7 June 2002
Boy Racer Bill a farce - officially
Green Justice and Youth Affairs Spokesperson Nandor Tanczos today said that news that Clayton Cosgrove's 'Boy Racer
Bill' breached the Bill of Rights was a complete justification of the Green Party's refusal to support it through its
first reading.
The Green Party was the only party to oppose the bill, arguing that the provisions to seize cars for 28 days were
excessive and that the bill created a dangerous precedent in removing the need for police to prove guilt.
"The powers to deal with people who drive dangerously already exist, and include the power to seize vehicles - after
guilt is proven. The police already have plenty of power to keep our roads safe," said Nandor.
"Now that MPs from the other parties have all cooled down, we should have a good hard look at how Parliament has behaved
over this bill.
"The frantic rush to pass the first reading of this bill and be seen to be cracking down on reckless drivers meant
parliament rushed through an ill-conceived and unnecessary bill that contravenes the Bill of Rights," he said.
The author of this bill, Labour's Clayton Cosgrove, was among a number of MPs critical of the Greens for opposing it,
saying the Greens 'believe that common sense isn't trendy'.
"Not in parliament it isn't, which is why the grey parties were all competing to out-stupid each other.
"Where is the sense in rushing to push through legislation that isn't needed, is badly written and breaks the laws it is
supposed to uphold?" asked Nandor.
ENDS