Heather du Plessis-Allan: The judge who yelled at Winston should lose her job

One of the most surprising things about that judge allegedly yelling at Winston Peters in the Northern Club is that she is still in her job. 

I want to be clear; I don’t want her to lose her job over this, and I don’t even want to be seen to be calling for her head. 

I’m just pointing out that she should lose her job. 

Because what happened was actually quite serious. We are talking about a judge yelling, not denied, at the deputy Prime Minister, the second most senior politician in the country. 

She also accused him, again not denied, of lying in front of a room of people. 

Now, you flip that around and imagine it’s a senior minister doing the same, yelling at very senior judges and saying they’re lying in front of a room full of people. 

Tell me, does that minister keep their job? 

No way. They go. 

There’s no way that would be tolerated because no Government would want to be seen to tolerate that kind of behaviour, and it’s got to be the same for the judiciary. They cannot be seen to tolerate verbal attacks on ministers of Government. 

Particularly right now. Maybe a few years ago it wouldn't have mattered quite as much. 

But right now, there is actually considerable tension between the judiciary and the Government to the point it's actually boiling over at times. 

We’ve got courts and lawyers taking cracks at Parliament and that Parliament passing multiple laws to reign in judges. 

We’ve got accusations of the Waitangi Tribunal overreaching, Shane Jones making comments about so-called "activist judges" and there is a real concern that comity, which is the mutual respect between the two, is breaking down. 

This is so fundamental to a democracy likes ours working. 

It is so bad for the judiciary to be perceived to be this hostile towards the current Government. 

I can’t see how Ema Aitken keeps her job. 

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