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Complaint3 News – armed gunmen in Fiji – new uprising or old army exercise? – developing news or old footage? – inaccurate and misleading – caused tourists to cancel trips to Fiji FindingsStandard G1 – inaccurate description of event as "latest incident" – uphold Standards G2, G6, G11, G14, G15, G16, G21 – overall, items not unbalanced or misleading or causing unnecessary panic alarm or distress – no uphold No Order This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary Footage of Fijian men firing automatic rifles inside an Indian school complex in Labasa on the Fiji island of Vanua Levu, was the subject of two separate news items broadcast on 3 News at 6pm. The first news item, broadcast on 29 November 2000, referred to the footage as "the latest incident" in a terror campaign against Indian villagers....

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 1997-006 Dated the 23rd day of January 1997 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by N E ARCHER of Rotorua Broadcaster TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND LIMITED J M Potter Chairperson L M Loates R McLeod A Martin...

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]The AM Show contained a number of items about Labour Party candidate Willie Jackson’s position on the recently released Labour Party candidate List (the List), and featured interviews with Labour Party leader Andrew Little and Willie Jackson. It was reported several times that Mr Jackson was disappointed with his position of 21 on the List, as Mr Little had ‘promised’ Mr Jackson a top-10 position. The Authority did not uphold a complaint that this was inaccurate and unfair. The segments amounted to robust political expression, which is of particular importance in the lead-up to a general election, and carried high value in terms of the right to freedom of expression. Viewers were likely to have understood the comments as political speculation, rather than definitive statements of fact, which is common in the context of political reporting....

A segment on Simon Barnett & James Daniels Afternoons discussed that day’s COVID-19 media conference announcing the likely use of vaccination certificates. The complainant stated the segment breached the accuracy standard as the interviewee indicated there was no detail provided regarding when the certificates would be used, despite the Government providing an indicative date of ‘November’ in the earlier conference. The Authority did not uphold the complaint, finding the segment was materially accurate. In any event, an interview in a later programme on the channel was sufficient to clarify and correct any misleading impression which may have been created. Not Upheld: Accuracy...

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ] During Afternoon Talk with Wendyl Nissen, Ms Nissen interviewed Police Association President, Chris Cahill. Mr Cahill discussed a recent survey which indicated an increase in police being threatened by firearms. Mr Cahill expressed his views on the potential causes of this increase, the links between the increase and the increase of methamphetamine in New Zealand, the arming of police officers, the use of MSSA (military-style, semi-automatic) firearms, and firearm registration. The Authority did not uphold two complaints that the interview breached the balance standard. The Authority found that the broadcast was a light-touch interview, albeit on a serious topic, which created an audience expectation that the interview was approaching the firearms issues from Mr Cahill’s perspective and that it did not purport to be an in-depth balanced examination of the issues raised....

Summary [This summary does not form part of the decision. ] An item on Story covered the ongoing story of presenter Heather du Plessis-Allan’s mail-order purchase of a firearm for an earlier item, and the subsequent police investigation and search of her house. The Authority did not uphold a complaint alleging that the presenter’s reference to ‘legal loopholes’ within the mail-order firearm purchase system was inaccurate and unfair to the parties concerned because the firearm was procured illegally. The presenter used the term ‘loophole’ rather than ‘legal loophole’ and this was an accurate description of the mail-order system prior to police action. The item further did not unfairly represent the purchase process or otherwise result in unfairness to any individual or organisation referred to....

Te Raumawhitu Kupenga declared a conflict of interest and did not participate in the determination of this complaint. Complaint under section 8(1) of the Broadcasting Act 1989One News – New Zealand Labour Party Opening Address included discussion about Capital Gains Tax – showed list of countries entitled “OECD countries with some form of tax capital” which included Singapore – allegedly inaccurate FindingsStandard E1 (election programmes subject to other Codes) – Standard 5 (accuracy) of Free-to-Air TV Code – inclusion of Singapore in list graphic was not a material point of fact – Singapore was not referred to verbally – broadcaster and the Labour Party acknowledged that it was an error and it will not appear in future broadcasts – Opening Address not misleading or inaccurate – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision....

Summary [This summary does not form part of the decision. ]The complainant alleged that four programmes broadcast by TVNZ breached the accuracy standard. These included references to the ‘top prize’ on Lotto Big Wednesday; a ‘no junk mail’ sign in a Seven Sharp item; references to the area affected by a snow storm in the United States; and news items about Fonterra. The Authority declined to determine all four complaints on the basis they were frivolous, trivial and vexatious. Viewers would not have been misled, and Mr McDonald continues to refer similar complaints to the Authority despite its previous decisions....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Checkpoint – host conducted interview with Dick Pound, founder of the World Anti-Doping Agency – host made three references to Jamaica – allegedly in breach of standards relating to good taste and decency, controversial issues, accuracy, fairness, discrimination and denigration and responsible programming FindingsStandard 1 (good taste and decency), Standard 4 (controversial issues), Standard 5 (accuracy), Standard 6 (fairness), Standard 7 (discrimination and denigration), Standard 8 (responsible programming) – complainant’s concerns are matters of personal preference and editorial discretion – decline to determine under section 11(b) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 This headnote does not form part of the decision. Introduction [1] Checkpoint contained an interview with Dick Pound, the founder of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)....

