It's not OK

The Tony Veitch case is a tragedy not for Veitch but for the woman he assaulted, writes The Press in an editorial. 

She suffered severe physical injuries from his attack and had her career disrupted; her mental anguish must have been intense. He has maintained his lucrative work and still holds his positions with Television New Zealand and The Radio Network.

This equation of culpability needs to be stated plainly because of Veitch's failure to show that he comprehends the reality of what he did and that serious consequences must flow from it. He has apologised for the assault and says it preys on his conscience, but he has not resigned from his broadcasting roles. Further, and in some respects more damning, Veitch engaged in an expensive effort to hide what happened from the public and, more importantly, the judicial process, which should have had the chance to determine the proper penalty for his behaviour. This may still happen.

There are those who will remain loyal to Veitch that is the nature of friendship but the public should not. The severity of the assault and his attempt to close the case and protect his career by way of a $100,000 cheque are brazen. The loss of public acceptance will surely be too much for the broadcasters to ignore.

Therein lies another story. His employers are reacting slowly to the furore and have failed to condemn Veitch for his grievous actions. Concerns about employment law might be restraining their actions, but the more likely explanation is that they are waiting to see the extent of the public backlash.

That suspicion is strengthened by the apparent failure of TVNZ and the The Radio Network to investigate Veitch's assault in its immediate aftermath. The organisations are likely to have known a lot and known it rapidly. Rumours about the outrage began to circulate quickly, and it is unlikely they did not reach the higher levels of the broadcasting companies.

The Radio Network is a public company, and must account for its behaviour only to its shareholders. But TVNZ is owned by the people of New Zealand and should account to them. We need to know if TVNZ executives knew of the Veitch assault before it was made public, and, if they did, what action they took. Have they, in fact, been party to a deliberate campaign to hide a criminal act?

The irony is that, given the propensity for name suppression to be granted to those already in the public eye, if Veitch had confessed to the police at the time he, and certainly his victim, would not have been identified anyway.

TVNZ presents itself as the expression of New Zealand values, and campaigns against violence towards women. Veitch now represents the opposite. His continued fronting of sports programmes which includes being anchorman of the Olympics broadcasts would be a disaster for the channel's reputation.

New Zealand has made a huge effort to reduce domestic violence. The result is a high level of intolerance towards women-bashers, even if the incidence of domestic violence remains far too high. Veitch as a public figure is an affront to all the good work that has been done, and an impediment to the efforts that still must be made.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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Cathy Turner   #2   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

I do not agree with what Tony Veitch has done, I do not think that anyone has the right to hit another person. However, it seems that he has faced up to what he has done, has accepted it was wrong and undergone (and is still undergoing) counselling.

I don't particularly agree that it should be public knowledge that this even happened. But it is, and as such, and as the woman he injured is going to press charges, surely she should now have to hand back any monies she received, from Mr Veitch.

Surely no friend of hers would have gone against her agreement with Mr Veitch to even disclose such a personal matter, perhaps she really did know that this was going to happen?

Gill Colston   #1   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

what Veitch has confessed to is a crime under New Zealand Law. Saying sorry publically does not make the situation go away,the victim of his attack has suffered physically, mentally and emotionally, this is something he must under NZ law be held accountable for. The cheque is only seen as a bribe in my eyes and Im sure in the eyes of many others so only adds insult to injury. The police have prosecuted and convicted others who have commited such crimes, why have they not here? does being in the public view mean he is unaccountable?

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