I probably disagree with John Minto about as much as I agree with him in terms of the various statements he makes. I know that he irritates some New Zealanders, but he is someone who stands up staunchly for what he believes, and has played a real part in raising issues that are important to New Zealand and New Zealanders.
If it is true as reported on Stuff that the police are seeking an order to destroy the megaphone he used as part of his protest at the tennis in Auckland last week, then this is shocking. We have to defend the right to protest in this country. I have been on both sides of the fence when it comes to protests and they are a critical part of a functioning democracy. Even if people felt the protest in Auckland was particularly irritating, that is the price of democracy. As it happens the player concerned was able to cope, and made it as far in the tournament as her ability allowed.
The Police have the ability to take action against unlawful protest, and that will work its way through the Courts. But trying to seize a megaphone is a terrible gesture, symbolic as it may be, for the principles of our democracy. This is a time for people including those who fundamentally disagree with John to make clear that this is not the kind of thing we want to see in our country.
Agreed. Free speech is very important!
Yeah… depends I guess. Looking at it from another POV, quite often the police seek to have confiscated those items that people use to commit crimes. Boats used for poaching springs to mind. If Minto is convicted of disorderly conduct, and the police have grounds and precedence to request the seizure and destruction of the loudhailer as a tool of his offence, then I don’t have a problem with it.
I agree that free speech is a great ‘message’, but surely we can come up with someone, anyone, who would make a far better ‘messenger’ than Minto.
The guy is a prize tool.
Deliberately inflamatory statement: even Whaleoil would be a better candidate.
Even if people felt the protest in Auckland was particularly irritating, that is the price of democracy. As it happens the player concerned was able to cope, and made it as far in the tournament as her ability allowed.
Yeah but all freedoms have limits. There doesnt seem to be much sympathy for her opponents who were distracted by all the noise Minto and his comrades were making, unless the media has failed to report that her opponents were playing in a sound proof vacuum
Mr Minto has created much discussion in my house, mainly between a couple of teenagers, and that has been really good. Good to see 15-16 year olds talking about freedom of speech and freedom to enjoy peace.
But, destroying a loudhaler seems rather petty considering how easilly it can be replaced. What message is really being sent?
Bad move by the police. Nice symbolism for Minto though.
Banned three months. Clare
I think it is the symbolism that is important here. It seems to me the Police are trying to send a message about protesting. Of course there are limits to the freedom to protest, and they are being explored via the charges Mr Minto faces. But attempting to take away a megaphone that can so easily be replaced is at one level extremely petty and at the symbolic level not something I am comfortable with.
Why don’t the police just buy the thing off Minto and save the courts time for serious matters?
I’m sure he has spares.
So what’s he basing his assumption on? All the stories on the net say “John Minto believes…”. I mean honestly, some of the drivel that spouts from him…
I’d buy John Minto another one if the police destroyed it.
For the people who find such protests “irritating” – I’m sure the air strikes that Israel carried out in Gaza just over a year ago were far more “irritating” for the innocent civilians on the receiving end.
They had more than a tennis game uninterupted with around 350 killed and over 1,600 injured.
Best we all turn a blind eye to civilians being butchered and get back to watching tennis.
I’d buy John Minto another one if the police destroyed it.
For the people who find such protests “irritating” – I’m sure the air strikes that Israel carried out in Gaza just over a year ago were far more “irritating” for the innocent civilians on the receiving end.
They had more than a tennis game uninterupted with around 350 killed and over 1,600 injured.
Best we all turn a blind eye to civilians being butchered and get back to watching tennis.
I agree that as much as Minto is a tosser, this is worse.
If the Police take Minto’s megaphone they’ve just lost right then and there.
It is just as silly as if they arrest Whaleoil for his form of protest.
Oh please Cactus,
I think Minto is a complete tool. I don’t agree with his views on, well, pretty much anything. I DO think however, that Minto at least is honest and dedicated in his beliefs, however misguided (again, in my opinion).
Cameron Slater, on the other hand, is a self-styled vigilante. I’m fairly sure that in his ideal world, noone would know his real name, he’d wear a mask and tool round town in his Whalemobile. Why does he do it? He loves the spotlight, a self aggrandising idiot.
Ironic isn’t it. The IDF fly supersonic over Gaza everyday smashing windows and terrorizing children yet people still consider John Minto’s megaphone to be irritating.
I am a vocal opponent of Israel’s crimes in Gaza but Minto managed to make me feel sorry for the tennis player – quite a feat. He looked like a bully. It may have made him feel good but what did it achieve? Publicity? The media was all about him, not about Gaza.
I suppose some people might find it ironic that John Minto has singled out this young girl, not because of known individual beliefs or any atrocities she may have committed, but because of her race….
If he can bring attention to what is happening in that part of the world then good for him.
“Minto at least is honest and dedicated in his beliefs, however misguided (again, in my opinion)”.
Nathan, you have clearly never met Cameron. Forget whether you agree with him there is no one more honest and dedicated to espousing his beliefs than Whaleoil.
