Michael Field Smells a Conspiracy

Inia Seruiratu pn262

A week ago Michael Field wrote an article headed The Face of Military Censorship that took  a swipe at Fiji's new Foreign Affairs Minister Inia Seruiratu on the occasion of his first speech as minister addressing young diplomats at an NZMFAT-funded protocol training seminar. 

Blog Reports on Typhoid and the Denarau Decree

NEW QUOTE FOR THE WEEK in the right sidebar.
N0128.
Photo: Denarau Marina.

Line up of three Blogs. Thank goodness for FijiToday.It is now the only reasonable anti-government blog.  Coupfourpointfive once shared this honour before it became a factory for churning out venom and false rumours.

The typical FijiToday article contains its political message in the title; the article itself is usually published unedited and the source acknowledged. My typical article relies less on the heading for its political message which is embedded in a precis of the original article, with source acknowledged. Both approaches are honest in that they are clearly opinions and not news.  This was my gripe with a recent Michael Field article on the FRU crisis (see N0116). Opinion masqueraded as news, and was therefore dishonest.

Typhoid Outbreak — Remember Michael Field

A recent article by FijiToday complained about the delayed information on a typhoid outbreak in Upper Naitasiri. I find nothing unusual about this. There are typhoid cases and minor localised outbreaks every year in Fiji and I do not recall much prominence being given to them when I lived in Fiji in the 1970s and 1990s. But if things have changed FijiToday has a point.  FijiToday's political point was the delay in confirming the rumour.  But the blog hastened to add: "FijiToday wishes to point out that the reported outbreak is well outside the normal tourist area and unless it spreads is no threat to tourists." Compare this with Michael Field and Barbara Dreavers' coverage of last year's outbreak in inland Navosa where they had tourists believing the outbreak was in the main tourist area and it was unsafe to visit Fiji.   Who says blogs are less reliable than the mainstream media!

The Denarau Decree

However,  FijiToday is not quite as honest in an article on the The Denarau (Nadi River) Development Decree 2011.  But it erred with a sin of omission, not commission.  It was not what they said, but what they left out.

Denarau is without doubt the most developed of the tourist attractions in the West. Built on a large area of reclaimed and channelised mangrove swamp, it is close to Nadi International Airport, has a mix of luxurious to not quite so luxurious accommodation (Hilton, Westin, Sheraton,Sofitel, and more), swimming pools galore, a world class golf course, massage facilities and spas, and an extensive shopping complex.  But the area that is the concern of the Decree involve the marina, that provides services to visiting yachtsmen and transfers to tourist island in the Mamanuca and Yawasa Islands to the north of Nadi. 

FijiToday reported that one company, Ports Denarau Marina Limited, had been given a 20 year exclusive licence in 2000 of about 26 hectares for an annual rental of $400 "in return for extensive dredging and development of what was then a swamp. The licence was cancelled without warning or compensation. No legal challenge was allowed. Announced today but came into force yesterday. The Decree vests absolutely in the Director of Lands any existing interest in the channel. Any person who obstructs or prevents any person from accessing or using the channel, shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine and/or imprisonment.

What FijiToday did not report, that was also in  the Government release was that the purpose of the decree was "to liberalise access to and use of the Nadi River channel for the public of Fiji for the purposes of tourism, recreation or personal as well as commercial use," and that the Company had been demanding that all persons, including all owners and operators of vessels, payment for access and use of the channel. Complaints from other users and the importance of the channel for the tourism industry were the reasons for the Decree. I presume the fees collected by the company since 2000 was considered sufficient compensation.

Foreshore for All

Readers will remember Bainimarama's opposition to the Qoliqoli Bill that would have given individual vanua exclusive rights over the foreshore was a major reason for the Coup. Free access to the Denarau Channel is entirely consistent with opposition to the Qoliqoli Bill and the liberalisation of all surfing areas by the Regulation of Surfing Areas Decree last year.  FijiToday focused on the loss to the Company and gave no reason for Government's action.
-- Crosbie Walsh

Re-Ploughing the Muck in the Same Field

N0116.

By Crosbie Walsh

What veteran journalist Michael Field (photo) can't teach you about reporting on Fiji isn't worth knowing. Take his latest Sunday Star-Times article on the Fiji Rugby Union crisis, Fiji Leader Doesn't Care for NZ. It's 282 words long and has 82 words of new information. Most of the rest was published last week by the the same journalist in the same weekly paper.

