NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Tea tape: Police to move on paper

David Fisher
By David Fisher
Senior writer·Herald on Sunday·
19 Nov, 2011 04:30 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

John Key and John Banks sit down together for their now-controversial cup of tea. Photo / Dean Purcell

John Key and John Banks sit down together for their now-controversial cup of tea. Photo / Dean Purcell

Police will execute a search warrant on the offices of the Herald on Sunday tomorrow.

The search is part of their investigation into Prime Minister John Key's claim he was deliberately bugged.

A recording was made when Key met Act candidate John Banks at an arranged media event at a cafe in Auckland's Newmarket.

Key rejected freelance cameraman Bradley Ambrose's explanation that the recording was an accident and lodged a police complaint.

A fresh poll supports Key's decision to refuse permission to publish, with 44 per cent of people backing his stance. Thirty-three per cent of the 1200 people polled thought he should grant publication.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

National Party insider Matthew Hooton said the public reaction showed the Herald on Sunday had made the right decision to keep the contents of the recording private without the permission of Banks or Key.

"The judgment was probably right. The Herald on Sunday did in fact decide the Prime Minister's right to privacy outweighed the importance of what was on the tape."

The Key Research poll, conducted for the Herald on Sunday, also showed the National Party had a commanding lead over other parties - enough to govern alone.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The poll was taken over four days and found National had 55.6 per cent support among those polled, more than double the 26.2 per cent polled by the Labour Party.

The Green Party was next on 11.3 per cent, followed by New Zealand First on 3.6 per cent.

The Act Party is wallowing on 0.5 per cent and its hopes hang on the Epsom seat deal, which was the subject of the "tea party" between Banks and Key.

On Tuesday, the focus will shift to a High Court ruling sought by Ambrose on whether the conversation was private.

Discover more

Opinion

Hadyn Jones: Tea fails to stir up golfing voters

19 Nov 04:30 PM
Opinion

Deborah Coddington: Tape at top of slippery slope to controlled media

19 Nov 04:30 PM
Opinion

Herald on Sunday editorial: Key counts cost of evasiveness

19 Nov 04:30 PM
Opinion

Jonathan Milne: Integrity, not issues, is the guiding force in this election campaign

19 Nov 04:30 PM

Ambrose said yesterday that he needed to get a court ruling because his work prospects were being affected. "It's a very uncomfortable position to be in. I like to be behind the camera. The thing I'm trying not to think about is whether I will have enough work to survive."

Voters casting their ballots early in Epsom yesterday were scathing about the deal between Act and National. Votes for National outnumbered those for Act by almost three to one. Remuera's Angela Hill voted for the Greens and Paul Goldsmith. "I held my nose and voted for the National candidate as I don't want to see John Banks [win]." But Banks said the "horrifying prospect" of Winston Peters in Parliament had led to increased pledges of support. Peters repeated his attack on Key for "contemptible and discouraging" comments he said the PM had made.

THE NEWSPAPER'S VIEW

The Herald on Sunday did not "bug" the Prime Minister. We did not know his conversation with John Banks had been recorded until a freelancer gave it to us afterwards. We assessed the tape as having a public interest and asked for the politicians' permission to print. They said no, so we didn't.

It is what we do every week with a mountain of information handed to the paper - is it interesting, is it legally and ethically permissible to print?

That's how the media should operate in a free society.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

- additional reporting Cherie Howie

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

OpinionUpdated

NZ Herald comments: The stories open for discussion today

25 Jun 01:59 AM
New Zealand

Could a winter playground save Splash Planet?

25 Jun 01:55 AM
Politics

Northland’s council water shake-up: Big changes, bigger bills ahead?

25 Jun 01:52 AM

Kaibosh gets a clean-energy boost in the fight against food waste

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Napier schoolboy, 11, dies after what was thought to be ‘routine flu’

Napier schoolboy, 11, dies after what was thought to be ‘routine flu’

25 Jun 02:10 AM

Mateo Deveraturda was surrounded by 'love and care' in his final days at Starship.

NZ Herald comments: The stories open for discussion today

NZ Herald comments: The stories open for discussion today

25 Jun 01:59 AM
Could a winter playground save Splash Planet?

Could a winter playground save Splash Planet?

25 Jun 01:55 AM
Northland’s council water shake-up: Big changes, bigger bills ahead?

Northland’s council water shake-up: Big changes, bigger bills ahead?

25 Jun 01:52 AM
Engage and explore one of the most remote places on Earth in comfort and style
sponsored

Engage and explore one of the most remote places on Earth in comfort and style

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP