Embarassment

Passed Its Use-By Date?

Is this the most racist law still on the statute books of New Zealand?  

Section 30-36 of the Maori Community Development Act 1962:

30  Prevention of riotous behaviour
(1)Any Maori who—

(a)disturbs any congregation assembled for public worship, or any public meeting, or any meeting for any lecture, concert, or entertainment, or any audience at any theatre, whether or not a charge for admission has been made, or interferes with the conduct of any religious service in any church, chapel, burial ground, or other public building or place; or

(b)in or in view of any public place as defined by section 40 of the Police Offences Act 1927, or within the hearing of any person therein, behaves in a riotous, offensive, threatening, insulting, or disorderly manner, or uses any threatening, abusive or insulting words, or strikes or fights with any other person—

commits an offence against this Act.

31  Prevention of drunkenness

A Maori Warden may at any reasonable time enter any licensed premises in any area where he is authorised to carry out his duties and warn the licensee or any servant of the licensee to abstain from selling or supplying liquor to any Maori who in the opinion of the Warden is in a state of intoxication, or is violent, quarrelsome, or disorderly, or is likely to become so, whether intoxicated or not, and if the licensee or any servant of the licensee thereafter on the same day supplies liquor to that Maori, the licensee and, if the servant had been warned by the Warden, the servant, commits an offence against this Act.

32  Maori may be ordered to leave hotel
(1)  A Maori Warden may at any reasonable time enter any licensed premises in any area where he is authorised to carry out his duties and order any Maori who appears to be intoxicated or partly intoxicated, or who is violent, quarrelsome, or disorderly, whether intoxicated or not, to leave the premises.

(2)  If the Maori refuses or fails to leave the premises when ordered to do so as aforesaid, he commits an offence against this Act and the Warden may request any constable to expel the Maori from the premises and that constable may do so with or without the assistance of the Warden.

33  Disorderly behaviour at Maori gatherings
(1)  Any person, whether a Maori or not, who is under the influence of intoxicating liquor in any Maori meeting house or church or other building or meeting place where Maoris are assembled and who refuses to leave the same when requested so to do commits an offence against this Act.

(2)  Every person, whether a Maori or not, who having the control or management of any dance, meeting, tangi, hui, or other gathering of Maoris being held in any meeting place supplies intoxicating liquor to any person within the bounds of the meeting place or permits any such liquor to be taken into or consumed within the bounds of the meeting place, commits an offence against this Act.

(3)  Every person, whether a Maori or not, who, while at a dance, meeting, tangi, hui, or other gathering of Maoris is being held in a meeting place, drinks any intoxicating liquor within the bounds of the meeting place, or has any such liquor in his possession or control within the bounds of the meeting place or in the vicinity of the meeting place or supplies intoxicating liquor to any person in the meeting place commits an offence against this Act.

(4)  For the purposes of subsection (2) intoxicating liquor shall be deemed to be in the vicinity of a meeting place where a gathering of Maoris is being held if it is shown that the liquor was in the possession or control of any person attending or proceeding to attend the gathering, or was consumed or intended for consumption by any person so attending.

(5)  Any constable or Maori Warden who has reason to suspect that there is any breach by any person of the provisions of this section in or in the vicinity of any meeting place where a gathering of Maoris is taking place may without warrant enter the meeting place or any place in the vicinity thereof, and examine the same and search for intoxicating liquor therein and may seize and remove any such liquor found therein and the vessels containing the liquor. Any intoxicating liquor so seized in respect of which any person is convicted of an offence under this section shall, together with the vessels containing the liquor, be forfeited to the Crown.

(6)  Nothing in this section shall apply to prohibit the supply to any person of intoxicating liquor or the drinking or possession of any such liquor in any case where—
(a)the liquor is bona fide required for medicinal purposes on the authority of a medical practitioner; or
(b)the liquor is bona fide required for religious purposes; or
(c)the liquor has been taken to and consumed in a meeting place in accordance with a permit given under this section.

(7)  Nothing in this section shall apply in relation to any liquor consumed in any dwellinghouse by persons for the time being resident therein or to any liquor in any licensed premises or shall be deemed to confer upon any constable or Maori Warden the power to enter without warrant any dwellinghouse unless the person in lawful occupation consents to the entry.