First, we need to look at the heading because it gets the message across even to those who don't read the article. It says Bainimarama doesn't like us and we reply: Up yours! We don't like you either. It's a good way to get readers tuned in to what you want them to believe, even if it was not quite what Bainimarama said. 
 
Then, it's important to typecast the main actors so that readers are left in no doubt about who the baddies are. Bainimarama, of course, is the “Fiji coup leader.” He's the guy we usually see on TV in his unchanged military uniform. And another key actor is “his brother-in-law Francis Kean, a convicted killer.” No explanation, just a convicted killer which would leave readers unfamiliar with the case wondering whether it was a brutal and gruesome murder or an unintentional manslaughter. It was the latter. Kean was convicted by the court and served part of his prison sentence. I agree with others that he should have served all his sentence, but a “convicted killer” of the type wishfully projected by Field he was not.
 
Now, having got the readers well primed, we can start on the supposed scheming by these villains. Bainimarama and Kean are “taking over the union to secure VIP access [to the Rugby World Cup in NZ], guaranteed under the hosting agreement.” 
 
Actually, Kean's name has been put forward unopposed for chairman of the union and it is possible that Bainimarama, a former president, may again become president, but this has nothing to do with supposed freebees to the World Cup. Both are military men on the NZ travel bans and, as Minister McCully repeated, they will not be allowed to come to NZ. Bainimarama and Kean would not be seeking freebees they knew they could not collect. 
 
McCully had been sought out by the media to comment on the story the media had created: that Bainimarama wanted to come to NZ. And Bainimarama's response was a reaction to this story. So the media got two for the price of one. A sort of double negative where no news plus no news equals news. A mountain had been made out of two non-existent molehills. 
 
Finally, all we need to do now is to stretch a fact or two. So, the two International Rugby Board representatives were in Suva last week to tell Fiji its membership “would be further at risk if the union bowed to the regime and dumped its board for state-supported appointees.”

This is what Field said, not the IRB men. Government had said it would not release $3 million of government funding for Fiji's participation in the World Cup if the FRU Board did not resign. Government wanted their resignation because of alleged misuse of funds and a botched lottery. For Field's “state-supported appointees,” read people who were unlikely to flog further funds. For the IRB statement, read: We must be convinced the new Board is not subject to government political influence and is freely elected by the FRU's constituent members.

Stretch number two: “Bainimarama is refusing to rule out taking key union positions and his bid to get Suva Rugby Union boss Kean into the top post continues.” What this means is that Bainimarama refused to comment to a media enquiry: I don't want to say anything more at this stage. It was Field who was doing the not “ruling out.”

And stretch number three, totally unrelated the the FRU situation: “The coup leader's control over his country's sporting groups (why on earth would he want control over sporting bodies?) strengthened last month when he made his daughter the head of the state-funded Sports Council.” He did not make his daughter the head of the Sports Council. The position was advertised and the Council, not Bainimarama, decided she was the best applicant. It is, of course, possible the Council could have been influenced by the fact that she is Bainimarama's daughter, but he had no direct part in her appointment, and her qualifications for the position, which I have seen, look very credible. See my posting on this (N0097). As far as one can reasonably tell, her appointment was completely above board. 
 
The only new news in Field's re-ploughed article is that IRB-Government discussions were fruitful, that a way out of the dilemma may be to appoint a temporary administrator for Fiji, and that Fiji and Namibia's World Cup participation may also be in doubt. 
 
It seem ironic the two countries should be put together. The IRB has taken over the administration of the Namibia union amid allegations of corruption and members not being paid. In Namibia it's the union that stands accused of corruption and the IRB that's seeking a way out. In Fiji, it's also the union, or more precisely senior executives on the FRU Board, that stands accused, but it is the Bainimarama government (whose actions the IRB is questioning because of complains from those accused) that is trying to stop the corruption. Had he chosen, Field could have explored this irony. 
 
When a journalist writes a news article that so clearly intends to persuade a reader to form opinions that are propped up by leading headlines, typecasting, and unsupported and misleading “facts”, this is not news; it is opinion that editors should not allow to masquerade as news. What is admissible in an opinion piece is not admissible in a news item. My heading gives you my opinion of Michael Field's coverage of news from Fiji. He is a journalist who is now so partisan that he seems unable to report news to the standard normally considered acceptable in the industry. It is time the industry woke up.
Earlier comment on the FRU situation was made in N0069 and N0078.

