BSA Releases 2 Decisions
The Authority has not upheld a complaint about a Morning Report interview with Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer about the Israel/Gaza war. The complaint alleged the interview was unbalanced as no alternative perspective was presented to counter Ngarewa-Packer’s comments that Israel’s actions amounted to genocide and apartheid, among other things, and that those statements were also inaccurate. The BSA acknowledged people may not agree with terms used and some would find them inflammatory, but ultimately found restricting the broadcaster’s and Ngarewa-Packer’s right to freedom of expression would be unjustified. There was no breach of the balance standard, given audience expectations of the interview which was clearly framed as approaching the Israel/Gaza conflict from Te Pāti Māori’s perspective, and the host’s challenging of Ngarewa-Packer’s statements. The BSA found the statements amounted to opinion, to which the accuracy standard did not apply.
This and other recently released decisions can be seen here.