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Archive for September, 2008

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Free advice for the Greens:

Tuesday, September 30th, 2008

Ditch the idea of taking a broadcasting standards complaint about TV3’s decision to pull the leaders’ debate after the Clark/Key walkout. For one thing, you can’t complain about a programme before it’s been broadcast. For another, you have to complain to the broadcaster first, and, as this isn’t a complaint about an “election programme” (see […]

BSA election ad complaint system

Thursday, September 25th, 2008

I wonder whether the BSA’s fast-track election-ad complaint system will get a decent work-out this year. The system allows you to complain straight to the BSA about “election programmes”. This really means broadcast election advertisements, including opening and closing addresses, rather than, for example, election debates. (Bonus question: was the televised press conference at which the […]

And speaking of defamation lawsuits involving fisheries…

Thursday, September 25th, 2008

The Simunovich case (discussed below) isn’t the same as Winston Peters’ defamation lawsuit against TVNZ, Radio NZ and others about the fisheries issues – the case that saw Rodney Hide ejected from the House late last month. Peters fumed that Hide was improperly trying to raise issues during question time that were being contested in […]

Court of Appeal weighs in on Simunovich defamation case

Thursday, September 25th, 2008

The defamation lawsuit brought by Simunovich Fisheries against TVNZ and others looks, from afar, like it involves the parties running an ultra-marathon through a labyrinth. Still, it’s the biggest defamation claim in NZ’s history (the plaintiffs are seeking nearly $30 million, and are arguing that most of that is actual financial losses). So there’s a lot […]

Public meeting on Urerewa raids

Monday, September 22nd, 2008

I’m speaking at a public meeting tonight on the contempt of court aspects of the Urewera raids. The meeting is organised by supporters of the defendants, and will also include a discussion of the broader issues around the raids, and the Search and Surveillance Powers Bill. I’m not a member of the October 15th solidarity […]

Fairfax contempt case: some impressions

Friday, September 19th, 2008

I caught some parts of the evidence, but not the submissions, so I’m a bit limited in what I can add to my original thoughts here. But that’s also the case with the media coverage generally. While the press bench was full to overflowing, the journalists might just as well have been reporting on a […]

Judge Harvey lifts internet suppression order

Friday, September 19th, 2008

It seems the media’s submissions on Friday were successful. Haven’t seen the decision yet.

Just wondering…

Thursday, September 4th, 2008

Did Judge Perkins consider the NZ Bill of Rights Act before issuing a blanket suppression order in the Arms Act charges relating to the police raids last year? These sorts of discretions must be exercised consistently with the BORA – so the restrictions should be demonstrably justified in terms of the tests laid down by the […]

How to shut down speech on the internet. Maybe.

Thursday, September 4th, 2008

Sebastian Hoegl, a masters student from Germany in my media law seminar, made a startling suggestion this week. Since we all access the internet via an ISP (we put in a web address, the ISP hives off, collects the data, and sends it to our computers), then the ISPs are publishing that material to us. […]

Talk about giving with one hand…

Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008

On the same day the Hawke’s Bay Today was writing to Peter Hausmann to offer to correct its editorial of five days earlier for inaccurately founded attacks, guess what it printed in its paper? The same inaccurately founded attacks. Nice. The Press Council has found this “inexplicable“, and it doesn’t seem that the paper even […]

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