Google must do better at adhering to New Zealand law.
That was the message from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today as Justice Minister Andrew Little meets with representatives of the internet giant to discuss the blatant breach of name suppression orders last week involving the man accused of killing British backpacker Grace Millane in Auckland.
"I just don't think that's good enough," Ms Ardern said during her final weekly appearance of the year on TVNZ 1's Breakfast, referring to Google's suggestion that the breach was due to an algorithm error.
"I think rightly, as the of Minister of Justice, [Mr Little will be] pointing out that we have domestic legislation that we do need to be upheld," the Prime Minister said. "I think the last thing anyone wants is for this case to be jeopardised in any way.
"We want to make sure that the justice system is robust, and if a decision is made around name suppression that needs to be upheld."
An outpouring of grief continues for the 22-year-old English backpacker and her family. (Source: Other)
During the murder accused's first court appearance last week, the judge overseeing the case initially rejected his bid for name suppression. But his lawyer filed an appeal, triggering temporary name suppression until the appeal is resolved.
Because the case has generated international interest, some overseas media outlets have reported the accused's name as they are not subject to the same restrictions.
While there isn't much the Government can do to stop that, officials can have words with Google, which disseminated the second-hand information in New Zealand last week in a report of trending search topics.
The report showed that the accused's name had been searched over 100,000 times, the Herald noted last week.
Ms Ardern said today there are plenty of international examples in which Google was able to abide by domestic legislation. It should do the same in New Zealand.
"All it takes, obviously, if they are automatically generating some of these emails around search terms is for there to be a final check, before that kind of information is distributed more broadly, ...by an actual human - a single intervention," she said.
Ms Ardern shied away from saying what sanctions New Zealand might consider if the company refuses to comply, suggesting that we wait to see what the Justice Minister reports back after today's meeting.
Andrew Little said distributing information can undermine the justice system. (Source: Other)
"The law is the bargaining chip. There is an expectation that be upheld," she said. "I would be surprised if they have any desire to blatantly breach our legislation.
"What I think out best leveraging tool here is ...I think they'll want to keep that relationship."
TOUGHER SENTENCING
Ms Ardern was less willing to talk about another recent high-profile court case - that of 19-year-old drink driver Rouxle Le Roux, who last week was ordered to serve home detention for a fatal hit-and-run crash in Auckland that killed 15-year-old pedestrian Nathan Kraatskow.
The boy's mother has gathered 135,000 signatures calling for a tougher sentence.
"Obviously, when a parent loses their child that is absolutely devastating," Ms Ardern said today. "The issue that we have is we tend not to intervene in cases or a sentencing by the judiciary because of that separation between the state and the judiciary."
Ms Ardern said she suspects plenty of politicians sympathetic to the mum's anguish will be on hand to accept the petition when it is delivered to Parliament. But when pressed by Breakfast host Jack Tame if the sentence was reasonable, Ms Ardern remained adamant that it isn't her place to say.
"That's not something I'm ever going to make a judgement on," she said. "It just wouldn't be appropriate. We do need to allow the judiciary to operate separately. "
PRIDE APPEARANCE?
The PM has participated in the past, but a controversy this year over a ban on police in uniform has caused many former supporters to back out. (Source: Other)
In his last question to the Prime Minister of the year, Tame briefly revisited a topic she demurred to give a definitive answer on last month: whether she will be attending the Auckland Pride Parade again this year given the controversial ban on police uniforms.
Ardern refused to publicly take a stance on the matter in November, dodging the question on Breakfast by insisting she needed to first consult her diary before answering even hypothetically whether she would be interested in attending.
"Have you checked your diary yet?" Tame asked today.
"No I haven't finalised that yet," she responded.
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