Privy Council strikes back!

Both the NZ Herald and Stuff are reporting how the Government may be on the verge of losing its majority in Parliament on confidence and supply, and hence a possible early election.

If the Government does fall apart on this issue, it will really be because they abolished the right of appeal to the Privy Council.

You see the Government should have appealed the foreshore decision of the Court of Appeal to the Privy Council. Legislation should generally be a last, not a first step. It was incredibly stupid of them not to do so.

But they put politics over good government. Because they were in the middle of introducing legislation to abolish appeals to the Privy Council, they decided that politically it would look bad to appeal this decision. I am sure they are bitterly regretting that decision now.

There was a more than reasonable chance the Privy Council would have over-turned the Court of Appeal decision and that would have avoided the huis, the meetings, the protests, the campaigns etc etc. Incidentally the District Council is appealing the decision, but without the support of the Crown it is less likely to succeed.