April 30 (Reuters) – The political editor for New Zealand public broadcaster TVNZ has been banned from covering the parliament for five days after breaching press gallery rules, Speaker Gerry Brownlee said on Thursday.
• Maiki Sherman’s recent conduct when attempting to secure an interview “went beyond the prescription and spirit of the rules that had previously been agreed by the press gallery and parliament,” Brownlee said in a statement.
• “Ms Sherman, the TVNZ political editor, has informed me that it was not her intention to go beyond the rules, but accepts that she did, and has accepted also the decision on this matter,” he said.
• “Other outlets also breached parliamentary rules as they pursued a story relating to the National Party caucus activities on April 21,” Brownlee added.
• The ban will run from May 1 to May 6, Brownlee said.
• Simeon Brown, a minister from the centre-right ruling National Party, alleged in a social media post on X that TVNZ staff followed National Whip Stuart Smith into an area where interviews were not allowed without permission, and “aggressively banged on his door for several minutes”.
• Sherman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Christine Chen in Sydney; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
