a story about Batchelor\u2019s pamphlet<\/a>, which the Electoral Commission said could have breached election advertising laws. The story, which aired on August 5, 2023, quoted Sanjana Hattotuwa, a researcher with The Disinformation Project, who described Batchelor\u2019s speech in strong terms: \u201cextremely worrying\u201d \u201cracist rhetoric\u201d that \u201cinstigates harm offline\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\nBatchelor sued TVNZ and Hattotuwa individually, seeking $50,000 and an apology on the 6pm news. \u201cI live in tension knowing my neighbours don\u2019t like me,\u201d Batchelor told the court.\u00a0 He said people had thrown eggs at his house, and often glared at him on the street. \u201cOne time when I went into a cafe a group went quiet and I heard one person say \u2018That\u2019s him, Julian Batchelor, the racist\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
The four-day trial at the Auckland District Court was full of drama and comedy. The Spinoff was there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Strange twist #1: The secret billionaire backer\u00a0<\/p>\n
The case was thrown its first major curveball on day one when Batchelor was asked under oath who was funding his legal case. He tried to avoid answering before being ordered to address the question by judge David Clark. \u201cThe person who\u2019s funding it is Jim Grenon,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jim Grenon is a Canadian-New Zealand billionaire who bought a 16% stake in NZME earlier this year, which he later increased to 18.5%. NZME owns the New Zealand Herald, ZB and a range of other newspapers and radio stations.<\/p>\n
Batchelor told the court Grenon called him the day after the TV1 piece aired and invited him to his home. They talked about \u201cgeneral politics and the direction New Zealand was taking\u201d. Batchelor recalled Grenon saying, \u201cI\u2019ve been following you, I don\u2019t think you\u2019re a racist. I think we should sue TVNZ\u2019.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said a great injustice has been done here,\u201d Batchelor said. \u201cI was very, very happy that someone wanted to help.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the trial progressed, it soon became clear that Grenon had done more than just fund the case. He appeared to be orchestrating the entire thing. Batchelor couldn\u2019t recognise several of the initial legal letters that were sent under his name. He was unaware who paid for his lawyer Stephen Franks, who represented him against the Electoral Commission when it investigated whether his co-governance pamphlet was in breach of the Electoral Act. \u201cI don\u2019t know, I didn\u2019t pay him,\u201d he said. And he wasn\u2019t involved in choosing his defamation lawyer, Matthew Hague. \u201cIt was something Mr Grenon did on his own,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is your case, Mr Batchelor. How much involvement have you personally had in running this case?\u201d TVNZ\u2019s lawyer Daniel Nilsson asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery little,\u201d Batchelor admitted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hattotuwa\u2019s lawyer Davey Salmon said Batchelor had \u201cunlawfully assigned his claim to a third party funder.\u2026 he\u2019s not making decisions, he\u2019s not paying, and he\u2019s not profiting\u201d.<\/p>\n
Grenon\u2019s involvement reared its head again in relation to Peter Williams, the former TV1 newscaster and Reality Check Radio host who gave expert evidence in support of Batchelor about journalism practices. TVNZ executive editor Phil O\u2019Sullivan said under oath that Williams told him Grenon had paid for him to get to the hearing \u2013 a fact which had not been disclosed to the court. He also revealed Williams privately called Batchelor \u201ca nutter\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Spinoff has contacted Grenon for comment.<\/p>\n
![\"An](\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\")
Former broadcaster Peter Williams.
