We must restore the law that defends self-defenders.                                

Give Greg Carvell, the Police and all of us the same protection.                  

New Zealand prosecutors have lost touch with reality.                                     

When gunshop owner Greg Carvell’s machete wielding attacker was sentenced, the judge took the extraordinary step of deploring the police charges against Carvell. Despite this, it appears that Greg’s trial will proceed in June.

The following notes were first prepared after my presentation on 1 June 2005 to the Law and Order Select Committee of Parliament, in support of amendments I moved to the Arms Amendment Bill (no 3), designed to restore some of the legal protections available to people who defended themselves, their families or their properties from criminal violence.

The original presentation notes have been supplemented with some of the questions asked by committee members. In the result, the election intervened, the number of ACT MPs dropped from 9 to 2 and I was not one of the two. I have not been in Parliament to shepherd the Bill.

The Select Committee’s report back date has been postponed to 27 March 2007. That means it is not too late to try to ensure that Parliament gets the truth, though there is no indication of any intent to reopen submissions on the Bill.

Notes of a presentation to the Law and Order Select Committee, on the Arms Amendment (No 3) Bill