The town that flooded, one year on
Twelve months after a flood filled the news for a week, Harriet returns to the town to find who rebuilt, who left, where the promised money went and what the council minutes reveal.
The law that passed in a week
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Show notes
Written in a week, kept for years
After one shocking incident, a law passed in seven days with almost no opposition. It was described as temporary. Harriet reads the parliamentary record, the court cases that followed and the quiet renewals that nobody debated.
- The incident, and how quickly the draft appeared
- The debate, as recorded, and the two members who objected
- Who the law has actually been used against since
- The renewal clauses that nobody noticed
- Interviews with a defence lawyer and a former minister
The full parliamentary record and case list are linked in the notes.
Transcript
This is The Long Lede, I am Harriet Ngata, and this month we are reading a law. Stay with me. After one terrible incident, a bill was drafted, debated and passed in seven days. It was described, repeatedly, as temporary. That was several years ago and it is still in force, renewed each time without a debate. I read the whole parliamentary record, including the two members who objected and were told they were being unhelpful. Then I found the cases where the law has actually been used, and they look nothing like the incident that inspired it. I spoke to a defence lawyer who sees it every week and a former minister who now wishes she had asked more questions. This is how laws outlive their reasons. You are listening on Witspeak Podcasts.
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