A media assault on the Rena's officers' name suppression order failed today with the captain's lawyer Paul Mabey QC using the local newspaper's own editorials as an example why name suppression should be continued for the men's safety.
TVNZ, TV3, Fairfax and APN, which owns the Bay of Plenty Times, paid lawyer Keith Catran to argue a case for the interim name suppression orders on the Rena's master and first officer to be lifted.
Keith's submissions included a raft of precedents.
A photograph of Rena's captain, blurred, taken at his first court appearance last week.
He said the name suppression should lapse because the captain's name has been published overseas and can be readily obtained through a simple internet search.
In reply, Paul Mabey acknowledged the name may be available, but their photos aren't.
The men who are charged under the Maritime Transport Act, and may also face charges under the Resource Management Act, are both on bail in the community and have the right to be able to go about their business until the court decides the charges, says Paul.
At present, they are able to do so, but publication of photographs will enable them to be readily identified while walking down the street.
The men are being held in New Zealand, the court has their passports, and if they can't move safely there is a problem for the court.
He referred to statements in Bay of Plenty Times editorials blaming the captain and criticising the earlier court decision on name suppression.
The paper also published comments along the lines of the captain should walk the plank, or be put in Kelly Tarlton's fish tank.
The paper's overall stance was inflammatory and might incite actions against his client, says Paul.
The judge upheld the non publication orders, saying they are interim orders and not permanent. While public interest is a factor, so is the safety of people subject to the court's jurisdiction.
Paul Mabey was speaking to a joint memorandum filed by himself, the first officer's lawyer Mark Beech and crown prosecutor Rob Ronayne.
The two men are remanded on bail to reappear in the Tauranga District Court on November 2.
5 comments
Typical BOPT
Posted on 19-10-2011 16:04 | By philthrottle
Which part of "innocent until proven guilty" does the Times not understand ? I am sure that if guilty there will be serious penalties in this case, but there may also be facts and circumstances that are not yet known or obvious to the public - or BOPT.
what r the dimensions
Posted on 19-10-2011 18:18 | By waitandwatch
i am sure there are more than 3 dimensions to this developing disaster. we need to put aggression aside and attend to the cleanup operationon hand. yes at the time of confessions the truth will set us free!!! For what has happenned. Shame on them. if it happens again shame on us. in the meantime let us bury our dead and say sorry to the creatures both big and small.
Waste of Times
Posted on 20-10-2011 09:15 | By Scooter
To be fair, Phil, the list of things that are not immediately obvious to the BOPT editorial team would fill most of the containers on the Rena. If it makes you feel better, there could soon be a changing of the guard - or a re-shuffling of the deck chairs on the Titanic - at that once-glorious rag...
They must be kacking it
Posted on 20-10-2011 17:50 | By pomfart
I feel sorry for them. So, they've run a ship aground. It's the maritime equivalent of running a car off the road into a ditch. I don't see people jumping up and down at that. Too many angry people getting carried away.
no big deal??
Posted on 21-10-2011 09:17 | By Donnaw
I hope they are kacking it, they have the responsibilty of being in charge of a very large ship, i really dont think it is the same as running a car into a ditch, the effects of this are going to be here for a very long time, and we are the ones that will suffer from this....so yes it is a very big deal! who cares what their names are, it not going to change what happened, but they do need to be made an example of, so this dosnt happen again, i dont feel sorry for them at all, they knew what the consequences could be for not doing the right right thing, they took that risk and look whats come of it....
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