Writ against P.M. joins super, row

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34119, 3 April 1976, Page 2

Writ against P.M. joins super, row

GYeir Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, April 2. Criticism continued today of the action of the Attorney-General (Air Wilkinson) in staying Supreme Court proceedings against an employer brought by a number of trade unions for failure to make xvages deductions and contributions under the Nexx Zealand Superannuation Act.

The Government an-' nounced in December that as the law was to be repealed and the superannuation fund wound up, employers should not make the deductions and contributions.

A Wellington public servant. Paul Charles Bevan Fitzgerald, today filed a writ

seeking ai injunction against the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon), restraining him from instructing employers not to make the payments and a mandatory injunction against him to withdraw the instruction.

And a senior lecturer at the Auckland Law School, Dr D. R. Mummery, termed the Attorney-General’s staying of proceedings a “very

dangerous development.” He said that the Gover-nor-General should now summon Parliament to clear up the situation. If the Cabinet could purport to change this law it could change any law, suspend habeas corpus, or try to abolish the courts,

Dr Mummery said the Government’s actions were in contravention of the 1688 Bill of Rights, which was in

force, as law, in New Zea-] land. : t The first operative section ; i of the Bill of Rights said/] "The pretended power of.i suspending of laws . . . ;< without consent of Parlia- | ment is illegal.” < It was brought in because;j the King was suspending I acts of Parliament and indicating they need not be I obeyed. ;< ‘Political move’ The Solicitor-General (Mr! R. C. Savage) said today • that he had not taken the (decision to block the super-• : annuation prosecutions, be|cause there had been “politi-i (cal connotations.” ' Mr Savage declined to say!; (whether the request to halt!; (the cases had been made toil him or to the Attorney-! (General. He also declined to!t • give his personal view onj • the move. 1 "Anything that involves I (political connotations, where (the decision taken is ultim(ately likely to be questioned and discussed in the House, is obviously one the Attor-ney-General takes,” he said. It was “not very often” that the Attorney-General’ handled stays of prose- t •cut ions. ,' e Rule of law ■ls • £ The chairman of the New] c Zealand Council for Civil/ Liberties (Mr W. D. Rose)!/ said in a statement that the nation's system of Govern- - ment depended on a written! body of law as interpreted ( by the courts, and he saw' adherence to this as essential for the rule of law Mr Wilkinson's action suggested that it was appro-: priate for the courts to work ; as if the law were what the; Prime Minister said it would be in some months time. The Attorney-Genera's, decision was completely j wrong and should not be re-i peated if further prose-! cutions were intitiated. In Hamilton, Mr R.; Prebble, the Labour member; of Parliament for Auckland ; Central, claimed that Mr; 1 Wilkinson had used his power for political purposes. •

“Anybody who has prac-i tised law would resign; rather than use Ministerialpower this way — the implications are terrifying be-i cause it means now this; precedent has been set, the; Government can stop any; prosecutions that would cm-' barrass it,’’ he said Mr Prebble. aged 27, a. barrister and solicitor, called! on Mr Wilkinson to resign. ,