Justice Doogue also found NZ First leader Winston Peters had defamed Staples in a speech he made in Parliament in 2014 repeating the same allegations. In July 2014, Winston Peters made a speech in Parliament repeating similar allegations of fraud against Staples after being provided with documents from Freeman. Photo: RNZIn her ruling, Justice Doogue said: "Mr Freeman knowingly and cynically encouraged Mr Peters to make defamatory allegations in Parliament because parliamentary privilege would leave Mr Staples with no recourse against Mr Peters." A large section of Peters' speech was then broadcast on two occasions on MediaWorks TV show Campbell Live. This is the loss Mr Freeman must compensate him for."

Source: Otago Daily Times June 05, 2021 06:33 UTC