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Complaint under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 Radio Live – host repeatedly referred to the Catholic Church as “the church of paedophilia” and commented that “the church is rife with paedophilia among its priests” – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency, balance, fairness and accuracy Findings Principle 1 (good taste and decency) – contextual factors – not upheld Principle 4 (balance) – broadcast did not discuss a controversial issues of public importance – not upheld Principle 5 (fairness) – the church’s representative was given a sufficient opportunity to rebut the comments made by the host – not upheld Principle 6 (accuracy) – host did not make any unqualified statements of fact – the accuracy standard did not apply – not upheld  This headnote does not form part of the decision....

Complaint under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Canterbury Tales – "The Miller’s Tale" – a spurned lover apparently burns his rival’s buttocks with a red-hot piece of pipe – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency and violence standardsFindingsStandard 1 (good taste and decency) – contextual factors – not upheld Standard 10 (violence) – implicit violence justified by context – care and discretion shown – not upheldThis headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] A modern day television adaptation of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales – "The Miller’s Tale" was screened on TV One at 9. 35pm on Sunday 5 March 2006. Near the end of the story, a spurned lover apparently burns his rival’s buttocks with a red-hot piece of pipe....

Complaint American Beauty – film - numerous sexual references – offensive – unsuitable for children FindingsStandard 1 and Guideline 1a – context – no uphold Standard 9 and Guideline 9c – broadcaster was mindful of children – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] The film American Beauty was screened on TV2 at 8. 30pm on Sunday 10 November 2002. The film is about a bored middle-aged man who becomes "love-struck" with one of his daughter’s friends. His fantasies lead him to turn his life upside down. [2] Murray Baylis complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, that the sexual references and sexual messages in the film would be offensive to many New Zealanders, especially to people aged 12 – 16 years....

ComplaintIntrepid Journeys – presenter Michael Laws exclaimed "Jesus Christ" – blasphemy – offensive FindingStandard 1 and Guideline 1a – not blasphemy in context – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary [1] Michael Laws was the presenter of the episode of Intrepid Journeys broadcast on TV One at 7. 30pm on 31 March 2003 in which he travelled through Ecuador. Intrepid Journeys was a documentary series in which well-known New Zealanders toured remote foreign locations which provided some degree of personal challenge. [2] Margie Brown complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, about the presenter’s use of the phrase "Jesus Christ" as an exclamation during the programme. Such use, she wrote, amounted to blasphemy and was offensive. [3] In response, TVNZ questioned whether the use of the phrase during the programme was blasphemy, as it was not used in a religious sense....

ComplaintNZ Festival: Numero Bruno – inclusion in documentary of sex scene from Smash Palace – sexually explicit – not essential part of story FindingsStandard G2 – sex scene acceptable in context – no uphold This headnote does not form part of the decision. Summary The documentary NZ Festival: Numero Bruno, broadcast at 8. 30pm on 12 February 2001, examined the life and work of actor and musician Bruno Lawrence. The documentary included a scene from the film Smash Palace, which showed the character played by Bruno Lawrence having sex with his wife. Betty McIntyre complained to the broadcaster, Television New Zealand Ltd, that the sex scene was "far too explicit", and crossed the bounds of decency in television entertainment. She believed that the sex scene was not an essential part of the Bruno Lawrence story. TVNZ advised the complainant that the scene had not been included gratuitously....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 1989Hunting Aotearoa – hunter said, “Fuck, wonder if I should shoot the cunt now” in reference to his dog – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency standard FindingsStandard 1 (good taste and decency) – majority of viewers would not have expected that level of language in a hunting programme which did not carry a specific warning for language – research suggests that majority of viewers consider the word “cunt” unacceptable in the context of a reality television programme – upheld No Order This headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] An episode of Hunting Aotearoa, a reality television programme about hunters, was broadcast on Māori Television at 9. 30pm on Thursday 24 February 2011. At approximately 9....

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1993-084:Sharp and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1993-084 PDF500. 47 KB...

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1993-122:Glendorran and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1993-122 PDF269. 28 KB...

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]During a segment on Paul Henry the host referred to those involved in the Flag Consideration Project as a 'bunch of twats'. The Authority did not uphold a complaint that the use of 'twat' was inappropriate for a breakfast show. The comment was within audience expectations of the host's well-known style of presentation and humour, and unlikely to disturb or offend a significant number of viewers in the context of a news and current affairs programme aimed at adults. Not Upheld: Good Taste and DecencyIntroduction[1] During a segment on Paul Henry the host referred to those involved in the Flag Consideration Project as a 'bunch of twats'. [2] Iain Wiseman complained that the use of the word 'twat' was inappropriate for a breakfast show when children were likely to be watching....

Download a PDF of Decision No. 1992-046–051:Whyte and 5 Others and Television New Zealand Ltd - 1992-046–051 PDF1. 94 MB...

