Plunket furore surprises editor

The editor of Metro magazine is surprised that Radio New Zealand is blocking Morning Report presenter Sean Plunket from writing a monthly column for his magazine.

Plunket took Radio New Zealand to the Employment Relations Authority in Wellington this week in an effort to force managing editor Peter Cavanagh to allow him to write the monthly column.

Metro editor Bevan Rapson said his secondary employment job offer to Plunket was still on the table.

"It surprises me they will not let him do it ... I am not surprised he is seeking redress over this."

Rapson said TVNZ political editor Guyon Espiner had written a monthly political column in North & South magazine since February 2006.

North & South editor Virginia Larson said there had never been a problem with Espiner writing the column for her magazine during the past four years.

Rapson said he approached Plunket to write the column for Metro in the build-up to last year's general election.

"When I made the offer ... I was looking forward to a long and productive relationship. I hope that can still happen," Rapson said.

The authority heard this week that Conservation Department director-general Al Morrison is also supporting Plunket in his employment dispute.

Plunket's lawyer, Geoff Davenport, told authority member Denis Asher that Mr Morrison had filed an affidavit supporting the presenter.

The affidavit relates to the fact that Mr Morrison wrote a monthly column for North & South when he was Radio New Zealand's political editor from 2000-02.

Mr Cavanagh declined to comment on Rapson's comments yesterday.

However, he told the authority on Monday that he did not want Plunket editorialising each month in Metro magazine.

Mr Cavanagh said Plunket, who was also supported at the hearing by Radio New Zealand political editor Brent Edwards and presenters Chris Laidlaw and Kim Hill, had to realise that in his job for radio he was operating in a news and current affairs environment.

Mr Asher has reserved his decision.