WATCH KEPT ON LEGISLATION

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28262, 27 April 1957, Page 8

WATCH KEPT ON LEGISLATION

Council For Civil Liberties

In investigating a case, the Canterbury Council for Civil Liberties found that New Zealand legislation affecting the mentally defective might require attention, says the annual report of the council’s executive committee.

The committee was approached by friends of Mr Malcolm Belcher to act for him, it says. Mr Belcher had a grievance about his rehabilitation loap, and to draw the Government’s attention to it planted a small bomb outside Parliament buildings. Subsequently he was detained in Porirua Mental Hospital. A number of investigations and interviews had taken place, and it appeared that the detention of Mr Belcher was not an act of political discrimination, but based on sound medical grounds.

Detailing its work during the year, the committee says that the Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr S. W. Smith) had replied to its representations on the rights of naturalised citizens, but no change in the legislation had been made. The matter was being watched. “At present a constitutional revision of the position of the Cook Islands is envisaged,” the committee continues, “and we are keeping a close watch on this matter. Your committee feels that the rights of New Zealanders should be protected irrespective of colour, and that New Zealand has an international responsibility in demonstrating its readiness to accord civil liberties to all its citizens, Polynesian or European. “We are confident that the • Government is sincerely interi ested in improving conditions in I the Cook Islands, but we feel that . without public criticism and inl terest less might be achieved.” Of the Police Offences Amend- ; ment Bill introduced to Parlia- : ment last year empowering a constable to arrest a person if he had reasonable cause to believe it was necessary to prevent the commission of an offence, the committee says that the bill was introduced to make possible the arrest of persons carrying danger-' ous weapons. The committee examined the bill and found that the wording was not excessive. Although there appeared little reason for the introduction of such a bill, no particular threat to civil liberties was involved. Radio Time “There also has been the recurring question of freedom of the air,” the report says. “This will be closely watched by us for the forthcoming General Election, and we shall make every effort to see time allocated to all political parties, irrespective of their popularity with the Government, or, as far as that goes, many electors.” The committee considers that the question of book censorship has not been solved satisfactorily. When the Indecent Publications Amendment Act was passed in 1954, the council said that it was a piece of rushed legislation which endangered freedom of publication. In the meantime, suggestions had been made that the worst irregularities be amended, but no amendment had yet been made.

The report quotes Dr. Colin Roderick, an Australian author, as saying: “The New Zealand legislation calling for all publishers to be registered, with all the implications of deregistration, struck down a principle established in common law 400 years ago when the licensing of the newspapers was lifted. The legislation has not been involved since it was introduced, proving that it was not necessary, yet it remains a danger if future Governments used it wantonly."