The trial of former TVNZ host Liz Gunn and her cameraman, Jonathan Clark, ended today with the judge reserving her decision after more tense exchanges between the anti-vaccination campaigner and a prosecutor.
Judge Janey Forrest will deliver her decision at a hearing later this month, on whether Gunn is guilty of assault, and whether she and Clark are culpable for the charge of resisting arrest after a fracas at Auckland Airport on February 25 last year.
Gunn’s band of several dozen loyal supporters again packed into the court on Friday, for the second day of the judge-alone trial, heard over two days this week.
They applauded when she returned to the courthouse after the lunch adjournment to hear the final defence witness, a former police officer turned political candidate for Gunn’s political party NZ Loyal.
In his closing address, Gunn’s lawyer Matthew Hague told the court she had implied consent to touch the Auckland Airport security worker she is charged with assaulting because she was trying to get her attention.
The security worker Anna Kolodeznaya had told Gunn and Hague they did not have permission to film in the terminal.
Gunn then began questioning Kolodeznaya about her nationality and made repeated references to Nazi Germany.
“I struggle to think of a more minor application of force,” Hague said.
Kolodeznaya earlier told the court Gunn had intimidated her and grabbed her arm forcefully, leaving her in pain.
Police prosecutor Jerome Beveridge said in his closing that Gunn attempted to bully Kolodeznaya .
Gunn spoke over her, asked her where she was from, then drew a comparison to Nazi Germany, Beveridge said.
“She has then grabbed her arm which has clearly provoked an adverse reaction.”
He cited cases which he said showed the law could not draw the line between different degrees of force for an assault charge. The issue of the level of force applied was relevant only to the penalty for if the charge is proved, he said.
Beveridge began the day by asking Gunn why she described the woman she is accused of assaulting, an Auckland Airport security worker, and another airport staffer, as “real Nazis” in footage captured last year.
She and her cameraman were attempting to film in Auckland airport but the worker told them they did not have permission, an assertion that was disputed by Gunn.
They were eventually arrested and charged after the dispute over filming escalated and airport staff called police.
Gunn, 64, began telling a story about how her father fought in World War II but was interrupted by Judge Forrest.
The judge told Gunn that what her father had said was hearsay, asking her to answer the question directly.
Gunn said she was just trying to add context to her use of the term Nazi.
“It is a term of art for someone who is abusing the power that they have because of the power of their uniform,” Gunn said.
As the cross-examination continued on Friday morning, the exchanges became more tense between the controversial alternative media personality and the prosecutor, requiring Judge Forrest to repeatedly intervene.
“Ms Gunn, you’re here to answer the questions that are put to you,” the judge said.
Gunn broke down in tears when footage of her arrest was played.
She has said the arrest was so forceful it caused her ligament damage and lasting pain and trauma.
Gunn is charged with - and denies - resisting arrest.
The arresting officer Senior Constable Erich Postlewaight told the court on Tuesday she repeatedly tried to pull away from him and push him off, which Gunn described as a “ludicrous assertion”.
“He was three times my strength, he was twice my size.”
As the cross-examination wore on, Gunn asked Beveridge why he needed to keep playing the footage and took issue with a few of his questions, leading to another rebuke from the judge.
“Ms Gunn, you’re here to answer the questions that are put to you,” Judge Forrest said.
“Your job is not to ask questions.”
Hague next called Clark as a witness. He said he was grabbed hard by Constable Robett Luong, thrown to the ground and left with marks and bruising on his body.
“Resisting what? I was on the ground when he said ‘you are under arrest’ I was just lying there.”
Hague then called Dr René de Monchy, a psychiatrist who was at the airport alongside Gunn when she was arrested.
The doctor has previously been interviewed by Gunn, prior to the alleged assault, and according to an anti-vaccine group he lost his job at a New Zealand hospital for refusing to have the Covid-19 vaccine.
He appeared by audio-visual link from Switzerland, where it was 3am, and told the court Postlewaight grabbed Gunn out of the blue, “without any provocation”.
“He grabbed her right wrist and right forearm and twisted that in upwards fully behind the back and up to the shoulder blades.”
Judge Forrest had asked him not to refer to his notes when giving evidence, and to ask for permission if he wanted to refer to notes. But it emerged during cross-examination he had been referring to notes.
“At the start of your evidence we discussed you would put those to one side and you would not look at your notes,” the Judge said.
The trial went to a reserve day because the defence still has several witnesses to call. They include the former police constable.
Admission of his evidence was opposed by Beveridge, who argued the man had not been in the police since 1996, but Hague won the right to call the former cop just before the trial started.
Ahead of the second day of the judge-alone trial, a few dozen supporters of Gunn and Clark again turned up to the Manukau District Court.
They were again warned not to film, take photos or disrupt proceedings by the judge, following warnings on Tuesday that they could be asked to leave court after they laughed during the evidence of a police witness.
During a colourful day of evidence on Tuesday, Judge Forrest dismissed one of the charges faced by the pair, that of wilful trespass, after an application by Hague.
The judge declined Hague’s application to dismiss the common assault charge faced by Gunn alone and the resisting arrest charges against the pair. Clark is not charged with assault.
The charges stem from an incident at the Auckland Airport international terminal on February 25, 2023, where Gunn and Clark intended to film the arrival of a family who had been kept in lockdown in Tokelau after refusing the Covid-19 vaccine.
They were approached by an airport security worker who asked if they had permission to film inside the terminal, as required for commercial operators.
Gunn replied they did not need permission because they were not filming to make a profit but security co-ordinator Anna Kolodeznaya said they did need permission because they were using professional equipment.
What happened next is disputed and led to the assault charge against Gunn.
Kolodeznaya, during her evidence on Tuesday, said Gunn grabbed her arm with a level of force she described as “five-out-of-10″ and which was exacerbated by an injury she was carrying.
Gunn said she merely tapped her on the arm to get her attention.
Kolodeznaya said Gunn began questioning her about airport policies and the law.
“I felt very intimidated at this time because of their body language ... towards me,” Kolodeznaya said.
In footage of the incident played to the court, Gunn can be heard questioning Kolodeznaya about her nationality.
“Where are you from originally?” she asked.
“It doesn’t matter,” Kolodeznaya replied.
“Well, it matters to me. Because the way it started in Germany was with little freedoms being taken,” Gunn said.
Gunn said she found Kolodeznaya aggressive and confrontational and claimed she did not tap her with any force. She described herself as a “very gesticulating person”.
“To hear her say it was a five-out-of-10 pain level, it absolutely flabbergasted me today,” Gunn said.
“It felt like a bullying exchange from go to whoa.”
Judge Forrest will deliver her decision at the Manukau District Court on May 21 at 3.45pm.
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They allege the Crown ignored Treaty obligations by not engaging with them.