Media Insider podcast: Stuff's Trade Me deal - will staff share in chief executive Sinead Boucher's lucrative payday?; New NZME chair Steven Joyce opens up in first major interview
Steven Joyce sits down for his first major interview since becoming the chair of NZ Herald and Newstalk ZB owner NZME, and we ask Stuff owner Sinead Boucher whether her staff will also share in the rewards of this week's Trade Me deal, as previously promised.
Stuff boss Sinead Boucher
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
a day ago
- Scoop
Resignation Of PM's Press Secretary Highlights Gaps In NZ Law On Covert Recording And Harassment
The sudden resignation this week of one of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's senior press secretaries was politically embarrassing, but also raises questions about how New Zealand law operates in such cases. A Stuff investigation revealed the Beehive staffer allegedly recorded audio of sessions with sex workers, and whose phone contained images and video of women at the gym, supermarket shopping, and filmed through a window while getting dressed. The man at the centre of the allegations has reportedly apologised and said he had sought professional help for his behaviour last year. The police have said the case did not meet the threshold for prosecution. And this highlights the difficulties surrounding existing laws when it comes to non-consensual recording, harassment and image-based harm. Describing his 'shock' at the allegations against his former staffer, the prime minister said he was 'open to revisiting' the laws around intimate audio recordings without consent. If that happens, there are several key areas to consider. Are covert audio recordings illegal? New Zealand law prohibits the non-consensual creation, possession and distribution of intimate visual recordings under sections 216H to 216J of the Crimes Act 1961. These provisions aim to protect individuals' privacy and bodily autonomy in situations where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy. The definition of 'intimate visual recording' under these sections is limited to visual material, such as photographs, video or digital images, and does not extend to audio-only recordings. As a result, covert audio recordings of sex workers engaged in sexual activity would fall outside the scope of these offences, even though the harm caused is similar. If such audio or video recordings were ever shared with others or posted online, that may be a criminal offence under the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 – if it can be proved this was done with the intention to cause serious emotional distress. What about covert filming of women in public places? Covert recording of women working out or walking down a road, including extreme closeups of clothed body parts, would unlikely meet the definition of 'intimate visual recording'. That is because they do not typically involve nudity, undergarments or private bodily activities, and they often occur in public places where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy. Even extreme closeups may not meet the threshold unless they are taken from beneath or through clothing in a way that targets the genitals, buttocks or breasts. While they are invasive and degrading, they may remain lawful. By contrast, it is more likely that covert filming of women dressing or undressing through a window would satisfy the definition, depending on where the women were. For example, were they in a place where they would have a reasonable expectation of privacy? If the non-consensual recording captures a person in a state of undress, then the creation of such images or videos could be considered a crime. Are any of these behaviours 'harassment'? Under the Harassment Act 1997, 'harassment' is defined as a pattern of behaviour directed at a person that involves at least two specified acts within a 12-month period, or a single continuing act. These acts can include following, watching, or any conduct that causes the person to fear for their safety. Although covert filming or audio recording is not expressly referenced, the acts of following and watching within alleged voyeuristic behaviour, if repeated, could fall within the definition. But harassment is only a crime where it is done with the intent or knowledge that the behaviour will likely cause a person to fear for their safety. This is a threshold that might be difficult to prove in voyeurism or similar cases. Covert recording of women's bodies, whether audio or visual, is part of a broader pattern of gender-based violence facilitated by technology. Feminist legal scholars have framed this as 'image-based sexual abuse'. The term captures how non-consensual creation, recording, sharing or threatening to share intimate content violates sexual autonomy and dignity. This form of harm disproportionately affects women and often reflects gender power imbalances rooted in misogyny, surveillance and control. The concept has become more mainstream and is referenced by law and policymakers in Australia and the United Kingdom. Has New Zealand law kept up? Some forms of image-based sexual abuse are criminalised in New Zealand, but others are not. What we know of this case suggests some key gaps remain – largely because law reform has been piecemeal and reactive. For example, the intimate visual recording offences in the Crimes Act were introduced in 2006 when wider access to digital cameras led to an upswing in covert filming (of women showering or 'upskirting', for example). Therefore, the definition is limited to these behaviours. But the law was drafted before later advances in smartphone technology, now owned by many more people than in 2006. Generally, laws are thought of as 'living documents', able to be read in line with the development of new or advanced technology. But when the legislation itself is drafted with certain technology or behaviours in mind, it is not necessarily future-proofed. Where to now? There is a risk to simply adding more offences to plug the gaps (and New Zealand is not alone in having to deal with this challenge). Amending the Crimes Act to include intimate audio recordings might address one issue. But new or advanced technologies will inevitably raise others. Rather than responding to each new form of abuse as it arises, it would be better to take a step back and develop a more principled, future-focused criminal law framework. That would mean defining offences in a technology-neutral way. Grounded in core values such as privacy, autonomy and consent, they would be more capable of adapting to new contexts and tools. Only then can the law provide meaningful protection against the evolving forms of gendered harm facilitated by digital technologies.
