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By Steven | February 29, 2008

I’ve just come back from the injunction hearing. The application has been adjourned for 7 days to allow the defendants to look at the documentation (which they’ve only just received) and work out what position to adopt. This is pretty standard. The injunctions are continued in the meantime.

There are two sets of proceedings: one by the Director-General (founded on breach of confidence, not privacy) and one by HealthCare NZ.

Fairfax and APN were both represented. They said they did not have copies of the draft report.

As Robert Stewart pointed out for Fairfax, in proceedings against the government, the onus is on the government to show that there is public interest in secrecy, it’s not on the defendants to show there is public interest in publication. That may not apply to HealthCare NZ.

An interesting issue is likely to crop up: if the finalised report is released, and it has been substantially changed from the draft, is the public entitled to see the draft so that it can ask why the changes were made?

Topics: Breach of confidence, Suppression orders | No Comments »

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