If you've missed it, scroll down to the Weekend Reading 
(♦ Fiji's New Diplomacy ♦ Why the Roadmap Pt II) and 

check out the new Quote for the Week in the right sidebar.

N0086. A LAUGH TO START THE WEEK. It seem that if Francis Kean becomes the new chairman of the FRU, his brother-in-law the Prime Minister may become the president (again.) I don't see why one position depends on the other but Michael Field says this is so, and we should never question Michael Field even though former FRU Board member Charlie Cousins says there is no other likely candidate so Frank may become president with no thanks to his brother-in-law.

Frank certainly wants to be at the World Cup to be held in NZ, whether or not he's the president, but if both he and his brother-in-law are respectively appointed president and chairman, the IRB will pay both their expenses to New Zealand. There's only one hitch.

Sir Lancelot, the NZ Foreign Minister (and shadow Minister for Border Security) Murray McCully, says not over his dead body. New Zealand is a sovereign nation and there are travel bans against the likes of you two.

The Field scoop seems to be just another example of a journalist making the news, but McCully did miss one thing: Fiji is also a sovereign nation.

N0087. FIJI TIMES. Australian Brian O’Flaherty  has replaced Dallas Swinstead as the  General Manager of the Fiji Times. He is a former News Ltd employee and a former publisher of the Fiji Times. His wife Adrienne was also a journalist. The O'Flaherty's  know Fiji well having lived and worked here during the 1990s in the period leading up to 1997 Constitution under former PM Sitiveni Rabuka.

N0088. LABOUR SLAMS COUP 4.5 MISCHIEF. An article in the Fiji Labour Party website  has slammed as "mischievous lies a report in the Coup 4.5 blog that Mahendra Chaudhry and Felix Anthony are organising a protest march for next month."  The report continued:

"This is yet another example of baseless and malicious reporting by Coup 4.5. The integrity and credibility of this blog has already been seriously undermined by false reporting in the past.

“It is pure fabrication. I want to ask Coup 4.5 and their collaborators who are political detractors of the Fiji Labour Party (and whose identities we are clearly aware of), when are they going to desist from such malicious propaganda against the FLP leadership?” asked FLP’s assistant secretary-general Lekh Ram Vayeshnoi.

N0089. NEW TOURISM RECORD. For the very first time ever annual tourist arrival numbers have exceeded the magical 600,000 mark, nearly 78,000 more than last year's record. Tourism Minister Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum said Tourism Fiji will have its work cut out to maintain and grow these numbers but he thought it could be done with good marketing strategies and alliances.

The industry also now needs to concentrate on on developing quality tourist shopping and other local ancillary services and, with Government help, establish a data base for better synergies and hotel intelligence. More attention also needs to be given to emerging markets such as India and China. One thing the Minister did not mention was the possible effects of the Queensland floods on the Fiji industry.

N0090. NEW REGIONAL HQ IN SUVA. Last year it was all about moving regional headquarters from Fiji though none were moved. This year starts with the Center for the Development of Enterprise (CDE) that will soon set up its  Pacific headquarters in Suva. This was announced on Friday by Foreign Minister Ratu Inoke Kubuabola and visiting CDE Director Mr Jean-Eric Romagne and the Head for the CDE Pacific office to be based in Suva, Mr Jean-Pierre Mathey. -- Based on 2011, No: 0240 /MOI.

The CDE is an ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific)/EU joint institution created in the framework of the Cotonou Agreement and its finances mainly come from the European Development Fund (EDF). Its objective is to ensure the development of professional ACP enterprises operating in the private sector. CDE provides non-financial services to ACP companies and to joint initiatives of ACP and EU economic operators in various economic sectors, with the main aim to increase competitiveness of ACP enterprises.

N0091.ALLEGED MURDERER BACK IN NZ. Devesh Shama, accused of murdering his wife Ranjeeta, was charged with murder in the Hamilton District Court on Saturday. Extradicton from Fiji was unnecessary as he returned voluntarily to NZ following his arrest by Fji Police. His 4-year old son Akesk is being cared for by NZ welfare authorities as Akesh has no close relatives in New Zealand.

Book Review: Michael Field's "Swimming with Sharks"

IDs, Asian Links, 'Doom and Gloom', Tourism, Domestic Violence, New FNU Campus

NEW QUOTES FOR THE WEEK. SUGAR QUESTION ON NA SALA CAVA. Right sidebar.