Kiwiblog
a day ago
- Kiwiblog
Will Stuff staff get their 10%?
Stuff owner Sinead Boucher has sold 50% of Stuff Digital to Trade Me, which in turn is 100% owned by Apax Partners, a British private equity firm with around US$77 billion in assets. Good on Boucher. I have no issue with foreign investment in media companies. The discipline they may bring to Stuff Digital could be very good for them. In 2021, Stuff reported: Stuff owner and chief executive Sinead Boucher is gifting a 10 per cent share of the media firm to the company's close to 900 staff. The stake in the company will be transferred to a trust controlled by employee representatives, rather than the shares being directly owned by staff members. The arrangement means staff would receive through the trust a share of any dividends Stuff pays out, and 10 per cent of the sale proceeds if Stuff was later sold or listed, she said. This never happened, as it was later modified to happening if any shares were sold or exited. Presumably this has happened, so we will see 10% of Stuff Digital transferred to a staff trust? Radio NZ report: After Boucher bought Stuff for $1 in 2020, she told staff that a 10 percent stake of the company would be put into a staff trust in the event that the business was sold or listed. A spokesperson said that, while there was still some time until the deal was to be completed, it was Boucher's expectation that a payment would be made into the staff trust. A payment? Would it be a payment equal to one fifth of what Trade Me paid? Shouldn't it be non-voting shares of 10% of Stuff Digital, rather than a payment? After all, that is what was promised?
NZ Herald
a day ago
- NZ Herald
Markets with Madison: Inside Zuru's empire
Grocery Commissioner worried about power imbalance between suppliers and supermarkets. Video / Herald NOW PM's deputy press secretary has resigned after "serious and concerning" allegations were made against him. Video / NZ Herald Fire and Emergency had about to 60 callouts in Northland, Auckland, Bay of Plenty and Waikato. Video / NZ Herald Herald NOW: Daily Weather Update: June 5 2025. Video / Herald NOW Herald NOW: Daily News Update: June 5 2025. Video / Herald NOW Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi addressed reporters head of the House debate on the Privileges Committee recommendation. Video / Mark Mitchell NZME chair Steven Joyce on his radio history (and pranks); editorial independence and the future of OneRoof. Video / NZ Herald Reporter Sinembali is on the Parliament steps, where supporters have turned out for 3 MPs facing possible suspension for their haka in opposition to the Treaty Principles Bill. Waikato man Dave Alexander heads to the United States to break the land speed record in his homebuilt Lakester car. Hundreds of thousands of 'nurdles' have washed up on Waiheke's Oneroa Beach. Video / Dean Purcell, Alyse Wright 'I can't kick to the head, because I can't reach that high now, but I can take someone's knee out,' says 86-year-old martial arts teacher Mary Patu. MetService Severe Weather Update: June 4. Video / Metservice CCTV footage shows Ahamad Samsudeen before his knife attack at LynnMall supermarket. Video / Supplied The brother of a 1-year-old boy whose finger got trapped in a tray table demonstrates how the injury happened. The Government has rejected a vision to ban cruise ships from Milford Sound and close its airstrip while announcing $15.2m for infrastructure upgrades & conservation projects.
