Even the fast-tracked changes to gun laws being made in the wake of the Christchurch massacre are taking two weeks, and feature some rudimentary form of public consultation. This was a powerful piece of political theatre, orchestrated well by committee chair Michael Wood, who would usually be hearing submitters talk about the Official Cash Rate. There was the Law Society, making the entirely reasonable point that laws made this fast, usually have drafting errors. ROBERT KITCHIN/STUFF Consultation is an essential part of lawmaking, but it is far from a democratic process. But seeing what would usually be months of "consultation" slotted into just six hours made it clear just how much the vaunted idea of consultation is lacking.

Source: Stuff April 06, 2019 17:03 UTC