\nStrange twist #2: The other secret funders<\/p>\n
Not only was Batchelor\u2019s lawsuit funded by a (previously) secret benefactor, so too was the pamphlet that prompted it. Batchelor said it cost \u201croughly a quarter of a million dollars\u201d to print the 550,000 copies, but refused, repeatedly, over multiple days, to say who paid for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Judge David Clark ordered him to name the funders. Batchelor refused. Clark warned him that he could be held in contempt and placed in custody. Batchelor refused. Clark said he could throw the entire case out. Batchelor refused. Clark said he would use his silence to assume the worst possible interpretation. Batchelor still refused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Salmon was absolutely fuming. \u201cThis is an extraordinary event, which in my time I have not seen. A witness has become his own judge in determining whether he should answer a question,\u201d he said. \u201cRather than being honest, he is telling the court to infer that there are bad actors behind him and that negative conclusions can be drawn about his intention. That is effectively conceding the case. It suggests there is something wrong we can\u2019t see. We will be submitting this is an abuse and contempt of court.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eventually, Clark allowed the trial to continue \u2013 \u201cby a very fine margin\u201d \u2013 in part because it wasn\u2019t entirely clear how relevant the matter of the funder was and because, apparently, he just wanted to get on with it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Which brings us to the core arguments of the case. TVNZ and Hattotuwa relied on three defences:\u00a0<\/p>\n
That the reporting and quotes were true.\u00a0
\n That Hattotuwa\u2019s comments were his honest opinion based on underlying true facts.\u00a0
\n That the story was in the public interest and TVNZ reported it responsibly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The defence of truth: \u2018That\u2019s a negative comment about a race of people\u2019<\/p>\n
Batchelor said he was not racist. \u201cI have friends who are M\u0101ori,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are many fine M\u0101ori. I live just down the road from Kiri Te Kanawa.\u201d He cited David Seymour, Winston Peters and golfer Michael Campbell as M\u0101ori he respected because \u201cthey have kept their M\u0101ori culture but they\u2019ve westernised\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Salmon and Nilsson brought up Batchelor\u2019s past interactions with members of the Proud Boys and National Front (Batchelor disavowed both groups). They compared his descriptions of M\u0101ori to Hitler\u2019s phrasing about Jewish people (Batchelor said Hitler was \u201cthe greatest racist on the earth\u201d). They brought up his promotion of the theory that a race of fair-skinned, ginger-haired people had occupied New Zealand before M\u0101ori (Batchelor insisted it was true).\u00a0<\/p>\n
Salmon produced a YouTube video from March 2025 where Bachelor said: \u201cI have thought about this a lot and there is nothing I admire about M\u0101ori culture or the M\u0101ori race. There\u2019s nothing I want to emulate.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a negative comment about a race of people, isn\u2019t it?,\u201d Salmon asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, it\u2019s my opinion. I\u2019m allowed to hold that opinion,\u201d Batchelor said.<\/p>\n
The largest chunk of time was focused on Batchelor\u2019s unpublished book The M\u0101ori Agenda for New Zealand, in which he argued that M\u0101ori had fundamental character flaws which led to negative social outcomes and that M\u0101ori language and culture \u201cshould be allowed to die a graceful death\u201d.<\/p>\n
Here are some of the highlights from the cross-examination:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Salmon: You are making an observation about the race of M\u0101ori, as you\u2019ve described it, and something seriously wrong in that race\u2019s culture as a whole?<\/p>\n
Batchelor: Yes.<\/p>\n
\u2026<\/p>\n
Salmon: What you\u2019re suggesting should die a graceful death is the language and culture of the M\u0101ori people. Correct?<\/p>\n
Batchelor: No. You\u2019re missing the context. It is the lack of character inside M\u0101oridom that I believe is the issue.<\/p>\n
\u2026<\/p>\n
Salmon: What\u2019s caused the lack of character, if not their race?<\/p>\n
Batchelor: I think character can be learned. Do you know what the character is? Can you define it for me?<\/p>\n
Judge Clark: Let\u2019s do it this way. You keep referring to character, so you explain in your own words what you mean.<\/p>\n
Batchelor: Character is a cluster of internally driven characteristics that somebody holds that makes them succeed in life. Things like integrity, perseverance, ability to handle failure, ability to be self disciplined, honesty, the ability to work hard when things are very hard, the ability to discipline oneself in study or work, generosity, altruism. Those are some of the characteristics of a person with great character. The more you have of those, the more likely you are to succeed in life, and the less you have of them, the less you are going to be predicted as being a success.<\/p>\n
