An investigative journalist who was barred from attending the national apology to survivors of abuse in care has now been granted accreditation.
Parliament’s speaker has now granted temporary Press Gallery accreditation to journalist Aaron Smale for Tuesday’s apology for abuse in care. He must, however, be accompanied by a Newsroom reporter at all times.
Last week, speaker Gerry Brownlee declined an application from Newsroom for Smale to report on the apology.
Parliament’s Press Gallery gallery had asked for an explanation, as a refusal was quite rare, especially when a reporter met the gallery’s criteria for accreditation.
It was told the application was declined, with the speaker citing Smale’s conduct on a prior occasion.
On Monday afternoon, the press gallery wrote to the speaker, requesting a more fulsome explanation.
In an about-turn, the speaker approved the application.
At a media conference at Parliament in July, Smale and the Prime Minister had an exchange over the government’s law and order policies, and whether the Prime Minister would acknowledge the link between abuse and gang membership.
According to Newsroom, Smale had also attended a media event at a youth justice facility in Palmerston North, and pressed children’s minister Karen Chhour over whether it had been appropriate to associate the memory of the Māori Battalion with the new youth justice programme.
“The Beehive was in touch with us to say they believed he had been too forceful and too rude, in their view, in those two occasions,” Newsroom’s co-editor Tim Murphy told Nine to Noon.
Murphy said that Smale had conceded he had pushed the children’s minister a bit far.
“But the one in Parliament, he was asking specific questions and kept asking them of the Prime Minister and I think that became irritating to the Prime Minister,” Murphy said.
Describing Smale as “the most informed, possibly, probably of all New Zealand journalists” on the issue of abuse in state care institutions, Murphy said political discomfort should not be a reason to exclude Smale, and the ban should not stand.
“As a society that values the role of the fourth estate, we should value the work of journalists like Aaron, because it helps us take a critical look at where we have gone wrong and how we may move forward,” said the Greens’ media and communications spokesperson Hūhana Lyndon.
“Barring a leading journalist from an important event like this speaks to this Government’s lack of accountability. It is something we might expect in Putin’s Russia, not 21st century Aotearoa New Zealand.”
Aww, the poor little politicians had their feelings hurt by a pushy journalist.
kept asking them of the Prime Minister and I think that became irritating to the Prime Minister
Yep, poor little PM thinks he’s still a CEO and above question.
I wonder if this mini-saga is illustrative of the government in general. Willing to block, obfuscate and generally be a bit bully-ish when they think they can get away with it. The question for me is why it (presumably) took one of their PR consultants to get them to pull their heads in on this one when it was clearly a dumb idea from the start and guaranteed to get some play in the media as soon as they blocked Smale.
The United States of Clusterfuck have shown them they can do anything and deal with consequences, if any, later.
This is an extremely bad look for Parliament, and our current government. Don’t ask too many questions, or we won’t let you in.
I’m glad the decision was reversed.
Yes it was obviously a bad decision and when asked about it they reversed it. I’m tempted to say this is a move of an inexperienced government, but they have been there for almost a year now and Gerry Brownlee is currently the longest serving member of parliament. There are no excuses.
