Danny Healy-Rae: Demands "beyond a reasonable doubt" for fishers
Danny Healy-Rae urged the use of the words "beyond a reasonable doubt" in legislation affecting fishermen and women, arguing the change is needed to ensure fairness and equality under the law and the constitution. He warned that without the amendment the government would create a dangerous precedent and risk treating fishers as second-class citizens while empowering enforcement on a lower standard.
Demand for legal standard
Danny Healy-Rae insisted the amendment should require the phrase beyond a reasonable doubt to protect fishermen and women and to secure equal treatment under the constitution.
Objection to being treated as second-class citizens
He argued that failing to adopt the wording would set a new and dangerous precedent of treating fishers as second-class citizens under the law.
Concerns over enforcement powers
He warned the current approach would give power to a fisheries officer or office to make judgments on the balance of probability, lowering the standard of proof applied to potential infringement actions.
Legislative fairness if amendment accepted
He said that if the amendment were accepted, at the very least the legislation would become a little bit fairer for fishermen and women.
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The Prime Minister in the first place, I don't know, when I hear Deputy McLaughlin reading out what you said when we were over here, I can't understand how you were over there at all, contesting one little line that we want to change. I mean, the purpose of us asking to use the words beyond a reasonable doubt is to provide fairness and equality for fishermen and women under the law and the constitution, otherwise the government will create a new and dangerous precedent of treating fishers as second-class citizens under the law. Equally, this would give power to a fisheries officer or office to make a judgment on a balance of probability, in other words, 50 million to one probability that a potential infringement action at the court. If this area is of key concern for fishermen and women, if this amendment was accepted, then at the very least the legislation would become a little bit fairer.
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