Siouxsie Wiles will have her day in court

The leading Covid commentator alleges her employer, the University of Auckland, failed to adequately protect her against a torrent of harassment. The hearing starts today.

Mōrena, and welcome to The Bulletin for Monday, November 6, by Catherine McGregor. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.

In today’s edition: Peters thought Seymour text was a hoax; Hundreds of daycare centres have closed in the last year; Identity Check system flopping internal tests. But first, the 2021 New Zealander of the Year goes to court today to argue that her employer failed to respond adequately to ongoing, targeted harassment.

Portrait of Siouxsie Wiles by Toby Morris.

Wiles v University of Auckland finally makes it to court

It was 22 months ago, in January 2022, that academics Shaun Hendy and Siouxsie Wiles filed a claim with the Employment Relations Authority against the University of Auckland (UoA), their employer. The scientists regularly appeared in the media to discuss the ongoing Covid pandemic, and both alleged the university had failed to respond adequately to harassment and threats directed at them as a result of their commentary. Having been quickly moved to the Employment Court, the case slowly wound its way through the legal system, along the way losing Hendy, who resolved his dispute with UoA upon leaving his faculty role in October 2022. This morning, the employment hearing finally commences. Wiles, a microbiologist, New Zealander of the Year and frequent contributor to The Spinoff throughout the pandemic, says she had raised concerns about her safety since April 2020, shortly after the pandemic began. The university either responded inadequately or not at all, she alleges.

‘Critic and conscience of society’

At the heart of the dispute is the concept of academic freedom, which legal columnist Sasha Borissenko defines as “the freedom to question the status quo and put forward new ideas and opinions, irrespective of controversy or popularity” – a freedom that gives academics protections that employees in other fields often do not have. This protection is enshrined in NZ law which states that being “a critic and conscience of society” is one of the defining characteristics of a university. UoA argues that academic freedom does not apply because Wiles’ Covid commentary was done in a personal capacity. In August 2021 the university, apparently after receiving legal advice, sent Wiles and Hendy a letter urging them to keep their public commentary to a minimum and suggesting they take paid leave “to minimise any social media comments”. Wiles is arguing that her Covid commentary was performed in a professional capacity and she was exercising academic freedom while doing so.  

Years of ‘vile and despicable’ threats

In a remarkable coincidence of timing, the hearing starts just days after the release of Ms. Information, Gwen Isaac’s documentary about Wiles and her work. Reviewer Graeme Tuckett describes the numerous threatening messages and voicemails received by Wiles in the film as “vile, inhuman and despicable”. Wiles herself wrote in January 2022 that “the abuse, harassment, and threats started almost immediately after I began doing media interviews” and had carried on “on a near-daily basis” ever since. Last week she told the Pacific Media Network that she was still receiving death threats. In their initial complaint, Wiles and Hendy said that as a result of their work they had “suffered vitriolic, unpleasant, and deeply personalised threats and harassment” via email, social media and video sharing platforms which had a “detrimental impact” on their physical safety and their mental health.

Abuse of scientists in the public eye a global issue

While Covid has faded from the discourse, the impact on many of the experts who were thrust into the spotlight during the pandemic is profound. In March 2023 an international survey of scientists who had made media appearances to talk about Covid found more than a fifth had "received threats of physical or sexual violence", 15% had their lives threatened, and about two-thirds were having second thoughts about sharing their expertise in public again. The issue is not restricted only to Covid. A poll of almost 500 climate scientists found that three-quarters of those regularly in the public eye were subject to online abuse and harassment. Multiple UK scientists told the Guardian that there’s been a huge rise in abuse from climate crisis deniers on Twitter/X since its takeover by Elon Musk last year.

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Peters thought Seymour text was a hoax

NZ First leader Winston Peters says he plans to hold a face-to-face meeting with Act’s David Seymour but will not say when. Speaking in Pukekohe for NZ First’s Port Waikato campaign launch, Peters refused to answer other questions on negotiations to form a new government, but said he would fly to Wellington today to meet with the NZ First caucus and “work out some fundamental things”, the Herald’s Michael Neilson reports. Peters also revealed that he had received a text message from Seymour following the election but he “thought this has gotta be fake so I didn’t answer it”. The campaign launch included a speech by Peters in which he “spoke of Māori being rammed down his throat on TV [and] said the victims of ‘Christchurch the 15th’ need the truth”, writes Amberleigh Jack in a great colour piece for Stuff.  

Hundreds of daycare centres have closed in the last year

Daycare availability is at crisis levels in parts of Central Otago, Stuff’s Susan Edmunds reports, and it’s a problem that is being repeated in several other parts of the country. One mother registered at a Queenstown daycare in December last year but it can’t offer her a place until May 2024 – and then only part-time. In the nearby town of Cromwell, where she now lives, all daycares are full. The Early Childhood Council says a recent rule change has made it more financially challenging for providers to open new centres, and that 200 centres have closed in the last year. Chief executive Simon Laube says the sector is also being impacted by the pay parity opt-in scheme, designed to create pay parity between kindergarten teachers and workers in early learning and care centres.

Identity Check system flopping internal tests

The government’s facial recognition system failed almost half the time in tests, RNZ’s Phil Pennington reports. Identity Check is designed to be the “primary way New Zealanders verify who they are online, for access to thousands of public and private services, from benefits to banks”, Pennington writes, but OIA documents show the system has a success rate of only 55%. Identity Check typically matches an image sent in by smartphone to a passport or driver's licence photo and the Ministry of Social Development is beginning to integrate it into its systems, though beneficiaries will still be able to choose to verify their identity using existing methods. The Department of Internal Affairs is embarking on a second year of tests in an attempt to improve the success rate before the system’s wider release.

Click and Collect

• Barbara George has resigned as chief executive of Christchurch’s Court Theatre following a Press investigation into bullying allegations (paywalled).

• The average Auckland house price deposit may hit $1 million by 2045.

• Another brain-melting number: It’ll cost $1 billion to fully fix Wellington’s pipes (paywalled).

• A Treaty referendum would see civil unrest “times five, times 10” that seen during the Springboks tour of 1981, warns Willie Jackson.

• Spinoff founder Duncan Greive talks to the Herald’s Front Page podcast about the cancellation of The Project and tough times throughout NZ media

Right now on The Spinoff

A National/Act/NZ First government would mean a whole lot of men in charge (again), writes Mad Chapman. Gabi Lardies talks to a photographer whose images of everyday Auckland in 1989 are only now being seen. Jackie Lee Morrison writes movingly about the death of her father in Hong Kong during Covid. Sir Ashley Bloomfield tells us about his his biggest TV gaffe. Stephen Beban shares a set of maps that give you a better picture of the election result – now updated with the special votes.

Sporting snippets

• English rugby captain Marlie Packer has expressed disappointment at the crowd sizes in New Zealand for the WXV 1 tournament.

• India thumped South Africa by 243 runs in last night’s World Cup match, in what was seen by some as a preview of the grand final. Both teams have already qualified for the semifinals.

A note about Friday’s Bulletin: It contained an error that suggested electorate seat wins for Labour would alter the overall composition of parliament. That is determined by the party vote. We’ve updated the online version, and apologise for the error.

Got some feedback about The Bulletin, or anything in the news? Get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz.

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