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Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]At the end of an episode of Seven Sharp, host Mike Hosking offered his views on the incident of Prime Minister John Key's repeated pulling of a café waitress' ponytail. He described the waitress' motivations for speaking out as 'selfish' and 'a puffed up self-involved pile of political bollocks'. The Authority upheld complaints that this was unfair to the waitress. While public figures can expect criticism and robust scrutiny, in the Authority's view the waitress was not a public figure. The format of the 'final word' segment did not allow for a response from the waitress so she was unable to defend herself in this context. The Authority did not uphold the remainder of the complaints. Upheld: FairnessNot Upheld: Controversial Issues, Accuracy, Discrimination and DenigrationNo OrderIntroduction[1] In April 2015 there was public disclosure of some conduct of the Prime Minister....

Paula Rose declared a conflict of interest and did not participate in the determination of this complaint. Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]On 14 November 2016, in a 1 News special update, the newsreader updated viewers on events surrounding a 7. 8 magnitude earthquake centred near Kaikoura that occurred just after midnight that day. The newsreader stated, ‘there has been another quake-related death at Mt Lyford; that is after someone suffered a heart attack’. The Authority did not uphold a complaint from the partner of the person who died at Mt Lyford that this statement was inaccurate given that his partner had died from earthquake-related injuries, but not a heart attack. The Authority acknowledged these were distressing circumstances for the complainant....

The Authority has not upheld a complaint about an item on 1 News, which reported on the results of a Colmar Brunton poll concerning party support and leader popularity, in comparison to a previous poll, without presenting the margin of error. The complaint alleged the broadcaster misrepresented the significance of the change in results by excluding the margin of error. The Authority found that polling is a speculative exercise and the public understands this, and the broadcast was unlikely to mislead. Not Upheld: Accuracy...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint about an item on Newshub Live at 6pm, covering the reactions of world leaders to the Capitol Hill riots in Washington DC, that referred to Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani as ‘Iran’s dictator’. The Authority found the description was not a material fact in the context of the item, and in any case the caption describing Mr Rouhani as ‘President of Iran’ reduced any risk of viewers being misled. Not Upheld: Accuracy...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint about an item on 1 News reporting on COVID-19 vaccine rollouts. The Authority found, in the context of the broadcast, the statistics cited in relation to Israel’s vaccine rollout were accurate. A discussion of access to vaccines in Israel by Palestinians was not material to the item and its omission would not have misled viewers. The remaining standards did not apply to the broadcast or issues raised in the complaint. Not Upheld: Accuracy, Balance, Fairness...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint that a Newshub Live broadcast reporting on the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s treatment for COVID-19 was inaccurate when it referred to President Donald Trump as ‘the world’s leading expert on fake news’. The Authority considered the statement was distinguishable as a statement of opinion and accordingly the accuracy standard did not apply. Not Upheld: Accuracy  ...

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]An item on 1 News reported on the trial of Colin Mitchell, who was found guilty of the kidnapping and sexually motivated attack of a young woman. During the item, the reporter stated: ‘DNA evidence from [Mr Mitchell’s] toothbrush matched that found on and inside the pair of gloves left at the quarry; 800,000 million times more likely to have come from Mitchell than anyone else’ [our emphasis]. The Authority declined to determine a complaint that the reporter’s statement was inaccurate because it did not take into account the possibility that Mr Mitchell had an identical twin, or that DNA evidence could have been falsified or planted. The Authority found the complaint was frivolous and trivial....

Warning — This decision contains references to sexual violence. The Authority has not upheld complaints an interview on Saturday Morning between Kim Hill and Dr Kathleen Stock, a gender critical philosopher, breached broadcasting standards, including the discrimination and denigration, balance and accuracy standards. The broadcast discussed Dr Stock’s perspective on gender identity and her experiences resulting from voicing her perspective, having resigned from her position following a student campaign that accused her of transphobia. The Authority acknowledged the potential harm of the interview, but ultimately found the importance of freedom of expression outweighed any harm caused. The broadcast was clearly signalled as presenting Dr Stock’s perspective, to which she was entitled, and throughout the interview Hill challenged Dr Stock’s views, leaving the audience with a more balanced impression on the issue....

The Authority has declined to determine a complaint alleging AM breached the accuracy and balance standards. The programme included an interview with Opposition Leader Christopher Luxon, where the presenter read Luxon a series of words the public associated with him. The host then asked Luxon’s opinion on the ‘some of the worst’ words the public had associated with Prime Minster Jacinda Ardern. The Authority considers the broadcaster adequately addressed the complaint in the first instance, and declines to determine the complaint on the basis it was trivial and did not warrant consideration. Declined to determine (section 11(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 –  trivial): Accuracy, Balance...

The Authority has upheld an accuracy complaint about RNZ news bulletins broadcast on 19 and 20 April 2022 reporting on the Government’s apparent delay in ending the MIQ system, despite recently released public health advice from November 2021 noting that a changed risk assessment meant MIQ would no longer be justified. The Authority found the items were misleading by omission as they gave a strong impression the advice stated MIQ should be wound up immediately (rather than through a ‘carefully managed transition’ to safely shift to a new system), and the Government had acted contrary to that advice. The Authority did not uphold the complaint under the balance standard. While finely balanced, noting the standard allows balance to be achieved over time, the Authority found RNZ’s later coverage (particularly on 20 April) adequately conveyed the Government’s perspective. Upheld: Accuracy. Not Upheld: Balance Order: Section 13(1)(a) broadcast statement...

