DEFAMATION BILL

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1887, 23 October 1913, Page 4

DEFAMATION BILL

j OBSTRUCTION THREATENED. k OPPOSITION LEADER'S ATTITUDE. Mr. V. H. REED (Bay of Islands) reported on behalf of tho Statutes Revisions Committee that it had considered tho Defamation Bill and recoint mended that it should bo allowed to proceed with amendments. The amendments mado by the committee provido that in addition to tho i list of privileged publications of reports 1 set out in the Bill, as introduced, it ) shall be lawful to publish any police or • other Government report or notice, so • far as it relates to matters qf public > colioorn, if the publication thereof is s for the public benefit, and also fair and i accurate reports of meetings of creditors held under tho Bankruptcy Act, as I Well as meetings of shareholders of any i bank or public company, so far as they relate to matters of public concern, and ■ so long as the publication is for tho I public lienofit. Clause 18, relating to | "truth published for public beneiit," ' has .been amended, and now reads as i under:—"lt is a good defence in an action for dofamation that the matter is ' true." The following • addition to Clause 23 has also been mado: "It is a gofid defence to a prosecution for the publication of defamatory matter that tlio defamatory matter is true, and that it was for the public benefit that the publication complained of should be made." SIR J. WARD (Leader of the Opposition) asked what alterations the committee had made in the Bill, and whether the report contained particulars of the divisions in Committee. He had heard that an attempt was to be made to put this Bill at the head of the Order Paper, and force it through in a hurry. Tho Bill wag not going through in a hurry. It was going to be debated very fully. The PRIME MINISTER: You are going the right Way to induce us to put it at thb top of the Order Paper tomorrow I Sir J. Ward: Very well. . . . We don't mean to let that Bill go through this session. The Prime Minister: We shall see. Sir J. Ward; Very well. Wo shall seo. You shall see that what I have said is going to be done. The Bill was going to bo one that would take a tremendous lot of time. A budget of amendments would bo moved' on every clause. Tho Bill was going to be very strenuously opposed by members on the Opposition side, of the House, and he would bo surprised if Bome members on tho other side did not oppose it also, Mr. .Reed stated that the minutes of proceedings, including divisions, were not included in the report. An Amusing Statement. The Hon. A. L. HERDMAN said that the statement made to the House by the right honourable gentleman was one of the most amusing that Parliament had ever listened to, and one of the most extraordinary. There had been no' suggestion that this Bill wag going to be rushed through: Every possible facility would be given to honourable members on the other side of the House to discuss tlie Bill. 'It was first asked for, Mr. Herdman wont on to remark, by a deputation of responsible fmntleii'ien who waited on the Primo Minister during the recess. Sir J. Ward: Yes, I know who they were and all about them. , Mr. Herdman said that the deputation had pointed out that the New Zealand law of dofamation was entirely behindhand,'and asked that it should bo brought into line with the law in England and other countries, including Queensland, Tasmania, and South Africa. In passing, Mr. Herdman mentioned that the Bill would give members an opportunity of repealing one c f tlie most stupid, and ono of tho silliestprovisions ever placed on tho Statute Book of this Dominion. There was no necessity for the Leader of the Opposition to got into a tempor or heat, or to become petulant. Tho matter should 1)0 discussed in a cool, calm, quiet way, and if tho honourable gentlemen opposite wanted to obstruct tlio Bill they could take tho responsibility of doing so. Tlio dosiro and intention of the Government was that the question should bo discussed and deliberated upon, in a sane, sound way. He wished to assure .the Houso that the only ■desire of the Government in connection with the law of defamation Was to put upon the Statute Book a law that codified and improved tho existing law—a law that would bo easily understood by the newspaper people and .the general public, and would bo in harmony with the law in England at the present time, mid in Queensland, where it had becvi improved as a result of the efforts t.f the most distinguished jurist in Australasia, Sir Samuel Griffiths, Chief Justice of the Commonwealth. So far as supplying any information as to the deliberations of tho committeo w.as concerned, the Government had no objection to the minutes and particulars of any divisions that took place being laid before the House. The evidence had not been reported in shorthand. Mr. Davey: Will tho minutes give us anything ? Mr. Herdman:_ No, I don't think they will be of tho slightest service, except to show how members Voted. "The Apple of Dlsodrfl." Mr. G. W. RDSSELL (Avon) expressed a hope that the Government ( would reconsider tho question of throwing down upon the floor of the House, at that stago in the session, such .a : measure as tho Defamation Bill, lie quite admitted that tho law of defaniation might need overhauling, but this was the seventeenth week of tlie session, j It would surely be far better to concentrate on measures giving effect to the policy of the Government than to bring down a highly debatable measure of this nature. He did not think it 1 fair that such a Bill should bo brought 1 down at tho present stage of the ses* sion. ■ It was bound to give rise to a ' long and acrimonious discussion, and ( after all it was not a matter of policy. - Ho protested against tho apple of dis- I cord being, thrown down upon tho floor ' of tho House in this way when every- ( ono was anxious to bring the session to ( an end within a reasonablo time. 1 Mr. T. M. WILFORD (Hutt) also 1 expressed a hope that the Government c would not push on with the Bill this * session. It was a necessary measure £ and he approved of a number of tho J clauses it contained, hut somo of tlie ' clauscs wore highly contentious and wero bound to meet with a great deal E of opposition. Tho press and public T would not suffer if the Bill were held 4 over for another year. J Prime Minister on Control. Tlie PRIME MINISTER said that he had no objection to the last two . speeches. They were fairly reasonable in { tone and the hon. members who made them were entitled to do so. He want- c ed to endorse the statement made by the ? Attorney-General that the Bill under I discussion Was the result of a deputa- . tion which waited upon him (Mr. Massey) some months ago. The deputa- '-j tion was representative of practically '! the whole of the press of this country. It asked for an amendment of the libel law on tho ground that the , present law was obsolete, and suggest- 11 cd certain alterations. The, Bill had I been drafted and was in charge of the ' Attorney-General. It had been referred to the Statutes Revision Committee which bad reported recommending snine very important alterations and amend- t ments. That was the position at nre- t sent. What he did object to was the v speech made by the Lender of the Op- c nbsitioa.-' Ho aid uot think jfche. Loader , 8 .

I of the Opposition was justified in standing up that afternoon and saying that the Bill would not bo allowed to proceed and would not bo allowed to pa3s that session. Sir Joseph Ward: You will liavo to wait a good while before you get it through. Flouting tlie People. Iho Primo Minister said that the . position taken up by tho Leader of tlie Opposition was that ho would obstruct - a measure desired by a majority of tbe - people in this country simply bccauso . he did not approve of it. Tlie'lion, goii- , tleman was justified in moving as many amendments as ho pleased, but the position he had taken up was unjustifiable. So long as he (tlio Primo Minister) occupied a seat on tbe Treasury benches, 1 so long the Government of tlio country ' would control the business of the House. 110 did not- proposo to take | any interference such as had boen iTu;;- ' gested by the hon. gentleman that afterj noon. L Sir Joseph Ward, speaking by the in- ' dnlgfuou of the House, said that lie had ' no objection to the Government con- | trolling tho business of the House, but ho knew exactly what he intended to do ■ in regard to the Defamation Bill—ho ' had told the Primo Minister what ho 1 intonded to do, and ho meant to carry it out. 1 Mr. Nosworthy: We tnean to carry it. Sir Joseph Ward: Very well, we will see. The report of the committee was laid upon the table.