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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Vol 36 No. 12. 6 June 1973
Archaic Libel Laws Must Go
Archaic Libel Laws Must Go
The report below, from the 'Evening Post' of June 4th, should give a lead to New Zealand's enlightened politicians. Even Jack Marshall has considered changing New Zealand's own archaic defamation laws. Admittedly he was merely doing some fast thinking when his mate Muldoon was shooting his mouth off last year and getting in the red for it.
Salient's torch of truth and freedom has repeatedly sputtered and gone out because of the libel laws. In New Zealand you can be done for defamation if you bring someone into "hatred, ridicule or contempt". It doesn't matter if what you say is true — the taw exists to protect the ruling class. The problem is compounded by the cobwebbed legislation which makes not only publishers but also printers liable for what is written. Hence the slashing quandaries of Wanganui Newspapers Garry (not George, sorry) Mead.
It looks like Australia may be about to provide a legislative lead New Zealand would do well to follow.
Sydney, June 3. — Existing Australian libel laws represented a threat to honest reporting, the Federal Media Minister (Senator Douglas McClelland), said here today.
Speaking at a celebration of the seventh annual World Communications Day, in Sydney, the Minister said a disclosure like that of Watergate in the US Press could not happen at present in Australian newspapers.
Senator McClelland said a uniform libel law would take away the constant threat of damages which had made the Australian Press more timid and less crusading than it should be.
"The freedom of the Press is not as prized as it should be, and the extent of that freedom is debatable. The boardrooms of even the most respectable newspapers are littered every day with, 10 dollar stopwrits, or threatened libel actions which leave editors hamstrung.
"The Australian Government can provide more freedom for the Press by unshackling it from the petty toggery of archaic, repressive laws," he said.
Senator McClelland said he intended to raise the matter of libel laws ith the Federal Attorney-General (Senator Lionel Murphy), and he hoped Senator Murphy would in turn confer with the State AttorneysGeneral, who controlled jurisdiction of the law. — NZPA-Reuter.