Silliest statement by an Attorney-General ever?
Tuesday, March 27th, 2012On Sunday, former Police Minister Annette King told TVNZ’s Q and A that the Labour government ministers had merely been briefed on Operation 8, and at the last minute at that; that they were given assurances by Solicitor-General David Collins that the process was correct; and that they were dismayed by the way the police conducted […]
Cairns v Modi judgment
Tuesday, March 27th, 2012Is here.
Doesn’t sound like a fair go to me
Thursday, March 1st, 2012So the head of TVOne and Two, Jeff Latch, asks for a powwow with Fair Go staff. Labour broadcasting spokesperson Clare Curran asks whether, at that meeting, he asked them to go easy on TVNZ’s advertisers. Here’s his response: “The key points I made at that meeting was that the heart of Fair Go for the past 20 odd years […]
Should we have a tort of intrusion?
Tuesday, February 28th, 2012How far does our privacy tort stretch? Does it – should it – include offensive intrusions into someone’s affairs? It is well established now that you can sue for invasion of privacy if someone offensively publishes sensitive private facts about you and there’s no redeeming public interest. A newspaper reveals you had an abortion as […]
Well, you would be, wouldn’t you?
Monday, February 20th, 2012Lovely NZ Herald headline: Man critical after being set on fire
Offensive offence
Thursday, February 16th, 2012A few years back, the censor banned this T-shirt (scroll down) depicting a masturbating woman and the words “Jesus is a cunt”. I questioned the ban. Now the retailer who sold the T-shirts has been convicted for possessing them. I note that this offence also applies to everyone who owns such a T-shirt, whether they wear it […]
Lawyer’s name suppression bid fails
Monday, February 13th, 2012Criminal lawyer Barry Hart’s long attempt to have his name suppressed for his disciplinary tribunal charges has failed at the final hurdle, having also failed pretty much all the hurdles before that. The Supreme Court said: The likely particular impact of publicity on [the person applying for suppression] will always be relevant, but it is […]
Online defamation: is it any different?
Monday, January 30th, 2012This is my column in NZ Lawyer magazine for 27 January 2012. Are the laws of defamation different online?I’m picking this question is going to garner increasing debate in the next few years. The answer, of course, is straightforward. Ask any blogger (they are seldom shy of venturing legal opinions) and they’ll tell you that […]
Silly old TVNZ
Friday, January 27th, 2012This is why I don’t like doing TV. I gave TVNZ news an interview on the teapot saga yesterday, explaining my views as below that the risk is low for anyone who publishes the contents of the tape. Their broadcast asserts as a fact that “we can’t broadcast what was said for legal reasons”. Later […]
Teapot pours out
Thursday, January 26th, 2012Someone’s put the teapot tape online. That’s the conversation between the PM and ACT candidate John Banks that cameraman Bradley Ambrose said he inadvertently recorded, during the most covered cuppa in NZ history. The media, and even many bloggers, seem hesitant about linking to it. I’m not. Here’s why. Put aside the question of whether […]
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