One of the men who avoided a conviction for his attack on the Waihopai spy base says a proposed law change is aimed at shutting down legitimate protest.
The Government plans to repeal or reform the claim of right defence, which allows the defendant to argue they had a firm belief their actions were legal, even if that was incorrect.
Justice Minister Simon Power says that the courts appear to have extended this defence beyond what was intended by Parliament and that it should not be able to be used to avoid prosecution for destroying property.
Adrian Leason, Sam Land and Peter Murnane admitted deflating a 30-metre-high dome at the base two years ago, but were acquitted in March this year by a jury in the Wellington District Court. They argued their actions were justified by the greater good of saving lives in Iraq.
Mr Murnane believes amending or removing the claim of right defence will curtail lawful protest.
"Governments, including our own, have done terrible things," he says, "and they need to be watched by sensible citizens and conscientious citizens and protested against vigorously and strongly."
Only interested in 'improving law'
Mr Power says however that he has approached the matter objectively and is only interested in improving the law.
He says that the criminal justice system needs to have the "relevancy of its component parts tested pretty rigorously from time to time" and that other areas are reviewed as well.
The minister has received a preliminary report that outlines five options for changing the defence, including removing it altogether. He has asked officials to do further work and report to him by the end of September.
Auckland University associate professor of law Bill Hodge maintains that it's a legitimate defence and sees a danger of overreaction in removing it.
"This was simply an aberrant case, a rogue case," Mr Hodge says, "and I don't think we should base too much law change on one case."
However, he says, he would support changes putting greater responsibility on the defendant to prove their actions were justified.