NATIONAL ID CARD PROPOSAL. The suggestion by Ministry of Defence and National Security Senior Official Joji Washington that Fiji should introduce an national ID card was always going to raise eyebrows. There's no question it would "strengthen the work of law enforcement, immigration, customs, bio-security, border police, AFL security, airline security, port security and outsourced security personnel." It may also prove to be efficient for the general public.

Singapore has had compulsory ID cards for many years and while they seem not to be been misused by the authorities, it could be that people have just got used to having them.  It's handy having only one number to remember for tax, pension, wages, driving, voting, travel and other arrangements. Similar suggestions have surfaced in New Zealand over the years but they have always been opposed by the civil liberties lobby who argued that liberty is more important than efficiency.

In Fiji we can expect similar arguments. Could this efficiency be misused by Fiji authorities? The answer is obviously yes. Few would quibble with a card that will help detection of illicit activities and assist in police investigations. The problem is with its possible use to monitor opponents of the government. But it's more complicated than that. Monitoring activities that could result in civil disorder, threats of violence, bomb scares and assassinations (and all of these have happened) would, I think, be accepted as legitimate uses, but monitoring what in other countries are seen as normal political activities most definitely would  not.

But how to draw the line? Joji Washington talks as if the card is more than a proposal, and I've little doubt his suggestion will appeal to government.  But if it does, mechanisms must be put in place to ensure proper use. There must be checks on who can access information on the cards, and for what purposes. Appeal to the courts must be assured in the event of misuse. My advice for what it's worth would be not to go ahead with the proposal.  Coming in the wake of the telephone and cellphone registrations and delays in lifting PER, it will send out the wrong vibes.  Its negative reception overseas is assured (Michael Field has already started the ball rolling)  but if I were in government,  I'd be more concerned about the sense of unease among Fiji law-abiding citizens. It is possibly, with further study,  a good idea for the future –  but for the present, I think it would produce more  loses than gains.

The cards will contain a micro-chip containing personal bio-data, picture, fingerprint, passport system, ID number, and barcodes for TIN and LTA watch list verification.   For Michael Field's abnormally "even-handed" account, click here. His pilot fish blogger associates will join him soon. And this is TVNZ's balanced coverage.

AS WE WENT TO PRESS: 
GOVERNMENT BEGINS NATIONAL ID CONSULTATION "The Ministry of Defence, National Security and Immigration has begun consultations on the proposed national identification  card. Senior government officials of various departments and ministries took part in a consultation this morning on the way forward. Permanent Secretary for Defence, National Security and Immigration, Mr Jale Fotofili says Government believes there is a need for a national ID card. “We made a presentation to Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama on the issue, he has accepted the idea despite other issues pertaining to its implementation,” Mr Fotofili said. “These ID cards, once in place, will expedite the elections within a day – and thus the reason to carry out the exercise.” he says.  He said that all ministries and departments must be consulted before the project was implemented. -- 2010 No: 1711/MOI. 
[Ed. note: Consultations are needed far beyond ministries and departments. What do the genral public think? And if election efficiency is the issue, there is no hurry.  It's far more important to publish the Roadmap. The  ID would only be issued to future voters and the information contained would be limited.]


PM SLATES NAYSAYERS. The PM  has berated "the same group of people who continue to criticize everything the government does." They say nothing positive, everything is doom and gloom.  They influence many people, including the overseas media. He wonders why the media listen to these "same old critics rather than making their own assessments on the situation on the ground in Fiji" and whether "they really know what has been happening to the economy over the years." Many things were not functioning and the country was going nowhere with the way things were done in the past. Roads were not being constructed, electricity was not being connected to rural areas, and not much development work was carried out in the past, but his government was now changing this.

The PM said the critics should know that he is not bothered by what they are saying because he is focused on implementing the social, political, electoral and economic reforms that will bring true democracy in Fiji before the next elections.

Speaking at the launch of a new electricity power service at Natoaika Village in rural Naitasiri,  he said people are being mislead into thinking "everything was okay in the past. He told the villagers that while his government is not an elected one, it is working  hard and has a definitive plan to hand over a better Fiji to a new government in 2014. He called on people not to be swayed by the lies that are spread through by those working to undermine his government.