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]An item on Checkpoint discussed the return of a child after she went missing off the coast of New Zealand with her father. Extensive media coverage reported that the pair had sailed to Australia on a catamaran and that the family was involved in a custody dispute, with proceedings pending under the Care of Children Act 2004. The item aired after the child had been located and featured an interview with the child’s mother, who discussed her fears for her daughter’s safety, and their reunion. The Authority did not uphold a complaint that this item breached the child’s privacy and treated her unfairly. The information discussed during the interview was in the public domain at the time of broadcast, and the topic was treated sensitively and respectfully by the interviewer....

Summary[This summary does not form part of the decision. ]During an episode of Shortland Street, one of the characters, Harper, used the exclamation ‘Oh, Jesus…’ to express her shock and disgust at a flood of sewage in her new home. A promo for this episode, broadcast during the weather report on 1 News, also included Harper using this expression. The Authority received a complaint that this language was blasphemous and offensive, and in the case of the promo, inappropriate for broadcast during 1 News at 6pm when children might be watching. The Authority acknowledged that the complainant, and others in the community, might find this type of language offensive. However, the Authority has consistently found that these type of expressions are commonly used as exclamations in our society....

The Authority has not upheld a complaint that use of the phrase ‘how the hell’ in an item on Breakfast breached the good taste and decency standard. The Authority found the use of the word would not have caused widespread undue offence or distress or undermined widely shared community values. Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency...

The Authority has declined to determine a complaint about the joking and flirtatious interactions between two males on a Breakfast programme segment. The Authority considered the complaint related to matters of personal preference and was not an appropriate use of its time and resources. Declined to Determine: Good Taste and Decency (section 11(b) of the Broadcasting Act 1989)...

The Authority has not upheld a complaint that an item on Newshub Live at 6pm concerning a car accident breached several standards by featuring images of dead bodies in the car wreck. The complainant believed there were dead bodies shown in the wreck, which they found highly distressing. The Authority acknowledged the complainant’s distress, however, after carefully reviewing the broadcast, found that no bodies were featured. In considering the images of the car wreck shown, the Authority considered that the footage was unlikely to cause widespread undue offence or distress, or undermine widely shared community standards, so the good taste and decency standard was not breached. It further found that an audience advisory was not required, and the programme information standard was not breached. The balance, accuracy, privacy, and fairness standards did not apply or were not breached....

The Authority has not upheld a complaint under the good taste and decency and other standards about comments on Magic Talk regarding the LynnMall terror incident. Host Stephen McIvor responded “well spoken” to a caller who praised police for their actions (killing the suspect) which saved the country money. While insensitive, the comments did not reach the threshold for regulatory intervention. The remaining standards either did not apply or were not breached. Not Upheld: Good Taste and Decency, Children’s Interests, Violence, Law and Order...

SummaryAn episode of The Lakes broadcast on TV One on 26 May 1999 beginning at 9. 05pm contained a scene depicting a violent gang rape. Ms Wightman of Wellington, Mr Turley of Nelson and Ms Buchanan of Christchurch each complained to Television New Zealand Ltd, the broadcaster, about the episode. Ms Wightman contended that it was unacceptable to show sexual violence on public television, particularly when no warning was given prior to the programme that it would contain rape scenes. Mr Turley’s complaint focused not just on the rape scene, which he deemed unacceptable, but also on what he called the gratuitously offensive language used, and the programme’s focus on depraved and offensive sexual activity. Ms Buchanan objected to the fact that in the course of a single programme the content included murder, a gang rape and the prospect of fornication between a parishioner and a priest....

Complaint under section 8(1B)(b)(i) of the Broadcasting Act 19893 News – item on MTV music awards – showed actor Sacha Baron Cohen as his character Bruno dressed as an angel and only wearing a harness – Bruno was lowered in front of musician Eminem who was sitting in the crowd – Bruno was suspended upside down so that his buttocks were in the musician’s face – allegedly in breach of good taste and decency and children’s interests FindingsStandard 1 (good taste and decency) – contextual factors – not upheld Standard 9 (children’s interests) – unsupervised children unlikely to watch news programmes – item did not contain material that would have disturbed or alarmed child viewers – not upheld This headnote does not form part of the decision....

Complaint under section 8(1)(a) of the Broadcasting Act 1989One News – item on the death of a jockey resulting from a fall – item showed images of the fall – allegedly in breach of standards relating to good taste and decency, programme classification, children’s interests and violenceFindings Standard 1 – news unclassified – images relevant to news item – not graphic – not upheld Standard 7 – contextual factors – no warning required – not upheld Standard 9 – news item – unclassified – not upheld Standard 10 – tragic accident – violence standard not applicable – not upheldThis headnote does not form part of the decision. Broadcast [1] One News broadcast an item on 27 March 2005 at 6pm on TV One concerning the death of a young jockey resulting from his fall during a race....