Dave Gee: Life from Right Field

There was some good news today... PM John Key has finally buried the last remains ofthe MP formerly known as Minister for Auckland.

For a few months there it seemed like the influence of dumped Labour MP Judith Tizard would continue from beyond the political grave, as her dopey Copyright Amendment law came under serious consideration by the National-led Government.

Labour's stupid planned changes to Section 92A of the Copyright Amendment (New Technologies) Act could have seen websites closed down (without any discussion or recourse) if anybody complained about a potential copyright infringement.

National had been resisting the growing calls to dump the controversial and badly drafted legislation, while calling on Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to come up with a workable code of practice.

That was - of course - about as likely as asking McDonalds, Burger King, and Wendy's to agree on a common burger size and menu range.

After the industry failed to meet John Key's deadline last Friday, he has decided the law change will not go ahead, although Commerce and Justice minister Simon Power is being tasked with rewriting sections of the Act, after meeting with industry officials.

So a small win for common sense, but the battle certainly isn't over. This is National after all... they're not really a party renown for championing freedom or common sense.

* NBR: Section 92A to be scrapped
* Creative Freedom Foundation