'Pacific Plate' Moves North

Three short items that support Prof Herr's contention that Australian (and NZ) policies are not helping them to maintain their influence—and business— in the South Pacific.

PACIFIC BROTHERHOOD. Meeting with "interested investors" from China and Singapore this week, the PM urged them to consider opportunities in other South Pacific island countries. “When you invest in Fiji also look at opportunities in Samoa, Tonga, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. We do not want to be just the leader but we want to move forward together with our Pacific neighbours.” -- Based on 2010 No:1670/MFA.


SINGAPORE TRADE OFFICE. Fifteen visiting Singapore business people have urged the PM
to open a trade office in Singapore. “We would love to have one trade office in Singapore because of our strategic location and it will help the Fiji Government in its look north policy,” said one of them.

CONFUCIUS, RENMINBI, WEAPONS, HIGH LEVEL CHINESE VISIT. The Chinese and Fiji foreign ministers meeting in Beijing this week discussed a wide range of bilateral exchanges, cooperation and other issues. China will be establishing a Confucius Institute in Fiji and will explore the notion also of establishing sister cities with some of China’s fast growing metropolitan cities. Ratu Inoke  acknowledged the Chinese authorities’ desire to extend assistance to improve public service excellence by offering places to the Fiji Public Service Commission for training opportunities of Fiji’s senior civil servants in the China Executive Leadership Academy in Shanghai.

The duo also discussed the possibility of including the Chinese fast growing currency; the (Renminbi) RMB, into the basket of Fiji’s trading currencies. “This initiative will assist tremendously in facilitating Fiji’s trade with China and is also part of Fiji’s Look North Policy,” Ratu Inoke said. Further, Fiji is now
seriously looking at the prospect of purchasing weapons from Chinese manufacturers to assist Fiji’s effort in participation in UN Peacekeeping and Peace building Missions. Foreign Minister Yang confirmed that he would like to formally visit Fiji in the near future and advised on the necessity of building strong political and bilateral relation founded on mutual respect and trust. -- Based on 2010
No:1669/MFA.

************

ALL IS NOT 'GLOOM AND DOOM'. Permanent Secretary for Women, Social Welfare and Poverty Alleviation Govind Sami said Prof Waden Narsey's 'gloom and doom’predictions told only part of the story. He said his Ministry continues to target rural areas that receive 70% of their poverty alleviation funding. To lay blame on the 2006 Coup and to ignore the negative impacts of Australian,New Zealand and the EU was "misplaced. “The sugar industry earnings were always likely to nosedive after the decision by EU to take away subsidies and the failure of the mill administration to moderise, improve rolling stock and rationalisation of operations were thwarted by politicians." -- Based on 2010 No:1667/MOI.

VISITOR ARRIVALS for May were up nearly 10,000 more compared with the same month last year. This represented an increase of 24.9% to 47,062 when compared to 37,666.  Most visitors were from Australia, about 22,941, a 48.7% increase,followed by New Zealand with 7,070,  an increase of 15%.  -- Based on 2010 No:1674/MOI.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. Last month Shamima Ali of the the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre claimed people were unaware of Government's Domestic Violence Decree 2009. The Attorney General and Minister for Justice Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum denied this claim but in response has announced another workshop on the Decree's implementation. Other workshops have already been conducted for the police, prosecutors, NGO’s and the judiciary. The new workshop to be chaired by former High Court Judge Madam Nazhat Shameem  will be held at Suvavou House next Thursday 21st. An invitation has been extended to the Minister for Women and her Permanent Secretary, the Solicitor General, the DPP, the Chief Justice, the Chief Registrar, the Chief Magistrate, the Family Court Judge, the Commissioner of Police and representatives of all relevant non-government organisations for women.

FNU $40m NADI CAMPUS. The PM opened Fiji National University's new $40m Nadi campus last week, saying that the extension to the West makes tertiary and vocational education more accessible to all income groups. With its proximity to major tourism destinations and Nadi international airport it will offer specialized courses in hospitality and aviation. The PM hoped the hospitality training would provide the "opportunity for many of the hotel properties, who hitherto have not done so, to use Fijians in senior management positions." Other specialised courses planned include landscaping and horticulture, and centres are planned for Tavua, Rakiraki, Ba and Sigatoka. Some 5,000 students will be enrolled at the Nadi campus.

