MEDIAWATCH: The Talley’s defamation trial is far more serious a threat to free speech than The Platform being held accountable by the BSA
The true free speech issue in NZ right now is not the BSA vs Sean Plunkett, it is what Talley’s has been trying to do to TVNZ…
Talley’s defamation trial: TVNZ warns of chilling effect on NZ journalism
Television New Zealand has warned the country’s news industry operations – and those of individual bloggers and writers – would be curtailed if the courts find against it in a long-running defamation claim brought by Talley’s Group.
The state-owned broadcaster claimed in the High Court at Auckland that it took adequate care in reporting on food processing giant Talley’s, and it was important to both the country and the media industry that this role was protected.
Talley’s has sued over six stories broadcast by its Christchurch reporter Thomas Mead in 2021-22 critical of the Nelson-based conglomerate’s health and safety standards and misconduct in its management of workplace injuries.
Davey Salmon KC, acting for TVNZ, said in closing arguments yesterday that the broadcasters’ newsroom was one of the largest in the country, and if its usual journalistic practices were insufficient to trigger the responsible journalism defence then the doctrine would apply to no one – especially not smaller news operations or individual bloggers.
…Winston screams stasi censorship, Sean declares he’s going to war, the Free Speech Union gets to pretend they aren’t a Zionist front group, but the REAL challenge to Free Speech is Talley’s attempt to punish TVNZ for being truthful about Talley’s appalling history of abusing worker rights!
Journalistic privilege gives protection between the whistleblower, the journalist and the media platform, for Talley’s to try it and breach that so they can go on a witch hunt against whistleblowers is extraordinary and should be leading every news platform because it cuts to the heart of corporate power vs the Fourth Estate.
Talley’s is NZs biggest scumbag company.
Talley’s crew hacked off by hair shaving
Crew members from a Nelson-based Talley’s ship say they feel violated after their hair was shaved to comply with company drug-testing.
AFFCO blasted over ‘petty’ t-shirt dispute
The Council of Trade Unions is blasting AFFCO’s decision to stand down five staff for wearing campaign t-shirts, as completely ridiculous.
AFFCO said the t-shirts, with the slogan ‘Jobs that count’ on the front and ‘Meat Workers Union’ on the back…resemble gang insignia.
Union says AFFCO/Talley’s is trying to muzzle free speech
The Meatworkers’ Union says Affco Talleys is trying to stop its workers talking about the company on Facebook and other social media.
Over the last three years ACC has paid out $8 million to nearly 5000 Talley’s employees – that’s more than one injury for every worker employed by Talley’s companies. 1286 Talley’s workers were injured on the job last year alone.
AFFCO Talley’s is run by fanatical anti-unionists and have so much power they can play games like attempting to force TVNZ to hand over whistleblower information so they can intimidate everyone else in the media.
Pretending that Sean vs the BSA is the biggest free speech issue in NZ is a culture war fight masquerading as a free speech issue.
Right wing rednecks getting pinged for being dickheads is not nearly as important as one of the most anti-union corporations in NZ trying to silence TVNZ from exposing them.
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I’ve boycotted Talley’s products for years, and certainly not due to TVNZ because I haven’t watched television for years either. I’d like to, but it’s utterly abysmal and if the BSA were doing it’s job properly New Zealand viewers might have something worth watching. We haven’t. Standards? Ha ha.
Picking on Sean Plunket is a different issue altogether, and if the dumbos running the BSA are now gunning for non-broadcasters, bloggers, and internet addicts who hurt somebody’s feelings, I’d disband them altogether as a colossal waste of tax payer funding. Bullies.
Did the BSA hurt Sean’s feelings. Did poor Winston get hurt feeling also. Plunkett and Peters, sound like a lawyers firm. Both bullies.
Bob McC is largely funded by far-right “Christian” foundations in USA. No surprises there!
Corrupt Gnat. “ Did the BSA hurt Sean feelings?” I think it was Sean who hurt someone’s feelings so they complained to the BSA, who then tried to do Plunket for saying something which wounded both the hurt boy, and the BSA themselves. In the UK Plunket could end up in prison for something like this, but Nazi Germany was worse.
Well America or should I say Trump is now criminalizing people for voicing disagreement about Charlie Kirk and arresting them all because he was Trumps rightwing mouthpiece. The same here with Plunkett, he’s the right’s mouthpiece.
Plunkett’s mistake was that he arrogantly stated to the BSA that he doesn’t recognize their authority, so yes he did get hurt feelings and yes you are correct a person took offense to a Plunkett comment but rather than discussing it once again Plunkett’s arrogance set in and believing he has a higher power immaturely dismissed the person. He reminds me so much of that National cliche “don’t you know who I Am!” Plunkett gets all that is thrown at him and I afford him zero sympathy.
Medal is in the post
Bob Mc Coskrie should get on his bike and fuck of to the USA we don’t need their racist shit here and even worse the funders call themselves Christians bunch of bloody hypocrites. And Winstone is no better his comments incite racism, and he has no problem shitting on his own people by calling their moko kaue scribbles.
Winston is a potato ,brown on the out side and white on the inside .Potaka is of the same mold and both are shit people .
Oh there is a long tale to be told about Talleys. They even tried to shut me up as a MWU organiser at one stage through legal action and ended up having to pay the union $12k to settle their action. They objected to Helen Kelly being in mediation – she withdrew so as not to hold things up and then I found her later having her chemotherapy. I was never allowed in the bargaining because I had upset the little petals. This is their modus operandi. I am writing about it all ; including the t shirt incident, where I was also denied access to the site and at the meeting over the road where we were told the t shirts were like gang insignia. Those “gang insignia” t shirts said “Jobs that Count” with the MWU logo below and on the back Workers, Whanau, Community. Shocking eh? I think I particularly upset them when I called out Nadia Lim for having Talleys vegetables in her My Food Bag offerings, and also when the international union movement mobilised to send thousands of emails to Talleys.
Yes they are shit to deal with and are a couple of entitled pricks much like our PM .
Jeepers. The basis for a mafia boss and minions right in liddle ole NZ.
Talleys are an abysmal employer and have been for decades. I understand if they’re the only gig in town and you desperately need the work, but if you have options, why would you voluntarily work for them? Masochism?
The Talleys play by different rules. Many years ago, when I was a Maf observer, the head of our program described a meeting with the Minister & Talley, I think in relation to fish caught & discarded. Having presented her evidence, Talley turned to her & said “We all know you fuck dogs”. It evidences a degree of disrespect for regulating authorities and regulation in general.
Stuart Munro Never heard a good thing said about that, IMO, obnoxious jerk. Got a knighthood for being so ?
Nevertheless, the BSA has no authority re censorship of the internet and Paul Goldsmith is wrong in saying that this is an operational matter. No surprises there either.
When any government entity decides its own function and boundaries, apart from the dubious use of taxpayer dollars, the social and moral chaos is far too big a price to pay. Look what happened
when the Education Dept decided that it had a remit to force transgender ideology upon primary school children, and the police prioritised silencing woman’s voices at Albert Park and have never, ever, as far as I know, explained why.
Even if the BSA and Goldsmith are merely incompetent, they need to be called to account, although it would be much cheaper if they all just sodded off into the sunset.
If somebody who knows such sort of detail could publish an accessible list companies that Talley holds an interest in, they would be doing the NZ public a service.
BSA should have been let loose during covid and closed down all the feral river of filth web bull shit and death and sexual asult threats against the PM and her baby girl .