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1993-083:Jones and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1993-083 PDF2. 47 MB...

Summary [This summary does not form part of the decision. ] A 3 News item reported on the results of its latest political research poll. The Authority did not uphold the complaint that the results were inaccurate because they were within the margin of error of +/- 3. 1 percent. Viewers are familiar with this mode of reporting, particularly in the lead-up to an election. The margin of error was clearly displayed onscreen, leaving the audience to form their own views about how much weight should be given to the poll. Not Upheld: Accuracy Introduction [1] A 3 News item reported on the results of its latest political research poll. A political correspondent outlined the results of the poll in relation to party standings, seats in the house, and preferred Prime Minister. The item aired on TV3 on 30 March 2014....

Summary [This summary does not form part of the decision. ]A promo for Seven Sharp showed a Pit Bull owner describing the dogs as the 'most sookiest, goofiest, loyal, loving teddy bears'. The Authority did not uphold a complaint that it was misleading to promote Pit Bulls as 'good family dogs'. The comments were clearly distinguishable as opinion, so the accuracy standard did not apply. Not Upheld: AccuracyIntroduction[1] A promo for Seven Sharp included a story on Pit Bull adoption. A Pit Bull owner was shown describing the dogs as the 'most sookiest, goofiest, loyal, loving teddy bears'. [2] Louise Chaney complained that it was misleading to promote Pit Bulls as 'good family dogs' as they can be dangerous and have been known to attack children. [3] The issue is whether the broadcast breached the accuracy standard, as set out in the Free-to-Air Television Code of Broadcasting Practice....

The Authority has not upheld a complaint about a 1News item on 2 July 2025 reporting ‘a ceasefire in occupied Gaza could be on the cards with all eyes tonight on Hamas and whether it’ll accept the latest proposal. It follows Donald Trump announcing on social media that, quote, “Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalise a 60-day ceasefire”. ’ Key points of the complaint included: 1News persistently reports Israel’s actions ‘in the passive voice’, avoiding attributing responsibility to Israel (including for breaking an earlier ceasefire); stating the October 2023 attacks killed ‘around 1200 people’ was incorrect as it did not account for deaths inflicted under the Hannibal Directive; and TVNZ’s sources did not support the statement that Hamas had a ‘red line’ that it ‘must remain in control of Gaza’....

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 1997-174 Dated the 15th day of December 1997 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by MONIQUE BARDEN of Auckland Broadcaster TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND LIMITED S R Maling Chairperson L M Loates R McLeod J Withers...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint an episode of The Panel, which discussed Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s recent resignation announcement, breached the accuracy standard. During the episode, the host spoke briefly with a caller who raised concerns about COVID-19 vaccine mandates, to which a panellist responded ‘97% of us got vaccinated’. While the Authority acknowledged this statement was inaccurate, it was unlikely to significantly affect listeners’ understanding of the segment which focused on Ardern’s resignation. Not Upheld: Accuracy...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint about a ThreeNews item reporting on Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated allegations about Haitian immigrants eating domestic pets, and on Winston Peters having also previously ‘campaigned against the consumption of dog meat’ and ‘[sold] himself as the saviour of pets’. The complainant considered this item breached the accuracy standard because it depicted Peters’ concerns as equivalent to Trump’s unfounded claims, which was materially misleading. The Authority found the broadcast did not portray Peters’ claims in a misleading or inaccurate manner. Although Trump and Peters were cited as having made contentious comments and selling themselves as ‘saviours of pets’, the broadcast did not present evidence to suggest Peters’ claims were unfounded or that he was an object of ridicule. The broadcast clearly outlined Peters’ assertions and the context of those claims....

BEFORE THE BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY Decision No: 155/95 Dated the 19th day of December 1995 IN THE MATTER of the Broadcasting Act 1989 AND IN THE MATTER of a complaint by ROSS MEURANT MP Broadcaster TV3 NETWORK SERVICES LIMITED J M Potter Chairperson L M Loates R McLeod...

A news segment on The AM Show about name suppression included a clip from an interview with former Attorney-General, Chris Finlayson QC, which had been broadcast live on air earlier in the programme. The clip from the interview played during the news item related to Mr Finlayson’s comments about bullying allegations in Parliament, rather than his views on name suppression laws. The broadcaster acknowledged this clip placement was in error. A complaint was made that this error was significantly inaccurate, as it would have misled viewers as to Mr Finlayson’s views regarding name suppression laws. The Authority did not uphold the complaint, finding that while the broadcaster made an error in playing the clip during that particular news segment, it was not significantly misleading in the context of the item as a whole. The Authority acknowledged the technical mistake and did not uphold the complaint. Not Upheld: Accuracy...

Complaint under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Nine to Noon – interview with member of United Kingdom National Commission into Islam – presenter referred to young Muslims being recruited by terrorist groups – allegedly inaccurate and denigratory of Muslims Findings Principle 6 (Accuracy) – item accurate – not upheld Principle 7 (Fairness – denigration) – item not denigratory of Muslims – comment by presenter did not refer to Muslims generally – comment was accurate – words used were in context of serious comment about United Kingdom police policy towards Muslims – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] In Nine to Noon, broadcast on National Radio on the morning of 9 June 2004, presenter Linda Clark interviewed Robin Richardson, a member of the United Kingdom’s National Commission into Islam....