Time to Ease NZ's Sanctions Against Fiji by Michael Field

Michael Field is not my favourite journalist.  In my opinion, he too often presents sensation as news and he sometimes seems lax with his facts, but  this article, published on 6 April, was an unexpectedly balanced assessment of NZ's relations with Fiji.  At least, that's my opinion.  I thought it worth publishing here.

 

Michael Field’s “Swimming with Sharks” -- Thakur Ranjit Singh

Michael Field Is At It Again: Is this "Vindictive, Deceitful Journalism"?

"KIWI PAIR CAN LEAVE FIJI WITH JUST 2 BAGS."  Under this heading, Michael Field  writes, "a New Zealand couple made prisoners in their own resort in Fiji are being forced out this week with one piece of baggage each."

The alleged "imprisonment" commenced two months ago when the couple failed to meet outstanding loan interest repayments. Field does not mention these debts and provides little to no background or explanation for their eviction and deportation except a presumed capriciousness by Government and brutality by "soldiers" (reservists working for a security firm).

All he said was, "The Sherlocks' ejection comes as the military regime of Voreqe Bainimarama has begun issuing decrees – which cannot be challenged in court – effectively seizing foreign private property."

The couple have lived in Fiji for 22 years and are Fiji citizens. I doubt Field's story that they are being  forced out of the country. But it is no surprise that if they are leaving, they will do so with only two bags. Their "three containers of personal possessions" would be hard to fit in a plane. 

MY ENQUIRIES SO FAR indicate that the Sherlock affair is to do with a Fiji Development Bank foreclosure due to unpaid loan interest, and nothing else. I am told Jim Sherlock refused to speak to Field because of his earlier misreporting of the affair.  At the worst it is a matter of unwise action by the bank and/or ineffectual legal representation by the Sherlocks' lawyer. Absolutely nothing points to government's or the military's involvement, as Field claims.

I understand the Sherlocks are not even leaving Fiji, but are moving to their other resort.  And there is absolutely no truth in Field's claim that "Most of the Sherlock family belongings, including photos, a wedding dress, a car and many rare New Zealand books, have been seized."

"A KIND OF MUGABE LIKE LAND GRAB."  In his other story under the same general heading,  Field stated, "Another New Zealand family, who do not wish to be named, have been told to leave their farm by a military-linked ratu or village chief." I put this story to three reasonably well informed people. With no prompting at all, all three thought he had made the story up, and it does seem a little odd. What ratu, or ordinary citizen for that matter, is not linked with someone in the military? And who was it, a ratu or village chief? The two are not the same. An anonymous family, farm, ratu or chief does not make a very convincing story.

But on his blogsite, Field who has not been in Fiji for several years, claims to know of, and I quote, "the beginnings of a kind of Mugabe land grab. I know of large well-managed properties around Viti Levu where people aligned with the Bainimarama regime are now getting doubtful orders from the corrupt courts to have land seized. In one case, a prominent military appointed court official has managed to get orders seizing white leased farmland without any compensation to the leaseholder."

Since at least one of these alleged evictions has gone through the courts, and there is no further need for anonymity, I wonder why Field does not spell out the details so that others may check his story.

FIELD'S STORIES DAMAGE FIJI ECONOMY AND LIVELIHOODS.  By the time I am able to comment more fully, Field will have inflicted more damage to the credibility of Fiji as an investment destination. This is not the first time his stories have had the potential to adversely affected the Fiji economy and its people's livelihoods. Two months back he misleadingly reported a typhoid outbreak in Fiji's most popular tourist area when he knew the area affected was nowhere near the tourist area and highly unlikely to affect tourists. And he still persists there's a cover up.

Someone to whom I referred his two latest stories called them "vindictive, deceitful journalism and an abuse of New Zealand's media freedom." 

I shall have more to say on his latest claims when my investigation is complete.

Readers who subscribe to papers that have published this story may care to complain or write to the editor.  I  shall contact Pacific Scoop.

DISCLAIMER: One reader, "who does not wish to be named", thinks I have accused Field of  vindictive, deceitful journalism.  This is not the case. I have disputed his "facts" and  his selective use of information, and in trying to get to the bottom of what is happening, I have reported others who doubted one of his stories, and one who questioned his ethics.  My  only addition to his recent stories was the use of speech marks and the question mark in the heading.  We will have to wait to see whether or not his stories are substantially incorrect or misleading, and even then we won't know for certain that he knew his stories were wrong.  Only he knows that.