Editorial: Bought silence on violence not okay

TVNZ has only one option over sports broadcaster and woman-beater Tony Veitch. It must terminate his contract and say he will never work for the state broadcaster again, The Dominion Post writes.

Veitch's decision on Wednesday to break his two-year silence on a vicious assault that he knew, if it became public, would threaten his well-paying jobs happened only because he was cornered. He has acknowledged he had not wanted his violence against former partner Kristin Dunne-Powell to "play out in the [sic] public" and then, saying his actions were inexcusable, went on to excuse them.

In the end, he admitted to no more than that he "lashed out", slipperily avoiding the scarring detail.

Quite apart from TVNZ's hypocrisy in employing him while airing advertisements that say it is not okay, ever, to beat up a partner or family member, having Veitch in living rooms nightly and fronting its Olympics team is unacceptable. His TVNZ career should be over.

Radio Sport, too, should fire the man who not only broke Ms Dunne-Powell's back but paid her more than $100,000 to keep quiet. She - for whatever reason - agreed to say only that she had fallen on the stairs, but later had to quit her job as Vodafone's general manager of marketing.

Today, she is Woosh's chief operating officer. Her best revenge will be to keep succeeding.

Unbelievably, TVNZ this week first indicated it would stand by its man. It was not till nearly two days later that head of news Anthony Flannery said Veitch would "step down while a review was conducted into allegations made against him by some media organisations". He also referred to "complex issues", including the privacy of others.

Veitch can certainly expect no privacy. TVNZ insists that its "talent" - its news, current affairs and sports presenters - spill their private lives to women's magazines from time to time. Those who consider themselves stars cannot have it both ways.

But one of the most disgraceful aspects of this affair is the suggestion that TVNZ learnt of these allegations a while ago. Surely its employment contracts stipulate that staff should do nothing in pursuit of their work or at any time that brings their employer, or themselves into disrepute.

If Mr Flannery does not fire Veitch, Broadcasting Minister Trevor Mallard - himself with a conviction for fighting - can expect questions in Parliament, even if this is strictly a staffing matter. The Government has expressed its displeasure about the state broadcaster's staffing decisions before. Though TVNZ has probably invested a lot in selecting Veitch for its Beijing team, that is not the point. He has lost credibility.

The exposure of Veitch's behaviour is a personal calamity but he has brought it upon himself. He has limited options if TVNZ sends him packing. One is public contrition. Nothing else will do.

If he is brave enough, he might also volunteer to front anti-domestic violence advertisements for women's refuge - if he learns to control his temper. His message must then be that domestic violence is not okay - ever - even if you are a so-called celebrity with lots of money.

- © Fairfax NZ News