Prime Minister John Key says it is "fair enough" if opposition parties choose to stop Kim Dotcom's extradition, should they win this year's election.
Green Party leader Russel Norman told 3 News on Monday that if his party was in power, they would stop the extradition process.
"If you are in Government you would have to look at the lawful rules around it – you don't want a Government that is acting unlawful," said Mr Norman.
Under the Extradition Act, the Government of the day's Justice Minister has the final say on whether someone stays in New Zealand or goes - meaning Dotcom could be saved.
Labour leader David Cunliffe however, says he "hasn't formed my view" on the matter yet.
Mr Key says New Zealand has an extradition treaty with the United States, which complicates the issue.
"New Zealand has extradited people from the United States, and without that treaty, we wouldn't be able to do that," he said on Firstline this morning. "These are people that have been involved in crimes I think a lot of New Zealanders would find quite abhorrent."
Mr Key believes that under the treaty there's no reason for a political party to intervene in an extradition, providing the person is going to face a charge similar to what they would here, and they aren't going to face the death penalty – which Dotcom isn't.
"So if they are, as political parties, saying they're going to pull out of the treaty that we have, fair enough, of course they're entitled to do that," he says.
Dotcom will just have to hope Labour and the Greens win the election so he at least has a chance of staying.
3 News
source: newshub archive
