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NewsTalk ZB host breached broadcasting standards with Pacific Islands 'leeches' comment - BSA
Comments by New Zealand broadcaster Heather du Plessis-Allan, referring to the Pacific Islands as leeches on New Zealand, have been found to breach broadcasting standards.
The Newstalk ZB host has been ordered to pay $3000 in costs to the Crown. In addition, employer NZME Radio has been ordered to broadcast a statement during Wellington Mornings with Heather du Plessis-Allan summarising the BSA’s decision
The decision and order relates to a talkback discussion about the Prime Minister attending the Pacific Islands Forum in Nauru, during which du Plessis-Allan said: "I mean, it’s the Pacific Islands. What are we going to get out of them? They are nothing but leeches on us. I mean, the Pacific Islands want money from us. We don’t need money from them."
The authority determined that the comments breached the good taste and decency and discrimination and denigration standards as they were inflammatory, devalued the reputation of Pasifika people within New Zealand, which includes New Zealanders of Pacific origin, and had the potential to cause widespread harm, a statement from the BSA says.
The BSA acknowledged the important role of talkback broadcasting in cultivating discussion and debate. However, that "does not mean anything goes or that the host is able to offend without censure", the agency said in a statement.
In a follow-up broadcast, du Plessis-Allan attempted to clarify her comments: "Some chap … from the Green Party said I 'casually dehumanised' our Pacific peoples. Oh my gosh. Did I? Or did I say the Pacific Islands? I don’t know, confusing people with islands?"
The BSA found du Plessis-Allan’s attempted clarification in the second broadcast did not remedy the breaches or mitigate the harm caused by her earlier comments. Instead, the agency ruled, they "inflamed the distress caused"
Comments by New Zealand broadcaster Heather du Plessis-Allan, referring to the Pacific Islands as leeches on New Zealand, have been found to breach broadcasting standards.
The Newstalk ZB host has been ordered to pay $3000 in costs to the Crown. In addition, employer NZME Radio has been ordered to broadcast a statement during Wellington Mornings with Heather du Plessis-Allan summarising the BSA’s decision
The decision and order relates to a talkback discussion about the Prime Minister attending the Pacific Islands Forum in Nauru, during which du Plessis-Allan said: "I mean, it’s the Pacific Islands. What are we going to get out of them? They are nothing but leeches on us. I mean, the Pacific Islands want money from us. We don’t need money from them."
The authority determined that the comments breached the good taste and decency and discrimination and denigration standards as they were inflammatory, devalued the reputation of Pasifika people within New Zealand, which includes New Zealanders of Pacific origin, and had the potential to cause widespread harm, a statement from the BSA says.
The BSA acknowledged the important role of talkback broadcasting in cultivating discussion and debate. However, that "does not mean anything goes or that the host is able to offend without censure", the agency said in a statement.
In a follow-up broadcast, du Plessis-Allan attempted to clarify her comments: "Some chap … from the Green Party said I 'casually dehumanised' our Pacific peoples. Oh my gosh. Did I? Or did I say the Pacific Islands? I don’t know, confusing people with islands?"
The BSA found du Plessis-Allan’s attempted clarification in the second broadcast did not remedy the breaches or mitigate the harm caused by her earlier comments. Instead, the agency ruled, they "inflamed the distress caused"
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