Freedom... from unnecessary legislation?

The Local Government and Environment Select Committee is currently hearing submissions on the Freedom Camping Bill, a Bill which will enable local authorities to pass bylaws to prohibit freedom camping in designated areas and to issue infringement notices to people who breach the prohibition.  Others have criticised Bill for a number of reasons.

But my beef with the Bill is that it is, I think, unnecessary and another instance of ad-hocery creeping into the local government legal framework.  First, local authorities already have an existing power that enables them to pass such bylaws.  Secondly, there is an existing power in the Local Government Act 2002 that allows specific bylaw offences to be designated infringement offences. The claimed mischief that has been advanced to justify the Bill just isn't there.

Same-sex prom kings, cornrows and school rules

I've been following with interest, and some dismay, the coverage of St Pat's decision to prevent boys from taking other boys to the school ball:

- DomPost: "School denies pupil bringing boy to ball"

The School's position was invidious, mean-spirited, unjustified and - I think - unlawful.

TELEGRAM FROM LONDON: I love voting but...

Today, I wandered down the road with the intentions of casting a Yes vote for AV in UK's referendum on electoral systems.  However, I ended up only have a flat white in a local cafe instead. Sigh.


While I am entitled and registered to vote, I couldn't, in good conscience, express my preference. The choice in this referendum is about the long-term political and constitutional affairs of a country and community in which I am an alien. It's therefore a choice for locals, not interlopers like me.

Anyways, for those interested in the referendum itself, I did find this pod-cast by Johann Hari interesting and amusing:
- http://www.mixcloud.com/TheIndependent/the-johann-hari-podcast-episode-13-the-avs-vs-the-av-nots/

A kiwi republican stranded behind enemy lines

Through accident, not design, I found myself in London at the time of the Royal wedding.  As you might expect, torture for a card-carrying republican.  Wall-to-wall coverage. The dissection of every minutiae of Will and Kate’s big day.  Royalistic wallowing at every turn.

But it’s a big civic and tourist occasion , so I had to go and have a look.  The lack of a personal connection or animosity towards the institution was no excuse – after, all I’ve followed other big international civic events like such as Obama’s inauguration and the papal conclave.

Privately Public

I presented a paper at the Legal Research Foundation's recent conference "Judicial Review in the Commercial Context: The Ongoing Struggle for Simplicity".

The paper examines the amenability of private incorporated bodies to judicial review, focussing particularly on the impact of the Judicature Amendment Act 1972: