Helping the Whale

Cameron (WhaleOil) Slater appears in court next Wednesday to defend charges of breaching suppression orders. His campaign against name suppression has been well documented. Whilst we don't necessarily agree with the confrontational way in which Cam has gone about his campaign, it's certainly been effective, and it has got people talking.

Legal matters don't come cheap, and as most will be aware, WhaleOil's personal circumstances aren't the best at the moment. He's been open about his struggle with depression. We've been down that road as well, and we know where he's coming from. In order to assist his defence, he's set up a bank account, and is soliciting donations. All the details are here. Cam notes:

Any sur­plus funds raised will be donated equally between the RSA Wel­fare Fund and the Ex-Vietnam Ser­vices Asso­ci­a­tion, in hon­our of those who fought for our rights to free­dom of speech.

As we said above, we wouldn't have gone about a campaign in the same way that WhaleOil has. But we support his challenge to the system on what is an important issue of transparency, and we are happy to put some of our money where our mouth is; or should that be where Cam's mouth is??!! If you feel likewise, follow the link, and make a contribution. We're sure that victims such as the young woman to whom The Entertainer exposed himself in a Wellington alleyway will also be appreciative.

We wish Cam all the best when he has his day in court next week. Our name supression laws are, in our opinion anachronistic, and we hope that Cam Slater's action will prompt a review.