Salmon: And you\u2019re saying, on your definition, that this particular race lacks character?<\/p>\n
Batchelor: Correct.<\/p>\n
Salmon: But that\u2019s not racist, based on your definition of racism?<\/p>\n
Batchelor: Correct.<\/p>\n
The defence of honest opinion: \u2018As a researcher\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n
Hattotuwa appeared by video link from Sri Lanka to describe his work for The Disinformation Project and his research on Batchelor, and gave academic explanations for how he defined racism and violent language.<\/p>\n
Batchelor\u2019s lawyer Michael Hague, while cross-examining Hattotuwa, argued he had presented his statements as fact because the quotes in the news story didn\u2019t include qualifiers such as \u201cin my opinion\u201d. TVNZ produced a 12-minute video of the raw interview showing that Hattotuwa repeatedly cited his research to back up his statements and framed questions using language such as \u201cin my view\u201d and \u201cas a researcher\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The defence of responsible communication: \u2018He was rambling\u2019 vs \u2018she\u2019s lying\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everyone agreed that the story was in the public interest, so this defence was solely based on whether TVNZ had acted responsibly.<\/p>\n
While being cross-examined under oath, Batchelor gave a range of conflicting statements. First, he claimed he wasn\u2019t interviewed for the story \u2013 \u201cI was never rung by TVNZ\u201d. Then he said he couldn\u2019t remember. Later, he said the interview happened, but \u201cwe only had one phone conversation\u201d. After TVNZ produced Te Aniwa Hurihanganui\u2019s phone log, he accepted they had had two conversations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, Batchelor claimed Hurihanganui never asked him to respond to Hattotuwa\u2019s comments. Hurihanganui vehemently denied this, though she testified that she couldn\u2019t remember if she referred to Hattotuwa by his name or job title. \u201cShe\u2019s lying,\u201d Batchelor said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
TVNZ\u2019s M\u0101ori affairs correspondent Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (left) and executive editor Phil O\u2019Sullivan (right)<\/p>\n
Batchelor took particular umbrage with the fact that he wasn\u2019t quoted directly in the story; instead the interview was paraphrased as \u201cBatchelor denies he is racist, inciting hate or spreading misinformation\u201d. Hurihanganui said this was because his responses were \u201clong-winded, a little bit confusing, and he was rambling a bit\u201d, and that she summarised it as concisely as she could. Hurihanganui no longer had her notes from the phone call, which O\u2019Sullivan accepted was \u201cnot ideal\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Peter Willliams said the story was a \u201chit piece\u201d intentionally designed to destroy Batchelor\u2019s reputation. He raised an issue with the sentence: \u201cThe pamphlets make a number of unfounded claims, including that a group of M\u0101ori elites are conspiring to take over the country\u201d. Williams said this claim was based on He Puapua, a 2019 government-commissioned report on indigenous peoples. Hague picked on this, arguing that even if Batchelor\u2019s interpretation of the report was wrong, it showed it was founded. This led to Hague questioning Hurihanganui about her use of the word \u201cunfounded\u201d which she said was largely the same as \u201cunsubstantiated\u201d and \u201cuntrue\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Throughout the four-day trial, a rotating cast of TVNZ staff popped into the public gallery to watch, especially while Hurihanganui was on the stand. It has been a big year in year in court for TVNZ, which was also sued for defamation by Talley\u2019s. There were cries of elation on the third day of the trial when TVNZ staff learned the Talley\u2019s case had been dismissed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Batchelor\u2019s case initially didn\u2019t receive as much attention, but after the revelations of Grenon\u2019s involvement it took on new significance. It no longer seemed to be only about racism, but about the future of media in New Zealand and the potential role of wealthy operators.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Billionaires, secrets, conspiracy theories, denials of racism, contempt of court and twists at every turn. This case had…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":191938,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[23948,42,117176,119623,1073,43,26263,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-191937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-defamation","tag-headlines","tag-jim-grenon","tag-julian-batchelor","tag-media","tag-news","tag-nzme","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}