Mr Kirk Apologises To Mr Eyre

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31627, 13 March 1968, Page 26

Mr Kirk Apologises To Mr Eyre

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, March 12.

The Leader of the Opposition (Mr Kirk) has written a letter of apology to Mr D. J. Eyre, former Minister of Defence, for remarks broadcast on the eve of the General Election.

The Director-Gen-eral of Broadcasting (Mr G. H. Stringer) said today that the Broadcasting Corporation unreservedly associated itself with the apology.

The text of Mr Kirk’s letter, dated March 12, 1968, is as follows:

“In my final broadcast address on the night of Friday November 25, 1966 (the eve of the General Election), I repeated what had appeared in the ‘New Zealand Herald’ on the morning of the previous day as being the report of an election meeting addressed by you at North Shore on the night of Wednesday, November 25. “Message Defamatory”

“On Friday, March 1, a jury in the Supreme Court at Wellington, after hearing all evidence available to the court, found that the Press Association message to New Zealand newspapers was defamatory of you and that the statement attributed to you was not true in substance and in fact.

“Accordingly, I am taking this early opportunity of tendering to you my sincere apology and I trust that you will accept it, together with the following explanation from me: “As I was to travel to Christchurch on that Friday afternoon, I had to prepare the transcript of my final address on the morning of that day and to pre-record it at the Wellington studio of the Broadcasting Corporation about noon.

“As I prepared that transcript I had before me a copy of the 'New Zealand Herald’ of Thursday, November 24.

“The ‘New Zealand Herald’ was regarded by me as a newspaper of the highest journalistic standing and I had not the slightest reason to believe that the ‘Herald’ would do other than faithfully record and publish what a public man in your position as Minister of Defence had said. “In Good Faith” “I received no information from any source during that Friday (either before making the recording or after the broadcast in the evening), that the accuracy of the report of the meeting as contained in the ‘New Zealand Herald’ was challenged. “The recording of my broadcast was thus made by me in good faith and as a fair comment on a matter of public interest.

“Naturally, I wish this apology to be known as widely as possible and accordingly copies of this letter will be made available to the N.Z.B.C. and the press,” Mr Kirk concluded. N.Z.B.C. Statement

Mr Stringer said that the N.Z.B.C. had broadcast the election eve address of the Leader of the Opposition on November 25, 1966, as it was bound to do. The views expressed in the address were entirely those of Mr Kirk and the political party which he represented.

In the light of the apology which Mr Kirk had now made, the N.Z.B.C. accepted that in commenting upon remarks

about Vietnam attributed t< Mr Eyre, Mr Kirk had relief upon a report of those re marks published in the “Nev Zealand Herald’ on Novembei 24, 1966.

After a full hearing in ths Supreme Court a jury hac found that the report as cir culated by the New Zealand Press Association was not correct and was defamatory to Mr Eyre.

Accordingly, Mr Stringer said, the N.Z.B.C. joined Mr Kirk in expressing its sincere apology for defamatory re marks contained in the broadcast address and its regret al the unfortunate error which had occurred as the result of an incorrect and misleading report.