An episode of Sunday included an investigation into the Delta strain of SARS-CoV-2 and its effects. Whilst focused on Australia, the segment included an interview with a teenager in Ireland who had recovered from COVID-19. The complainant stated the segment breached the accuracy standard as it implied the interviewee had COVID-19 in Australia and had contracted the Delta SARS-CoV-2 variant (neither of which was true). The Authority did not uphold the complaint. The Authority found the issues raised were unlikely to affect a viewer’s understanding of the segment as a whole. Not Upheld: Accuracy...

As part of a news item on ‘main developments overnight’ in the war between Russia and Ukraine, a clip was shown where the presenter stated ‘This is footage we’re seeing from Ukraine, a Russian tank in the capital of Kyiv swerving to drive over the top of a car with someone inside. ’ The complainant alleged this was inaccurate, submitting it was actually a Ukrainian anti-aircraft vehicle which lost control and swerved into the vehicle. The Authority found that the exact type of military vehicle involved in the incident was not material to the broadcast and the accuracy standard did not apply to this point. In terms of whether the vehicle was attributable to Russian or Ukrainian forces, and whether the collision was deliberate, given conflicting reports it was unclear whether the broadcast was misleading on these points....

The Authority has not upheld a complaint a report on a demonstration against the Iranian regime by members of the Iranian community in Auckland breached the accuracy standard. The reporter noted demonstrators were also asking the Government to consider allowing 100 Iranian women to come and study in New Zealand. The complainant, who was present at that demonstration, considered this statement was inaccurate as it did not reflect demonstrators’ views and should have been attributed to the organiser personally. The Authority did not consider the broadcast breached the standard as it was reasonable in the circumstances for the broadcaster to rely on the organiser’s press release, which included the above demand, in reporting on the demonstrators’ demands. Not Upheld: Accuracy...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint an item on 1 News reporting on people living in cars breached the accuracy standard. The broadcast included figures of the number of people living in cars in 2017 and 2022, but noted the issue was ‘not easy to quantify’. It also included interviews with community organisations, footage from 2017 electoral debates on the issue, and interviews with the Associate Housing Minister and Leader of the Opposition. The complaint alleged the figures were inaccurate and the broadcast misleadingly suggested Labour Party policy was responsible for the issue. The Authority recognised a lack of data in this area, but found the broadcast was materially accurate and, in any event, relied on reputable sources (being data provided by the Ministry of Social Development)....

The Authority has not upheld a complaint that an item on Breakfast stating ‘20 million tonnes of plastic waste’ was being exported each year breached the accuracy standard. The figure was accepted as inaccurate (with an estimate of 35,000 tonnes more likely). However, in the context of an item focussed on a petition to address the harm caused to other countries as a result of New Zealand’s large-scale plastic waste exports, the Authority found it was unlikely to significantly affect viewers’ understanding of the item as a whole. Not Upheld: Accuracy...

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 1998-035 Decision No: 1998-036 Dated the 23rd day of April 1998 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of complaints by DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION (Wanganui Conservancy) and W F CARLIN of Wanganui Broadcaster RADIO PACIFIC LIMITED S R Maling Chairperson L M Loates R McLeod J Withers...

Summary The dissatisfactions expressed by a number of students at the New Zealand Film and Television School in Christchurch were examined in items broadcast on Holmes on 15 and 16 December 1998. A follow-up item was broadcast on Holmes on TV One between 7. 00–7. 30pm on 12 April 1999. The Managing Director of the New Zealand Film and Television School Ltd (Ms Marilyn Hudson) complained to Television New Zealand Ltd that the April item was unfair and unbalanced, and inaccurate in a number of respects. TVNZ considered that one aspect of the item was unfair, and in breach of the standards, as Ms Hudson was not advised that a telephone conversation between herself and a student, contained in the broadcast, was being recorded. It declined to uphold any other aspect of the complaint relating to the alleged inaccuracies or lack of balance....

ComplaintTonight – item on papal visit to Jerusalem – reference to Israel – inaccurate FindingsStandard G14 – reference ambiguous – implicitly included area beyond Jerusalem – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary A news reporter presenting a report on the papal visit to Jerusalem described himself as being in Israel when the scene depicted showed he was in East Jerusalem. The item was broadcast on Tonight on TV One at 10. 30pm on 23 March 2000. On behalf of the Wellington Palestine Group, Ms Zarifeh complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that the description was inaccurate, as she maintained that East Jerusalem was not in Israel. In its response, TVNZ said the reference to Israel in the item was not inaccurate, although it conceded that the reporter’s description did not conform to its house style. It declined to uphold the complaint....

ComplaintOne News, Breakfast – archival footage not identified as such – Prime Minister not in Parliament – upheld by broadcaster FindingsAction taken insufficient – public misled – private apology insufficient OrderBroadcast of statement This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary A news report on a debate in Parliament about the Dover Samuels affair was accompanied by footage showing the Prime Minister shaking her head as if denying the allegations made by the Leader of the Opposition. The item was broadcast on One News on 13 August and Breakfast and Midday on 14 August 2000. Hon Richard Prebble MP complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that as the Prime Minister was not in Parliament at the time when the allegations were made, the footage was a fabrication. In fact, he said, no government MP had denied the allegations....