Thursday, August 05, 2004
Anyone keen to make a call on this one??
A judge has been accused of sending the wrong message to men who assault their spouses by throwing another lifeline to a wife-beating overstayer.It should be a given that this guy, who is already an overstayer, should be turfed out immediatley. But given that Niusila needs life saving dialysis (at a lazy $70,000 for the kiwi tax payer) it appears he will be allowed to stay as long as he undertakes an 'anger management' course. It is clear to My Right that this decision was made with more weight given to extraneous circumstance than the actual law that applies to every other New Zealander.
The allegation has been levelled at District Court Judge Philip Recordon after indications yesterday that he would consider letting Tuvaluan overstayer and kidney patient Senee Niusila walk free on charges of assault and threatening to kill his wife.
"His life is in his hands, not mine," Judge Recordon told the court - 'because I am going to be responsible for his death, so I have instructed the next judge to be if he is bad again', he may or may not have added. Most opposition MP's have come out and said - let the courts judge the law, anything beyond that is a matter for the Minister of Immigration - and I think they are right.
Mr O'Connor, all yours.