If Whaleoil was a Pinko he’d be doing precisely what Minto does, but with a kick arse mega mega phone. Think big.
Wrong line of argument. Try another.
Actually I think that 6 megaphones were seized during the protests.
Currently it usually takes about a year to get to a defended hearing in district court. By making the megaphones destruction part of the summary of facts, the police will be able to hold the megaphones until trial.
It is a fairly standard part of the polices non-court ‘punishments’ to hold megaphones, video cameras, etc as ‘evidence’ even when they have as little hope of winning a protest case as in these instances.
From the perspective of the police, holding the megaphones or even arresting unlawfully is costless. After the charges are dismissed in either the district or high courts as is likely in these cases, there is no recourse against the police.
The IPCA is toothless and ineffective.
The costs of bringing a damages case against the police for unlawful arrest and seizure of goods is far higher than any possible restitution.
Until the police get some kind of effective feedback (ie expensive in time or budget) about rubbish arrests – they will continue to do them. Great at clogging the court system and far more so than Bazleys legal aid findings. Not particularly useful for anything else.
If he can bring attention to what is happening in that part of the world then good for him.
I’m sorry, you weren’t aware of the decades old conflict in Israel/Palestine?
What rock have you been living under?! Jeez…
It all makes for great publicity for Minto. He is quite happy to piss off the paying punters at the tennis as they are not his target audience and in fact he in all probability holds them in contempt fro being rich pricks with nothing better to do with their useless lives.
Actually the more he pisses them off the more media attention and blog attention he gets which is the object of the exercise because then he is actually reaching his target audience. These are the few apathetic idiots getting attracted by the first layer of sucker-bait which is the “protest against Israeli tennis player” This plays beautifully into the hands of the nutbars like Illuminated Tiger who try to compare a megaphone with an air strike and at the same time find an outlet for their barely repressed prejudice and bitterness at their own lack of success.
Perhaps we should plant a few IEDs around just so we know what the people in Afghanistan expect on a daily basis or commit a few acts of piracy in our harbours so we can compare with Somalia (oh wait – Greenpeace has already got that one covered).
Cactus,
Here’s a quote from the clown himself ““I’d say about one per cent of cases deserve name suppression, and that’s those involving sex crimes against minors, so that the victims are not identified,” he said. That on the 5th of Jan. On the 12th of Jan though, he appeared in court on charges of breaching a name suppression ruling for a guy who’s being done for indecently assaulting a girl aged between 12 and 16!!! Honest and dedicated to espousing his beliefs? Yeah right.
I think a more telling quote from him is this one:
“It’s not what you write, or how you write; it’s not even the content,” he says. “It’s about getting attention.”
Minto needs his foghorn confiscated because this isn’t about free speech or protest. Both of these don’t need a blowoff device. If people actually were interested in his opinions they would walk across the street to listen and he wouldn’t need the hailer. I thoroughly endorse free speech and have stopped to listen voluntarily to opinions I disagree with at Speakers Corner in London. Minto is all about deafening those who don’t want to hear his opinion. He is about headlines and disturbing the peace. Again, if anyone beside the usual feral handful agreed or were even interested in his opinion they could listen to his debate at a civil volume.
@ Phil, yes I am aware of it thank you. I didn’t say that I wasn’t aware – I said that it was good that he was bringing attention to the issue. Perhaps you should read posts more carefully before commenting.
Isn’t it lovely living in New Zealand? No people bombing us or occupying our country. You know you live in paradise when the only thing that really upsets you is a mean man with a megaphone interupting your lovely tennis game.
Yes Minto has a right to protest but how would people feel if, because he didn’t agree with something, he decided to protest outside a movie theatre
Tickets to movies (and indeed tennis tournaments) are expensive
I wonder how he’d like it if he paid for something he really wanted to watch and then someone with a loudhailer decided to try to run it for him…
Nathan
“On the 12th of Jan though, he appeared in court on charges of breaching a name suppression ruling for a guy who’s being done for indecently assaulting a girl aged between 12 and 16!!!”
No Nathan you are getting all confused. On 12th January he didn’t appear at all. That was yesterday and I spoke to him yesterday.
I assume you mean here the “entertainer”. Ergh…the victim wanted suppression SO badly she appeared in the Sunday papers to tell her side of the story.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/news/3085484/Teen-victim-slams-musicians-name-suppression
Get your facts right please and stop wasting valuable debating time.
Cactus,
Apologies, you’re half right insofar as he hasn’t appeared in court on the latest charge, police are still investigating as per http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10619680 (dated 12 Jan 09)
I stand by the rest of the details. Slater has stated he agrees with name suppression in these cases, yet flagrantly disregards the rulings when it suits him. How is that being honest and dedicated in his beliefs? His excuse is that it will be ‘harder’ to identify the victim. He can’t guarantee it’ll be impossible. How would you feel if you were the victim as an adult, let alone a kid?
Cactus? Hello?
Personal and offensive comments are not acceptable on Red Alert Warehi. Hope next time your comment will be about the issue rather than the person. >Clare