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RNZ News
37 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Ban on protesting outside homes rebalances freedom of expression and privacy rights
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has announced protesting outside someone's home will become an offence. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii The government's ban on protesting outside someone's home will rebalance the right to freedom of expression and the right to privacy, a law professor says. But another academic has questioned whether a new law is necessary, and says police may struggle to enforce it. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith announced on Friday protesting outside someone's home would become an offence, punishable with a fine or jail time. While it would apply to all residences, Goldsmith said there had been increased reports of demonstrations targeting the homes of public figures like MPs, judges and other officials. Otago University law professor Andrew Geddis said current laws around protests only related to public settings. "Protests that take place outside someone's home really do intrude into a sort of domestic sphere where people usually feel they should be able to exist unperturbed and unthreatened," he said. "So this particular change in the law will help to restrike that balance." Otago University law professor Andrew Geddis. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly Geddis said the change would plug a legal gap highlighted by a Supreme Court ruling nearly two decades ago. The 2007 case, Brooker v Police, involved a man who was convicted of disorderly behaviour for standing outside a police officer's house playing the guitar and singing protest songs against her, he said. But the Supreme Court found his behaviour was not disorderly. "The Supreme Court said that disorderly behaviour only applies to the public consequences of your behaviour, how that affects the public place. "And just because it's intruding into someone's private home, that's not a consideration as to whether the protest is covered by disorderly behaviour," he said. It meant the balance between people's rights within their home and people's rights to protest in public was "out of whack", Geddis said. One of the judges noted the court's finding could lead to more protests outside people's homes, and Parliament would need to consider that at some point, he said. "It turns out he was right." Victoria University law professor Steven Price said police may find it hard to enforce the new law. Goldsmith said it would be tightly targeted and prohibit "unreasonable disruptions", but Price said the independent police watchdog's review of policing protests found officers struggled to make a call on that. "What the IPCA had to say about that ... is that police have trouble on the ground having to make fine distinctions about what's an unreasonable disruption and what's not, and that seems a fair point to make," he said. "But on the face of [Goldsmith's] press release, it doesn't really solve the problem." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
International partners out of Forum Leaders Summit
It's now confirmed! No external partners have been invited to the Pacific Leaders meeting in Solomon Islands.
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Who pays when a supermarket price tag is wrong?
A Whanganui SuperValue displayed some dodgy maths recently, with the price per 100g not adding up to the main price shown. Photo: Supplied When a Whanganui SuperValue displayed some dodgy maths recently, shopper David Bradbury argued he should have been able to choose to pay the lower of the prices on offer. He spotted bacon that was advertised as selling for a different price per 100g than the main display price. Shoulder bacon was 200g for $4.69 but then 94c per 100g, and middle bacon was 200g for $5.79 but $1.16 per 100g. "I pointed out to the closest person in a shop uniform the poor arithmetic ... He said the big number was the right one. I said I should be able to choose. He said no." A SuperValue spokesperson said the unit price was incorrect . "On our pricing tickets customers will find the price of the item and a unit price which enables them to make an informed decision of value based on the unit of measure. "In this instance, the unit price was incorrect on the 200gm Grandpas Shoulder Bacon and Middle Bacon products. The price was however the correct price the customer would have paid at the apologise for the error and any confusion caused. "We know how important it is that all of our tickets are accurate and we have now corrected the pricing tickets to reflect the correct unit price." Vanessa Horne, Commerce Commission general manager, competition, fair trading and credit said she encouraged him to report the concern so the commission could assess whether the shop was complying with the laws it enforced. "The trader could be prosecuted where there is serious non-compliance with the Unit Pricing Regulations. "The Unit Pricing Regulations are there to help consumers easily compare products based on the price-per-unit and make informed choices about which product offers them the best value." She said the Commerce Commission had ongoing investigations into supermarket operators . "We have recently filed criminal charges against Woolworths NZ, Pak'nSave Silverdale, and Pak'nSave Mill Street for what the Commission alleges was inaccurate pricing and misleading specials that may have breached the Fair Trading Act. "Supermarkets have long been on notice about the importance of accurate and clear pricing and specials, and we're not satisfied with the continuing issues we're seeing across the industry. "The major supermarkets are large, well-resourced businesses that should invest the time and effort to get pricing and promotions right." Consumer NZ spokesperson Sahar Lone said a supermarket that displayed incorrect unit pricing could be breaching the Fair Trading Act. "If you notice an incorrect unit price, point this out to a supervisor in store. The store has the right to correct its pricing mistakes. If it doesn't sort the issue, or it's widespread, you can lodge a complaint with the Commerce Commission." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
