The bill to strip the vote from all prisoners passed its second reading last night. The bill's sponsor, National MP Paul Quinn, began the vote:
I urge you to watch the clip above for a study in hollow arguments and poor communication. Of the nine minute clip, the first two minutes plods across the glaring hole in the legislation as pointed out by Andrew Geddis (That was the part of the bill which gave all prisoners the right to vote). Paul Quinn places the blame on the Parliamentary drafters, not his own daft bill. Quinn then spends the rest of his time defending the bill against the minority reports from the select committee, brushing Bill of Rights Act protections aside.
This vulgar speech was followed up by further ugliness. Team Nat backed up the bill with token Me Too-isms:
Act the allegedly Liberal Party's Heather Roy chimes in with 30 seconds of nodding:
I have been angered in the past with abuse of parliamentary action. MPs rushing through additions to their Superannuation entitlements in the dead of night, smash and grab tax increases on tobacco and alcohol. But this is law without reason. It is ideological not logical. This is a new low.
