Cameron "WhaleOil" Slater has been found guilty of nine out of the ten charges he faced with regard to breaches of name suppression orders. The full decision delivered today by Judge David Harvey can be read here; it's lengthy and technical, but worth a read nonetheless.
Judge Harvey has found that blogs are a form of publication, like any other form of news media. He has laso found that even if a blog is located on a server domiciled outside New Zealand, publication is an offence within New Zealand if it is done locally. That should be food for thought for all of us who blog.
Cameron Slater has been fined a total of $750 on each charge, plus court costs. But he's done us a huge service by getting the whole issue of name suppression into the public spotlight. For that, we should all be grateful. This battle may have been lost, but the war is far from over.
5 comments:
Don't praise the guy.
He knowingly broke the rules for his own publicity - he didn't do anything worthy to have the law revised! This was all self-serving.
One has to assume that his political aspirations on the Shore are also for self-publicity...
A very narrow interpretation, Philbee. You do Whale a disservice by ignoring the principles involved and attributing his actions solely to self-publicity.
As I've commented elsewhere, the legal process was always going to enforce its will on this one. But what can't be denied is that Whale has exposed judicial inconsistency in application of name suppression, privileged treatment for certain professional and "celebrity" types, and a tendency to protect defendants (and even convicted criminals in some cases) rather than unsuspecting members of the public.
Whale has my admiration for a gutsy campaign that I hope will start to right the wrongs of this sordid little blight on our "open justice" system.
Philbee I assume from you post that you would be quite happy to have a convicted paedophile living next door to you and your young children or grandchildren.
Strange.
Yeah PDM 'coz that's the inevitable outcome of having laws which allow for name suppression in certain circumstances. Strange.
I note also y our approval for breaking laws you don't agree with. We should all do that. Perhaps jay-walking in your case?
Slater might have to get a job to pay the fines, so perhaps some good will come of this.
Slater is simply a self-serving arsehole. If you can't see that you are thick.
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