GCSB protesters have laid formal complaints with the Broadcasting Standards Authority after an inaccurate television report said rocks and bottles were thrown during a Palmerston North rally.
A 3News report on Saturday night claimed Palmerston North people clashed with police and threw bottles and rocks at the city’s protest.
Police have refuted these claims and 3News has accepted it was an error and will issue an apology in tonight’s news bulletin.
Palmerston North people were among the thousands making a public stand to oppose the Government’s Communications Security Bureau Amendment Bill – which will expand the legal power of the GCSB to spy on New Zealanders.
About 150 people gathered in the city centre on Saturday to march around The Square and voice their opinions on the controversial topic of covert surveillance.
Protest organiser Teanau Tuiono said the event was a family friendly, peaceful protest that allowed people to be informed on the proposed law change. The organisers invited protesters to the pub afterward to continue talks.
Tuiono said he was disappointed when he saw the opening segment of TV3’s 6pm news bulletin state that Palmerston North protesters had been causing havoc, but with no footage of them doing so.
The show’s anchor, Sacha McNeil, introduced the segment by mentioning the violence, however the clip and voice-over did not provide any back up of the claims.
