Editorial: Appeal futile - the judge has called it

Wanganui Chronicle editor Mark Dawson

Denise Lockett is a persistent, and insistent, woman who doesn't lack the courage of her convictions.

But her appeal to the attorney general for an inquiry into the police handling of the Chester Borrows driving case, and her call for a retrial of Mr Borrows, are unfortunate and almost certainly futile.

The incident outside the Collegiate Motor Inn in March 2016 was unfortunate and regrettable, particularly in view of injuries sustained to Ms Lockett and Tracy Treadwell.

But it was all caught on video by the Chronicle, rendering the subsequent two-day trial and calling of witnesses largely redundant.

As the Chronicle said at the time, the police officers on duty should have designated a safe area for Ms Lockett and her fellow protesters and kept them there, allowing the car driven by Mr Borrows and carrying minister Paula Bennett a clear exit.

That the officers were slow off the mark meant Ms Lockett and Co were able to move in front of the car and put themselves in harm's way - and that's their lookout.

Mr Borrows should have stopped the car and waited for police to clear the path. So far, so simple.

The judge ruled that the fact he did not stop did not amount to careless driving. She is the arbiter - and expert - on the law, so no complaints there.

Ms Lockett feels police did not pursue the case with sufficient vigour, but what else could they have uncovered in terms of evidence?

It is all there on film, requiring only the judgment of Justice Stephanie Edwards. Her verdict: Not guilty.

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On to more serious crimes - "death by plastic".

The death of a rare turtle this week that washed up near Auckland, its stomach full of plastic rubbish - fishing lines; cellophane; bottle tops etc - is a horrific condemnation of humankind.

Equally horrifying is that it is not uncommon. Numerous species of turtle digest our plastic waste and clog up their stomachs, creating a buildup of gas which sees them floating helplessly on top of the ocean.

Some remain at the surface for so long that they get sunburned and their shell starts to peel while they are still alive.

We need to do something about plastic - preferably before turtles become extinct.