(8)  A Maori Committee for any area in which a meeting place is situated may, in respect of the meeting place, issue a written permit for the introduction of intoxicating liquor into the meeting place for the purpose of being consumed therein at any gathering of Maoris other than a gathering for the purposes of a dance. Any such permit shall prescribe the nature and place of the gathering and may contain such conditions as the Maori Committee thinks fit in respect of the supply and the consumption of liquor. A copy of every such permit shall be supplied to the senior constable for the area and the permit shall not have any effect until the copy is so supplied.

(9)  Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent a penalty being imposed on any person under the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 in respect of an offence committed against section 59 of the Statutes Amendment Act 1939, but no person shall be punished twice for the same offence.

(10)  In subsection (6)(a), medical practitioner means a health practitioner who is, or is deemed to be, registered with the Medical Council of New Zealand continued by section 114(1)(a) of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 as a practitioner of the profession of medicine.
34  Prohibition orders against Maoris
[Repealed]
35  Retention of car keys
(1)  Where any Maori Warden is of the opinion that any Maori who is for the time being in charge of any motor vehicle is, by reason of physical or mental condition, however arising, incapable of having and exercising proper control of the motor vehicle, he may—
(a)forbid that Maori to drive the motor vehicle; or
(b)require him to deliver up forthwith all ignition or other keys of the motor vehicle in his possession; or
(c)take such steps as may be necessary to render the motor vehicle immobile or to remove it to a place of safety.

(2)  The powers conferred on Maori Wardens by subsection (1) may be exercised in respect of persons other than Maoris where any such person is in charge of a motor vehicle in or in the vicinity of a meeting place, or any other place where a gathering of Maoris is assembled for any lawful purpose.

(3)  Every person who fails to comply with any direction given to him under this section or who does any act that is for the time being forbidden under this section commits an offence against this Act:  provided that no person shall be deemed to have committed an offence under this section unless the Maori Warden had reasonable grounds for believing that in all the circumstances of the case the direction or prohibition was necessary in the interests of the defendant or of any other person or of the public.

36  Imposition of penalties by Maori Committees
(1)  If a Maori Committee is satisfied that an offence has been committed by a Maori against section 30, section 32, section 33, or section 35, it may authorise proceedings to be taken under the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 in respect of the offence or it may, in its discretion, impose on the offender a penalty in respect thereof of such amount as it thinks fit, not exceeding 10 pounds:  provided that no penalty shall be imposed by a Maori Committee under this subsection if the person charged elects to be dealt with under the Criminal Procedure Act 2011, and before imposing any penalty, the Committee shall make known to the offender his right of election and the nature of the charge against him.

(2)  No person shall have a penalty imposed on him under this section for an offence in respect of which proceedings have been taken under the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 and no person shall have a penalty imposed on him under the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 for an offence for which a penalty has been imposed under this section.

(3)  For the purpose of investigating any offence referred to in subsection (1) and determining the amount of the penalty, a Maori Committee may, subject to any directions of the Minister, adopt such form of procedure as it may think suitable:  provided that a Committee shall not impose any penalty on an offender without giving him a reasonable opportunity of being heard in his own defence.

(4)  In any case where a person fails to pay any penalty duly imposed by a Maori Committee under this section, the amount of the penalty shall be recoverable in the District Court as a debt due to the Committee by the person so failing to pay the penalty:  provided that that person may defend the proceedings, and in any such case the matter shall be reheard by the court which in its discretion may give judgment for the plaintiff for the amount of the penalty or such less amount as it thinks fit or may give judgment for the defendant.

(5)  The amount of any penalties imposed by a Maori Committee under this section shall be paid to the Committee and shall form part of its funds.

(6)The amount of any penalty imposed under the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 pursuant to proceedings authorised in that behalf under this section, and the amount of any penalty so imposed on a person who has elected under this section to be dealt with under that Act, shall be paid into the funds of the Maori Committee of the Maori Committee area within which the offence was committed:  provided that there shall be deducted from the amount of any such penalty and credited to the Ordinary Revenue Account of the Consolidated Fund an amount equal to 5% of the penalty.

HT: Graeme Edgeler