Right of Reply from Arthur Taylor
I blogged last week on the Helensville electoral petition by Arthur Taylor. He has e-mailed me (presumably through a proxy) a response, which I’m happy to publish:
I believe I saw you in Court this week , so I’m surprised you get facts wrong about the Helensville petition and some of your commenters to do likewise , although others seem to support my actions in Court .
John’s obviously worried, to have sent you along . You make out I’m a frivolous litigant , but you probably know , ( because you are the type who occasionally does homework ) that I have a very high win rate – one that is the envy of many members of the bar . I wish I had access to your blog to respond directly .
If my electoral petition had “little prospect of success’ , it would have been thrown out long ago – you know that !
The taxpayer is NOT funding my legal costs in Helensville. I’m meeting my own legal costs , including the $1,000 deposit required by the Electoral Act. Electoral petitions are specifically excluded from eligibility for funding by the Legal Aid Act .
It’s not a day out for me to appear in Court . I only do so where it is absolutely necessarily . My previous voting hearings have been by videolink. At the end of a day in Court , I am handcuffed and returned to my non-air-conditioned Auckland Prison cell , where I prepare my handwritten submissions for the next day. Others in the room retire to their G & T’s etc .
I am NOT going to spend the rest of my life in prison . I am in a Parole Board encouraged program and I expect to be released in 12 months . Even if I served my full sentence , I would still have to be released in 2022 .
The 4 lawyers are NOT all representing John Key . Other then John Key’s lawyer Peter Kiely , they represent the Crown entities involved .
I object to being called a “thug” . I have no convictions for carrying out violence ( see your own list of my convictions ).
I haven’t been labelled a “vexatious litigant” because I WIN , so often – even up to Court of Appeal . Do the research on nzlii.org . It’s all there in black and white . You should run stories on why the taxpayer pays for so much mediocrity in the Crown Law ranks that they can’t match a litigant with no formal legal qualifications.
Chris2 says “Taylor was only in Court last year trying to get the ban on smoking in prisons removed.” Someone should tell Chris2 , I WON that case .
David , for those who disparage human rights . We have legislation on all different subjects , but we can only access the legal rights contained in the legislation if officialdom accepts were are full human beings. The rights many THINK they have disappear the minute that respect for humanity is withheld .
Mr Taylor is currently in the maximum security wing of Auckland Prison at Paremoremo. I hope he is correct that he does not spend the rest of his life in prison, as that will mean he has stopped offending, which would be a win/win.