Richard Goodwin against the New Zealand Herald

The New Zealand Herald published an article on April 17, 2025, titled Two by Twos: MP Hamish Campbell ‘deeply embedded’ in religious group under investigation by FBI, police.

The story reported that National MP Hamish Campbell had been accused of downplaying his connection to a secretive religious movement under investigation by the FBI and NZ Police over allegations of sexual abuse.

Mr Campbell admitted to his connection to the organisation through family and that he was a member. But the NZ Herald said multiple sources claimed Mr Campbell was an “elder” in the Two by Twos ministry and, over the years, had been responsible for hosting many weekly Bible meetings at his private home in Christchurch.

Richard Goodwin complained that ‘outing’ Mr Campbell as a member of the Two by Twos was a breach of his privacy and appeared to be a cynical, politically motivated attempt to damage his reputation. 

“The article portrayed the Christian group “in a censorious and cynical way that besmirches their reputations in an unfair and discriminatory way.”

“[Mr] Campbell is described as “deeply embedded” in the TBTs, an expression that is typically used to describe spy’s or criminals involved in illegal activities, when no evidence is presented that he has done anything wrong. The TBTs are described as “a secretive religious group”, which is factually incorrect. The fact that it is small, doesn’t seek publicity, own buildings and has no paid staff does not mean it is being deliberately secretive.”

“It appears that there is another agenda to discredit and undermine the group, by conflating the offending of a small percentage of its members with the church as a whole, implying by association that the church is a ‘hot-bed’ of CSA [child sex abuse], when in fact there is no evidence presented that the levels of CSA amongst its members are higher than in other sectors of society.

Mr Goodwin believed the article breached Media Council Principles (1) Accuracy, Fairness and Balance, (2) Privacy, (4) Comment and Fact, and (5) Discrimination and Diversity.

In response the NZ Herald denied attempting to paint the Two by Twos in the most negative light.

“Our reporting has been based on interviews with former members of the church, statements from police, statements from international authorities, statements from Hamish Campbell and church spokespeople. “The FBI investigation is a relevant fact, as is the New Zealand police investigation where 27 people have reported allegations of historical abuse in an organisation believed to have only 2500 members in this country.

“The Herald stands by its decision to name Hamish Campbell as a member of the church. There is immense public interest in reporting the activities of an MP. In this instance, Campbell was not forthcoming over the extent of his involvement in the church. Initially, he maintained his “connection to the organisation has been through family”. It wasn’t until days of repeated questioning by journalists – with sources contacting the Herald with more information and claims that Campbell was an “elder” – that the MP changed his statement and said he was a member who has hosted prayer groups at his house. Campbell was aware of the existing scrutiny on the church due to the ongoing police investigation.

“In terms of reporting on the church's structure, it is relevant precisely because of how opaque it is. The church has no publicly available literature/publications and is not registered as a charity in this country where it would be required to file financial and other statements. The only way we can provide information for the New Zealand public on this church is via interviewing members and former members.”

The NZ Herald also referred to a former member who described the group’s structure and secrecy as dangerous and believed the movement of the workers between homes enabled abusers to have access to children.

It added that at every point of its reporting, it had sought comment from and attempted to get interviews with church leaders and had always printed Hamish Campbell's comments in full. Comment from church leadership was also printed in its entirety.

The Media Council was disappointed that it took a month for the NZ Herald to respond to this complaint and that it did so only after the Media Council asked for its comment on the complaint.

However, the Media Council agrees that there is significant public interest in the issues raised and the NZ Herald has solid justification for its robust reporting. It is certainly notable and newsworthy that a Member of Parliament was accused of downplaying his links to a secretive church group which had been the subject of police inquiries into allegations of child sex abuse.

Mr Goodwin is entitled to his view that the article appeared to be a cynical, politically motivated attempt to damage Mr Campbell’s reputation but provided no evidence to support a claim that the article breached any of the Media Council’s Principles he cited.

The article was not shown to be inaccurate, unfair or unbalanced. The Media Council also did not believe that reporting on Mr Campbell’s involvement in the group was a breach of his privacy. Principle (2) says everyone is normally entitled to privacy but “the right of privacy should not interfere with publication of significant matters of public record or public interest.”  The activities of a member of Parliament in a controversial religious group is a significant matter of public interest.

No case was made to show how the article breached Principles (4) Comment and Fact or (7) Discrimination and Diversity, which describes religion as a legitimate subject for discussion when it is relevant and in the public interest.

Decision:  No grounds to proceed.