BSA Decisions Ngā Whakatau a te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho

Summary  

[This summary does not form part of the decision.]

The Authority has declined to determine an accuracy complaint about a news bulletin referring to ‘Cyclone Gabrielle’ when, at the relevant time, it was a sub-tropical low. Given the sub-tropical low remained an extreme weather event, the Authority considered the complaint was trivial and did not warrant determination.

Declined to determine (section 11(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 – trivial): Accuracy

The broadcast

[1]  A news bulletin, broadcast on Newstalk ZB on 12 February 2023, reported on ‘Cyclone Gabrielle’s’ approach to Aotearoa New Zealand.

The complaint

[2]  James Pemberton complained the broadcast (and later broadcasts using the term) breached the accuracy standard of the Code of Broadcasting Standards in New Zealand as, at the relevant time, it was downgraded to a subtropical low. The complainant considered this distinction significant as:

• The media play an important role in keeping Central and Local Government accountable.
• Auckland ‘was brought to [its] knees because main arterial power lines were allowed to occupy the same air space as tall trees.’
• Houses in Hawkes Bay ‘were flooded because they were built in known flood [plains], this was allowed by central and local government. The flooding was exponentially devastating not because of a cyclone, but because forestry slash created numerous dams preventing water from flowing as it normally would.’
• Mislabelling ex-Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle ‘has resulted in the public being misled into thinking that no one is at fault or responsible for the devastation that was predominately a result of poor planning, poor maintenance and lack of preparedness.’

The broadcaster’s response

[3]  NZME Radio Ltd did not uphold the complaint as the accuracy standard is not concerned with technical or other points unlikely to significantly affect listeners’ understanding of the item as a whole. NZME considered the reference did not affect listeners understanding of what was being discussed.

Outcome: Decline to determine

[4]  Given the focus of the complaint, on the terminology used to refer to ex‑Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle, we did not consider it necessary to review the particular broadcast complained about. We are supported in this decision as the complainant has raised the same issue (based on the same arguments) in connection with later broadcasts using that same terminology by this, and other, broadcasters.

[5]  Section 11(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 authorises the Authority to decline to determine complaints if it considers they are frivolous, vexatious, or trivial. A ‘trivial’ complaint is defined as one which is of little or no importance and is at such a level not to justify it being treated as a serious complaint.¹

[6]  We consider the complaint to be trivial. MetService | Te Ratonga Tirorangi first began issuing Severe Weather Watches from 9 February.² Around the same time, it was categorised as a ‘severe category three’ cyclone.³ The Government urged people to prepare as early as the next day.⁴

[7]  The cyclone was downgraded on early 12 February (approximately) to a ‘sub-tropical low pressure system’ but the public health messaging remained, with MetService’s website continuing to warn of ‘a very high risk of extreme, impactful, and unprecedented weather’.⁵

[8]  In our view, the specific terminology used to describe an ‘extreme, impactful, and unprecedented weather’ event did not assume the importance attributed to it by the complainant.

For the above reasons the Authority declines to determine the complaint.
Signed for and on behalf of the Authority

Tupe Solomon-Tanoa’i
Member
14 June 2023

Appendix

The correspondence listed below was received and considered by the Authority when it determined this complaint:

1  James Pemberton’s formal complaint to NZME – 24 March 2023

2  NZME’s response to complaint – 26 April 2023

3  Pemberton’s referral to the Authority – 4 May 2023

¹ Broadcasting Standards Authority | Te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho “Guidance: BSA power to decline to determine a complaint” <bsa.govt.nz>
² Lisa Murray “Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle – Event summary February 2023” (19 February 2023) MetService | Te Ratonga Tirorangi blog <blog.metservice.com>
³ See “Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle: What is a category 3 storm?” NZ Herald (online ed, 10 February 2023)
⁴ Kieran McAnulty “Government urges people to prepare for Cyclone Gabrielle” (10 February 2023) Beehive <Beehive.govt.nz>
⁵ See RNZ “NZ weather: What you need to know as Cyclone Gabrielle lashes New Zealand” Newshub (online ed, 13 February 2023); and Ryan Anderson “Here's what we know about Cyclone Gabrielle's expected landfall” Stuff (11 February 2023).