JOHN HOPE AGAINST STUFF

Overview

Stuff published an article on October 6, 2022, headlined Bringing recycling to one of New Zealand’s remotest places.

The story was about a recycling business which is contracted to run a recycling drop-off transfer station for the Westland District Council in Franz Josef.

John Hope complained the article was grossly misleading as the operation did not have a resource consent or meet other legal requirements.

Stuff News Director Nicole Mathewson said the Westland District Council advised its compliance officer was working with the landowners to ensure the appropriate consents were in place and the business was compliant.

While that suggested it may not have all the relevant consents in place at this point, the council was working with it to ensure it did, so it could continue operating.

The  complainant has not shown that  the story breaches any of the Media Council  principles. The story makes no reference to the legality of the company’s operations. Many businesses continue to run while they negotiate local government resource consent requirements. If a resource consent cannot be obtained that could well be the subject of a later story.

There is no information to show the article was inaccurate.

Decision: There were insufficient grounds to proceed.