Keeping abreast of legal issues
Friday, August 15th, 2008Dean Knight and I have been debating one of the finer points of the Bill of Rights Act. We’ve been talking about how it might apply to the proposed boobs-on-bikes parade. (I gather an injunction application is being argued as I type). The question relates to Bob McCoskrie’s [corrected spelling courtesy of Robyn: see comments] claim that the […]
Dollar votes?
Friday, August 15th, 2008Russell Brown is pointing out that TV3’s election website is flogging profile pages to candidates at $299 a pop. There’s no indication on the profile pages themselves that the MPs have to pay for them (though there is a “purchase page” tab on the main page that might clue readers in). They’re also charging $399 for […]
Auckland Council boob-oo?
Friday, August 15th, 2008Can the new Auckland Council bylaw requiring permits for (among other things) “any organised temporary activity including an organised gathering, parade, protest…” on public streets possibly be lawful? Administrative law expert Dean Knight doesn’t think so. His terrific analysis concludes: I am very confident in saying that, to the extent that the bylaw requires citizens […]
Upcoming privacy forum
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008If you’re interested in privacy, you might like to register for the Privacy Commissioner’s Privacy Issues Forum, to be held in Wellington on 27 August. The programme includes a keynote speech from the Commissioner herself and a presentation on the Law Commission’s work on privacy by Sir Geoffery Palmer and John Burrows QC, as well […]
But is it privacy?
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008The Evening Standard has printed an apology for falsely reporting that Prince Philip was suffering from prostate cancer: We now accept that the story was untrue and that he is not suffering from any such condition. We unreservedly apologise both to him and to his family for making this distressing allegation and for breaching his […]
When half a quote isn’t better than none
Thursday, August 7th, 2008You might have spotted my star turn on One News last night. It was part of a story about National referring the taped-conversations affair (“CocktailGate”?) to the police. Might there have been a crime? Here’s the quote One News used from me, suggesting that I told them that the recording “may have broken the law”: If […]
Picking up the Bill II
Wednesday, August 6th, 2008So now John Key is accusing Labour of being behind the “bugging” of conversations at the cocktail party. He suggested on Morning Report this morning that the repeated questions put to Bill English about Kiwibank sounded like someone was trying to set him up. (Key is also throwing in the suggestion that Labour was behind Nicky […]
Picking up the Bill
Tuesday, August 5th, 2008Did whoever surreptitiously recorded Bill English break the law? What about the media who published the conversation or its contents? It’s a crime to tape a conversation between other people if the circumstances indicate that one of the conversers wants it to be private (section 216B of the Crimes Act). I have no idea how […]
Target under fire
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008A few years ago, I did a report for RNZ’s MediaWatch programme, raising questions about whether the hidden camera stings in TV3’s Target programme were complying with broadcasting standards and the law of trespass. Over the years, Target has survived a string of broadcasting standards complaints. The producers deserve some credit. They always take care to try to […]
The media’s revenge
Monday, July 28th, 2008A MailOnline profile on Justice Eady: “As cold as a frozen haddock, Mr Justice Eady hands down his views shorn of moral balance”. Mean. News of the World strikes back, too.
« Previous Entries Next Entries »