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Posted at 11:34AM on 12 May 08. Permalink.

I guess you have to at least admire Laws' breadth of knowledge on these matters; he's clearly read third-hand reports of aged executive summaries from largely discredited psuedo-science-based policy.

Interestingly, in the mid-90s when Guiliani appeared to be making progress in NYC and the Wisconsin mob were in the ascendency, the Ministry of Justice in NZ was, briefly, all over it. Fortunately, and despite Peter McArdle, wiser heads prevailed including Doug Graham (a usually sensible Minister but for some spectacularly ill-judged comments).

I agree Russell, celebrity writers are simply bad. Even when they can write, they often have little to say. I'd in fact prefer a less clever piece were it at least about something interesting (and perhaps even new, I'm sure Laws is simply rehashing something Rosemay McLeod's written at least a thousand times before).

Posted at 11:36AM on 12 May 08. Permalink.

Feel free to read it, but you've read it before: it's the one Laws writes about once a month, contrasting decent, middle-class white families with feckless brown ones.

Dear Cate Brett: I can write equally stupid columns for the price of a carton of butts (Lucky Strikes preferably) shoved through the letter box every Monday morning. Give us a call.

Posted at 11:43AM on 12 May 08. Permalink.

I got the revolution blues,
I see bloody fountains,
And ten million dune buggies
comin' down the mountains.
Well, I hear that Laurel Canyon
is full of famous stars,
But I hate them worse than lepers
and I'll kill them
in their cars.

Neil Young
Revolution Blues

Posted at 11:55AM on 12 May 08. Permalink.

[Michael Laws says young offenders have]: "the collective education of an Austrian cellar dweller"

He actually wrote that? Ugh. Just, ugh. What a bizarre and revolting thing to say.

It's tempting to respond that a writer would have to have "the collective empathy of an Austrian child-imprisoning rapist" to turn an atrocity into a cheap, tossed-off phrase like that ... but I won't, because a) it would be unsavoury , b) it would be unfeeling, and c) like the original analogy, it wouldn't even make sense.

Posted at 12:00PM on 12 May 08. Permalink.

I'm an ex-Wanganui lad. It's my old patch. I haven't lived there for 25 years, but Laws appears to have done a reasonable job making that city vibrant again. But I lack good sources here!

I hate tagging and I simply don't understand the reasons why people do it. But Laws' article seems to appeal to destructive forces (racism) to make his point. But that's his brief and that's what the media want from him to sell papers and what he provides to make an income. It's his market.

Justice should never be based solely on race. Judges can't provide justice on a simplistic basis of giving everyone the same sentence for the same crime. Their rulings should be based on all the factors around an offence. But they make mistakes. I'm reminded of a land developer who willfully cut down ancient Puhutukawas and had no penalty. Is what he did less destructive than the actions of a tagger from Northcote?

Posted at 12:26PM on 12 May 08. Permalink.

Laws is, well, ummm, ahhh, ermmm - at least he's predictable. You always know what you're going to get with him; a failed and deceitful MP (Antoinette Beck anyone?) spouting populist rubbish even his ex-Boss Winnie doesn't seem to believe.

But it's great that the most embattled and endangered group in NZ soceity, white middle-class men, have people like Laws on their side. I'm sure glad he's not on mine.

Posted at 12:38PM on 12 May 08. Permalink.

This isn't the same as supporting taggers, but it did occasion this spectacularly revolting statement from the Sensible Sentencing Trust, in which Garth McVicar declared that "her comments are hugely provocative at a time when a decent hard working citizen is facing a murder charge because of his frustration over this issue."

I'm going to state the obvious, in thinking that he faces the murder charge because he stabbed someone with a knife and they died, rather than, he got frustrated.

Frustration leads to high blood pressure, not 10 - 15 in jail.

Posted at 12:51PM on 12 May 08. Permalink.

but Laws appears to have done a reasonable job making that city vibrant again

No, that happened before Laws. I don't think he can take credit for the main street clean up, the museum, the art gallery, Ucol or even the Rutland Arms.

All I have seen from Laws are sneering attempts to dismantle any "vibrancy".

Posted at 1:16PM on 12 May 08. Permalink.

For some reason, Michael Law's latest column, A Pakeha Fights Back, is among the editors' picks on Stuff this morning.

I've often wondered about those picks, though. They seem pretty random. (Currently, the editor is quite proud of "Showdown will put Tua back on the map" and "Sky TV Web service to be open to non-subscribers")

Dear Cate Brett: I can write equally stupid columns...

