http://www.matthewwalker.net.nz/
June 9 2003

Some are more equal than others

A petition calling for an enquiry into the controversial 1993 paedophilia conviction of Peter Ellis in Christchurch has begun circulating, but not widely: it's a petition by invitation.

For the last two weeks Dr Brash, Ms Rich, and Hood have targeted those in the legal profession, members of Parliament, the media, and academia whose signatures they felt "would carry weight and the Government would take seriously," Dr Brash said.

Shopping at Hornby Mall yesterday, Ellis said people kept coming up to him asking where they could sign the petition.

"I told them: 'I expect you're not famous enough'," he said.

It's good to see Peter Ellis hasn't lost his sense of humour, although somewhat depressing to discover that in fact my vote counts for nothing. This is typical of academics and politicians, who don't get the point that this more than anything should have been an inclusive petition. In the poll on the Stuff web site, 84% of visitors had clicked "Yes, there should be a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch civic creche child abuse case" — but there's no record of how famous those visitors are.

Maybe a select box next to the voting buttons: