some of the naughty words (exercising his editorial prerogative) and one or two bits of Colman’s story that might land him or Alf in further trouble with the law.

He further points out that Colman won’t win Alf’s sympathy by describing him and Mrs Grumble as dickheads.

But as the constituents of Eketahuna North would tell him, Alf is a fair-minded fellow and willing to allow him his right of reply.

Bugger the Bill of Rights – Tolley has got to empower school heads to flush out drugs and weapons

So who runs our bloody schools these days?

Oh, yes. The kids.

Alf’s perturbation at the extent to which the brats have taken over is reinforced by a report in the Dom-Post this morning.

The Education Ministry is advising principals of the ludicrous prospect of pupils taking schools to court if they are searched for weapons or drugs.

The privacy commissioner plays a role in this story (surprise, surprise). She is saying pupils should not be searched unless consent has been given.

Alf was astonished to learn this post was not abolished during the Government’s assault on wasteful public expenditure.

Hell’s Angels can go to the devil

It’s a bit rich when buggers like the Hells Angels complain about something being unlawful.

But that’s their latest stunt – they are invoking the Bill of Rights in support of their bid to block a bylaw that bans them from wearing their patches on the streets of Wanganui.

Among other arguments, they say they are a club, not a gang.

A crushing rejoinder to Treasury twaddle

Some tossers in the Treasury have become much too keen to show off their flair for analysis, and have advised the government there’s no proof its proposed new laws to prevent boy-racing will work.

The department’s objections to the law changes which include the crowd-pleasing proposal to crush the cars of repeat offenders are contained in Cabinet papers on the new laws released to The Press under the Official Information Act.