In May 2010, New Zealand
introduced a new Animal Welfare Code effectively banning
the kosher slaughter of animals, or
“shechita”. Agriculture Minister, David Carter, rejected
a recommendation from advisers that Jewish ritual slaughter of livestock be exempted from animal welfare rules under the Bill of Rights - which provides for freedom of religious practice. The new welfare code had a requirement that all commercially slaughtered animals first be stunned, and forbade the importation of raw kosher poultry. Carter argued the Code was required on humane grounds, citing a study that said the animals suffered pain. A study which
Dr Temple Grandin has subsequently
criticised. Jewish law prevents stunning on the basis that this is, in fact,
cruel to animals. Halal meat in New Zealand is stunned prior to slaughter. The Jewish community contested the Code through the courts as a
direct attack on the freedom to practise Judaism in New Zealand. Bans on ritual slaughter inevitably raise
the ugly spectre of anti-Semitism. In November, immediately before the case was due to be heard, Carter made an
abrupt u-turn. The practice of shechita on poultry was declared no longer illegal while the Government also agreed to negotiate the ban on sheep. New Zealand Jews will still have to import beef from Australia, where shechita is allowed. The reversal raised the
ire of animal rights groups, and raised questions about
Carter's motivations in considering the ban.
Previously.
posted by szechuan
on Dec 12, 2010 -
75 comments
The Seventh State. An
Australian federal parliamentary committee, tasked
with looking into the harmonisation of the Australian and New Zealand legal systems, has
concluded that the two countries
should work towards a full union, or at least have a single currency and common markets.
NZ's
Minister for Foreign Affairs has
rubbished the idea as "parliamentary adventurism", but the Australian constitution
provides for just such an eventuality.
One of the
key hurdles for any union would
be the
Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand's founding document.
Misinterpreted, misunderstood, and hotly debated Te
Tiriti has long been one of the reasons put for the difficult road facing New Zealand in
becoming a republic. Having
abolished appeals to the Privy Council,
adopted a
new electoral system, declared itself
nuclear free (.pdf), taken
France to court and
opposed the war in Iraq, New Zealand has
certainly embraced it's 'independence'. But a
contracting sharemarket, muddled
coalition building in government, and an increased
focus on
trans-Tasman alignment has lead some to
support the idea of a less formal separation between the two countries. However a common currency
has already been
rejected by New Zealand's Finance Minister.
What hope then, for
ANZAC union? And does it matter, when the
rest of the world can't tell us apart?
posted by szechuan
on Dec 6, 2006 -
64 comments
