Voters in the upcoming local government elections were well served by the justice system yesterday.
The Hastings District Court declined a name suppression application by Stuart McLachlan, a candidate for the Napier City Council, who had appeared in court on a charge of assault.
Hawke's Bay Today opposed suppression of
his name because we believed that the public had the right to know that a person standing for election was appearing in court.
Elections are a robust process and when candidates stand for election they put themselves up for public scrutiny. They may not think it is fair, but it is democratic and it is the way it should be.
Mr McLachlan says he is innocent of the charge. It is up to the court to decide but, in the meantime, the voters can choose whether or not they want him to represent them in public office.
