NZ Bill of Rights Act
« Previous EntriesKilling the messenger
Sunday, August 29th, 2010There’s much to ponder in James Hollings’ thoughtful opinion piece on suicide reporting in this week’s Sunday Star-Times. Why are NZ’s suicide statistics so high, though our reporting restrictions are so tight? How convincing is the social science research suggesting media reports can lead to copycat suicides? Is important reporting being headed off by the […]
The case against the case against Robin Bain
Thursday, July 8th, 2010So, now that TVNZ has broadcast its special edition of Bryan Bruce’s The Investigator: The case against Robin Bain, compellingly arguing that Robin Bain couldn’t have committed the Bain family murders, can David Bain and his team do anything about it? They argue that it’s “unadulterated rubbish”, contains “mischievous misrepresentations of facts”, “perpetuates a fraud”, […]
Siemer’s right-to-jury case
Friday, June 11th, 2010Predictably, Vince Siemer is not happy about the Supreme Court’s 17 May decision to cut his contempt sentence to 3 months instead of 6. (In fact, he has applied to have it recalled. Good luck with that, Vince).
For someone who regards the NZ judiciary as largely corrupt, he’s a glutton for punishment: he goes back […]
Morse wins right to appeal flag-burning conviction
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010Yay! Tony Shaw, Felix Geiringer and I have been granted leave by Supreme Court to argue that Valerie Morse should not have been convicted of offensive behaviour for burning a flag at an Anzac Day ceremony. Along the way, hopefully we’ll be able to sort out how the Bill of Rights applies to open-textured criminal […]
Siemer wins reduction in sentence for contempt
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010Vince Siemer has reshaped the law of contempt in New Zealand. The Supreme Court has ruled 3-2 that the Bill of Rights right to a jury trial applies to those charged with contempt, since they face potential jail terms of more than 3 months. But since it’s unfeasible to give all contempt respondents jury trials, […]
The right to receive information revived…
Monday, May 3rd, 2010I have long thought that our official information laws ought to be affected by the NZ Bill of Rights Act’s guarantee of freedom of expression, which says:
Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and opinions of any kind in any form.
Surely, I thought, the right […]
NZ’s Dunne v Canwest
Monday, May 3rd, 2010Here’s a column I wrote about the Dunne case suggesting that the media’s predictions of doom and gloom were wrong.
Judging by the media reaction, Justice Young’s decision to order TV3 to include Peter Dunne and Jim Anderton in its leaders’ debate last week was one of the most astonishing blunders in judicial history.
Media Freedom Committee […]
Burning for reform
Thursday, March 25th, 2010Are republicans the only people in NZ who can commit the offence of flag-burning by burning a flag?
You might remember that Paul Hopkinson had his conviction for flag-burning overturned in the High Court, because Justice Ellen France held that the offence needed to be interpreted narrowly to provide space for free speech rights under the […]
Bare reasoning
Friday, March 12th, 2010In Lowe v New Zealand Police, Clifford J rightly overturns Nick Lowe’s conviction for offensive behaviour for cycling in the nude. It was on World Nude Bike Day, but Mr Lowe, “a committed cyclist and naturist”, doesn’t need that incentive to bike about naked. For example, he competes in the Coast to Coast without clothes […]
BSA fucks up
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010The Broadcasting Standards Authority has upheld a complaint against the radio broadcast of Lily Allen’s song “Fuck You”, broadcast on Sunday and Tuesday afternoons on The Edge. I think they were wrong to do so, and I think it demonstrates that they still don’t really understand the Bill of Rights Act.
If it were just a […]