At the same time, we are all viewing the events in the United States with a sense of disbelief. A police officer kneels on a man’s neck for eight minutes, despite his pleas to be allowed to breathe, and he dies. A president then tweets “when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” a phrase that is said to be linked to the civil rights era protests and a white police chief who used the phrase at that time. The death and the tweet sparked riots in the US and protests around the world. It is unbelievable that we need to say this in 2020. Black lives matter. What happened to George Floyd must never happen to anyone again. We ourselves cannot feel complacent. New Zealand has one of the highest rates of incarceration of its indigenous people. We need to stand up for what is right. I highly recommend reading Hon. Justice Whata's article on p10 of this issue as a way of educating ourselves. There are no easy answers on how to ensure change, but we can start by looking at the messages that we share with our children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and our neighbourhoods and communities. We have to communicate clearly about respecting basic human rights for all. Kate
*Kate Davenport QC is the President of the New Zealand Bar Association. If you have any questions or comments about this column, please email Kate at president@nzbar.org.nz.
New Members of the NZBA Sarah Armstrong Gemma Aspell Jane Barrow James Carruthers James Christmas Grace Collett Shaun Connolly Naomi Cramer Michelle de Geest Hunter de Groot Paul Depledge Gowan Duff Graeme Edwards Anne Fisher Jane (Janey) Forrest Riaan Geldenhuys John Goddard Kirsten Hagan Bruce Hall Barry Hayes Rebecca Holm Jeremy Johnson Mark Keating Fionnuala Kelly Devon Kemp Zane Kennedy Ailson King Mark Kirkland Kerry Knight
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