Everyone thinks they know satire when they see it. But does that help our understanding of where it should sit within the law? Nicholas Holm explains why it matters. Before the case was cut short, I was scheduled to appear as an expert witness for the Defence in the recent High Court case, Jones versus … Read more
This week I watched a man shoot himself in the foot so many times I was amazed he could walk out of the courtroom. Here’s my honestly held opinion. Leonie Hayden was at Wellington High Court thanks to the support of Spinoff Members. To support independent, homegrown journalism, join today. The high-profile case of Robert … Read more
The high-profile case at the Wellington High Court has come to an early halt after lawyers for Bob Jones, who was suing writer and director Renae Maihi, announced they will no longer continue. Sir Bob Jones was suing Renae Maihi for defamation after she presented a petition to parliament in 2018 to strip Jones of … Read more
In 2018, Robert Jones wrote a piece he argued was ‘satire’, in which called for an annual ‘Māori Gratitude Day’. Filmmaker and activist Renae Maihi responded with a petition to have him stripped of his knighthood. Jones is suing her for defamation. You’d be forgiven for thinking it was Sir Bob Jones being sued for … Read more
Danyl Mclauchlan reads the 1977 book Bob Jones on Property, and wonders about the role it played in creating today’s distorted housing market. Sir Bob Jones has been in the news a bit recently. In February he published a column in the NBR suggesting that Waitangi Day be abolished and replaced with “Maori Gratitude Day”, in … Read more
Legal action has been taken by multi-millionaire Bob Jones against two Māori women who have called him and a column he wrote racist. Is it true? And what is racism anyway? We delved into the archives for answers. So two weeks ago it was announced Sir Bob Jones was suing Māori filmmaker Renae Maihi on … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Workers prepare to walk off the job, Nicky Hager gives his account of police harassment, and a march in Tauranga against the proposed begging ban. A wave of strikes are set to hit the public sector, while private sector workers are also taking action. The latest on … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Like it or not, a plastic bag ban is coming, loan sharks are flouting laws, and Bob Jones is going to court. A ban on single-use plastic bags is almost certain to be announced this year. Earlier in the week environment minister Eugenie Sage hinted to Newshub that legislation … Read more
The University of Waikato’s dean of Māori and Indigenous Studies takes a moment to tautoko his colleague Professor Pou Temara in the wake of a petition to strip Sir Bob Jones of his knighthood. Last week a colleague, University of Waikato’s Professor of Tikanga and Reo, Pou Temara, hand delivered a 68,000 strong petition to parliament demanding … Read more
‘I shan’t bother writing any more for NBR,’ says Sir Bob Jones after his piece calling for Māori gratitude is deleted from the paper’s website. Toby Manhire and Duncan Greive report. Bob Jones will be filing no more for the National Business Review after the deletion of his most recent contribution, which included a call … Read more
Knight of the Realm Sir Bob Jones rose from his crypt yesterday and immediately yelled the first racist thing that came to mind. Hayden Donnell asks why we keep enabling this sad bully. The mummified remains of Bob Jones spluttered to life yesterday, coughing up dust and cat fur and dialling into Newstalk ZB. Jones … Read more
We fixed Larry Williams’ abominable ‘ban the beggars’ column. For the most part, all it took was replacing the words ‘beggars’ and ‘begging’ with ‘boomers’. It started with Bob Jones. Then the virus spread. A Wellington mayoral contender called for begging to be banned, in an edited Facebook post that originally called addiction a “lifestyle choice”. A … Read more