BSA upholds former MP's Radio NZ complaint

Former ACT Party MP David Garrett. Photo / Ross Setford

The Broadcasting Standards Authority has upheld parts of a complaint by former Act MP David Garrett relating to a discussion on Radio New Zealand's Nine To Noon about the 'three strikes' legislation.

The Sentencing and Parole Reform Act 2010, enacted three years ago, was discussed on the programme in May by a professor of criminology, who opposed the law and the lawyer of an offender on his second strike.

Mr Garrett said the item was unbalanced because it omitted viewpoints in favour of the 'three strikes' legislation and that it was inaccurate, misleading, unfair and irresponsible.

Radio New Zealand (RNZ) upheld part of the complaint, finding the presenter's introduction stating there was no possibility of parole for offenders on their third strike was inaccurate because the legislation contained an exception where the sentence was found to be 'manifestly unjust'.

However, Mr Garrett referred other aspects of his complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA), some of which were upheld under the standards of accuracy and balance.

The authority found the broadcast did not contain sufficient balancing comment to enable listeners to arrive at an informed and reasoned opinion about the 'three strikes' law and whether it was operating as intended.

"The programme omitted any alternative voice to counteract the one-sided statements made by the panellists, and the presenter failed to adequately challenge those statements," the authority stated.

"Compounding this, the panellists also made statements which created a misleading impression in the absence of any balancing comment."

The BSA declined to uphold the complaints relating to fairness and responsible programming, finding the complainant's concerns were better addressed as matters of balance and accuracy.

The authority agreed with Mr Garrett that RNZ's website should contain either a statement or a link to its decision, alongside the audio for as long as it is online.

In another recently released decision, the BSA found an episode of the animated cartoon series Futurama, aired on channel FOUR, should have been classified PGR because it contained sexual content not suitable for unsupervised children.

The episode, which was classified G and broadcast at 6.30pm, contained sexual references and innuendo which the BSA said was targeted at a more mature audience.

The complainant wanted TVWorks to pay a donation to an organisation assisting child victims of sexual abuse, however the BSA does not have the power under the Act to order a broadcaster to do so.

The BSA was satisfied that publication of its decision was sufficient to address the breach, and acknowledged that the episode has since been reclassified.