Oh, no, you couldn't. It takes a very special kind of person. We all think we could be that person if we chose to, but really we couldn't, which is why that particular type of scum rises to the top, as it were.

Posted at 1:21PM on 12 May 08. Permalink.

I'm reminded of a land developer who willfully cut down ancient Puhutukawas and had no penalty.

Where was that? You're not thinking of the development in Royal Oak? There the offender was ordered to plant replacement pohutukawas, and tend to them for the next 25 years. Smack in the middle of the section he'd planned to subdivide, which was why he'd cut the originals down in the first place.
As justice goes, it was a remarkably creative solution by the court. There was some token (quite a few thousand dollars, but little more than nuisance value to a man who owns a fairly hefty chunk of Newmarket) monetary penalty, but the order to rectify his environmental vandalism was just so perfect that I think it's the kind of sentence that should be passed more often.

Posted at 1:37PM on 12 May 08. Permalink.

No, that happened before Laws. I don't think he can take credit for the main street clean up, the museum, the art gallery, Ucol or even the Rutland Arms.

All I have seen from Laws are sneering attempts to dismantle any "vibrancy".

Yes, in thinking about that issue I was a little hasty in attributing much at all of Wanganui's recent vibrancy to Laws. The advent of UCOL there saw the influx of youthful creativity which was lacking without such an instituion. Like many youth before this, one had to leave Wanganui to pursue education options.

And Matthew, I don't think it was the same case. I'll delve into my brain archives and get back to you.

Posted at 1:49PM on 12 May 08. Permalink.

Perhaps Andrew S you were thinking of [Sandra Goudie, National MP, and her mates who did not even get prosecuted for illegally clearing mangroves in Whangamata? (Link is to an old post, but there was no prosecution in the end).

Last I checked "frustration" was not a defence to murder. Perhaps McVicar is trying to expand "self-defence" to include the right to kill someone who is really really pissing you off?

Posted at 1:50PM on 12 May 08. Permalink.

Matthew, yes that is the story I was told about. I heard that the developer had basically been let off. But the kind of justice meted out to him does seem just and what is a good example of Judges using wise discretion.

Posted at 2:37PM on 12 May 08. Permalink.

It's a particularly reductive view of 'Pakeha' culture. I identify as Pakeha, I think we have a culture that is distinct (admittedly largely due to Maori and geographical influences), but I wish more was done constructively to nail it down and study it.

Posted at 4:04PM on 12 May 08. Permalink.

So the next time I get "frustrated" with Garth McVicar I can come at him with a knife?

Get in line.

Posted at 4:08PM on 12 May 08. Permalink.

I'm going to state the obvious, in thinking that he faces the murder charge because he stabbed someone with a knife and they died, rather than, he got frustrated.

Knives don't kill people. Frustration-over-the possibility-of-minor-vandalism kills people.

And I'm with Jolisa over the Austrian cellar dweller gibe - I've seen the odd mild joke about that awful affair that was (just) on the fair side of the decency/comedy line, but directly impugning the education of a girl imprisoned and raped for decades to make your (already offensive) point is so far beyond the pale of any culture I can identify.

Posted at 4:09PM on 12 May 08. Permalink.

Laws seems to polarise the locals as far as his mayoral job goes, but they had the same mayor, one Chas Poynter, for many years previously. Half the population had probably never heard of him. So on the positive side, Laws has certainly got the attention of his citizens and brought Wanganui into the spotlight. He can't claim to have brought artistic vibrancy - cheap real estate, the polytech and artists settling in for the long haul have done that.

Seems I'm not alone in getting my news fix & some decent analysis, vigorous opinions, links via blogs like PA etc - fed up with the blah in print media & TV news - I'm seeing similar thoughts elsewhere, notably on poneke today.

Print media columnists like Laws, McLeod, Black are v. predictable and seem calculated to pander to a demographic. Rosemary McLeod & Tom Scott in their heyday were great - provocative, witty, genuine personalities.

Better class of wit on here these days!

Posted at 4:15PM on 12 May 08. Permalink.

Last I checked "frustration" was not a defence to murder.

There is however the partial defence of - I forget what it's technically called - blind rage. I have no reason to think it's being invoked here. But you might remember it from the "I killed him because he propositioned me and I'm not gay" defence. That makes me so angry I could... complain.

Posted at 4:18PM on 12 May 08. Permalink.

michael laws: two words, "eye" + "liner".

Posted at 4:37PM on 12 May 08. Permalink.

Knives don't kill people. Frustration-over-the possibility-of-minor-vandalism kills people.

Genius. Do you think that extends to frustration-over-the-gross-lack-of-talent kills people