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 a complaint, under multiple standards, regarding two news items broadcast on Labour Day 2024: one about a protest against a proposed sewerage project and the other about commemoration of New Zealand’s Land Wars. Noting the complaint was not about content in the broadcasts but content the complainant wished to see included, the Authority found it related to editorial discretion and personal preference, which is not capable of being determined by a complaints procedure. The Authority considered that, in all circumstances of the complaint, it should not be determined by the Authority.  

Declined to Determine (s 11(b) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 - in all circumstances): Promotion of Illegal or Antisocial Behaviour, Discrimination and Denigration, Balance, Accuracy, Privacy, Fairness

The broadcast

[1]  The 2024 Labour Day news bulletin on 1News featured two unrelated stories which together are the subject of the complaint.

[2]  The first bulletin was about protesters demanding the Governor-General's intervention in a controversial sewerage project near Lake Rotokakahi, southeast of Rotorua. It reported the $29 million scheme, which began in April 2024, aims to improve water quality at Lake Tarawera by connecting over 400 homes with a sewerage pipeline. However, mana whenua oppose the project as it passes through a sacred area, increasing pollution risks and disturbing ancestral grounds. Some protestors were shown carrying a flag chosen by a group of Māori chiefs in 1834 which became known as the Flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand.

[3]  The second bulletin was about New Zealand's Land Wars, fought in the mid-1800s between British and Māori forces, and how the event was first commemorated in 2018 on 28 October, coinciding with Labour Day 2024. The reporter noted it was ‘a time when politicians are deep into a Treaty debate’, before turning to an expert who said greater awareness of the Land Wars would help explain the clash between ‘what Māori saw as their retention of their authority that was guaranteed in Te Tiriti’ and ‘the Crown’s assertion of sovereignty that comes through in these conflicts’. The broadcast then featured commentary on whether the commemoration should have its own holiday.

The complaint

[4]  Dilip Rupa complained the broadcasts breached the promotion of illegal or antisocial behaviour, discrimination and denigration, balance, accuracy, privacy and fairness standards of the Code of Broadcasting Standards in New Zealand. The complainant provided detailed submissions and background to his complaint. Key points, in so far as they concern the relevant broadcasts, are summarised below:

• The Flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand, depicted in the first bulletin, should have triggered the reporter to ‘question the reason for the [flag’s] presence’ in the electorate of the Treaty Principles Bill’s architect and provide further information about the flag and its history.
• Television New Zealand Ltd (TVNZ) did not inform ‘those promoting Land War Day’ or the public, of the 1835 Declaration of Independence.¹
• TVNZ should ‘question the Minister of Justice to confirm and evidence’ the Treaty of Waitangi is the founding document rather than a founding document, together with the Declaration of Independence.
• The broadcaster is suppressing historical context which is not taught as part of the school curriculum yet is ‘paramount to comprehending the issues raised’.
• Such omissions are ‘corrupting the democratic process’ and misleading the public during the submission period on the Treaty Principles Bill.

The broadcaster’s response

[5]  TVNZ did not uphold the complaint for the following reasons:

Promotion of Illegal or Antisocial Behaviour

• Neither of the two 1News stories nominated glamorised illegal or seriously anti-social behaviour.

Discrimination and Denigration

• No material expressed a high level of condemnation of any group of people.

Balance

• Discussion concerning Labour Day and New Zealand’s National Day of Commemoration for the New Zealand Wars is not a ‘controversial issue of public importance’, so the balance standard has no application.
• ‘The discussion about the protest was clearly presenting the perspective of the protestors and so the viewpoint of the proponents for the sewerage scheme is not required.’

Accuracy

• The complainant did not allege any material point of fact was inaccurate in either item.
• Issues raised in the complaint were not relevant to the topics discussed in the 1News items, and ‘1News reporters are not required to cover issues suggested by the public in their reporting’.

Privacy

• No allegation was made that any person’s privacy had been breached.

Fairness

• No allegation was made regarding people and organisations taking part or referred to in the broadcast.

Outcome: Decline to Determine

[6]  Section 11(b) of the Broadcasting Act 1989 authorises the Authority to decline to determine a complaint if it considers that, in all the circumstances of the complaint, it should not be determined by the Authority.

[7]  In this case, the Authority considers it appropriate to exercise its s 11(b) discretion on the following grounds:

• The complaint relates to a matter of broadcaster editorial discretion, the subject matter of the broadcasts, and the complainant’s preferences as to what the broadcaster ought to report on and investigate. Such a complaint is not, in general, capable of being resolved by a complaints procedure because it relates to the exercise of a discretion.²
• The Authority has previously recognised these are not issues of broadcasting standards but are matters that fall within the control and responsibility of the broadcaster.³
• The arguments raised by the complainant have very limited connection to or bearing on the standards raised in his complaint, and do not directly correlate to the content of the broadcast.⁴

[8]  The Authority’s role is to consider complaints about content broadcast. This complaint is not about content broadcast but about other content the complainant wished to see included. The broadcasting standards complaints process is not the appropriate forum for such views to be presented. Therefore, in all the circumstances of the complaint, it should not be determined by the Authority.

For the above reasons the Authority declines to determine the complaint under s 11(b) of the Broadcasting Act 1989.

Signed for and on behalf of the Authority

Susie Staley
Chair
22 April 2025    

Appendix

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

1  Rupa’s original complaint - 25 November 2024

2  TVNZ’s decision – 20 December 2024

3  Rupa’s referral to the Authority – 22 January - 21 February 2025

4  Rupa’s further comments – 3 March 2025

5  TVNZ’s confirmation no further comment –14 March 2025

¹ Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand "Story: He Whakaputanga - Declaration of Independence" <teara.govt.nz>
² Broadcasting Act 1989, s 5(c)
³ Malcolm and Radio New Zealand Ltd, Decision No. 2016-018
⁴ See Golden and Radio New Zealand Ltd, Decision No. 2018-097; Wratt and Mediaworks TV Ltd, Decision No. 2019-031; Sherrin and Mediaworks TV Ltd, Decision No. 2017-022; McDonald and Television New Zealand Ltd, Decision No. 2008-127