Archive for January, 2009
Siemer files appeal
Friday, January 30th, 2009Vince Siemer has filed an appeal against Cooper J’s judgment awarding $920,000 in damages against him. Can a person who is debarred from defending a case appeal against it? I guess we’ll find out.
Coverage of Siemer case
Friday, January 30th, 2009Jock Anderson of Truth writes to say the Siemer decision didn’t slip under his radar. So those readers who take a regular interest in his august organ (a hideous image, yes) will have read about the result a couple of weeks ago. The DomPost also covered it today, under the headline “$920,000 payout for defamation”, […]
Judge awards highest ever defamation damages
Thursday, January 29th, 2009This news seems to have slipped under the media radar: just before Christmas the courts handed down the highest defamation damages award in NZ’s history. Cooper J awarded Michael Stiassny and his firm $920,000 damages against Vince Siemer for his long-running attacks on Stiassny, including $900,000 for defamation. (To recap: those are the attacks that led […]
Talkback officially a balance-free zone
Thursday, January 22nd, 2009In this extraordinary decision, issued this month, the BSA has effectively re-written the Broadcasting Act and exempted talkback radio from the balance standard. It also seems to largely give talkback shows a pass when it comes to fairness complaints. The BSA had already established a rule that talkback hosts could be inaccurate pretty much whenever […]
Gold star awards
Wednesday, January 7th, 2009David Farrar weighs in on the drink-driving debate with the sort of thoughtful analysis that threatens to give blogging a good name. NoRightTurn does the same thing with the Crown Law Office’s vet of the Domestic Violence (Enhancing Safety) Bill. Well done, those chaps.