Paper admits story fault

The Dominion Post has admitted it broke the law by publishing a story about Maritime New Zealand's failures in a near-catastrophic shipping accident, based on a draft Transport Accident Investigation Commission report.

In the Wellington District Court yesterday, the newspaper's parent company, Fairfax New Zealand Ltd, pleaded guilty to a single charge of breaching the Transport Accident Investigation Commission Act.

The newspaper ran a story on March 28 about the near-capsize of cargo ship Taharoa Express off Cape Egmont, Taranaki, in June 2007, based on the commission's draft report.

A covering letter attached to the report stated it had been provided in confidence, and "further disclosure of the preliminary report is restricted, and there is an offence for illegitimate disclosure", along with a footer which said any breach of that confidence may result in legal action being taken by the commission.

Once the commission became aware the newspaper planned to publish information from the draft report, it contacted the editor by phone and by post to advise it could be committing an offence.

The paper followed its initial front-page story with a second article on March 30, and a third article and an editorial on April 7.

The commission's lawyer, Dale La Hood, told Judge John Walker yesterday that the stories had prejudiced interested parties who intended to make submissions on the draft report, who were "in the process of sensitive discussions" with the commission.

The purpose of confidentiality in the draft report was to allow interested parties to respond to comments and allegations, and could have seriously undermined the commission's ability to obtain evidence about the incident.

He said the offending "was both deliberate and premeditated".

He asked that the newspaper be fined near the maximum for the offence, which was $25,000, with a discount for its early plea.

Fairfax New Zealand's lawyer Robert Stewart told the court the newspaper's regular lawyer had been unable to provide advice before the story went to print due to a conflict of interest. Another lawyer had advised that it would not be a breach of confidence to print the story, and the Dominion Post proceeded on this advice, he said.

Despite this, the newspaper fully accepted its decision to publish information from the draft report, he said.

He asked that the judge impose a fine in the mid-range of that possible under the act, with a discount for the early plea. Judge Walker reserved his decision.

- NZPA