Fonterra’s High Court injunction against Newsroom

Written By: - Date published: 6:04 am, March 5th, 2018 - 18 comments
Categories: internet, Media - Tags: ,

From the Newsroom link,

Fonterra obtains injunction to keep secrets

Dairy giant Fonterra has obtained a High Court injunction against a number of parties including Newsroom to prevent disclosure of ‘confidential information’.

The injunction was granted by Justice Karen Clark in the High Court at Wellington late Friday against two respondents, who the judge said we could not name. Newsroom was later served with the injunction order by email from a Fonterra lawyer, Julian Brown, of Chapman Tripp. He said we were restrained as an “unnamed third respondent” from using or publishing information

The order will allow Fonterra to keep the information at the centre of the action secret until “the determination of the substantive matter” on March 26, which falls after its next financial reporting date.

Newsroom will continue to inquire, here and overseas, into Fonterra and its activities.

That is all, for now, that can be said.

________________________________________________________________________

Speculation of the reason for the injunction should be avoided and the post will be monitored.

18 comments on “Fonterra’s High Court injunction against Newsroom ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. patricia bremner 1
    5 March 2018 at 6:25 am

    Thank you Newsroom. We need you,

  2. Draco T Bastard 2
    5 March 2018 at 7:14 am

    The more I see their actions. The more cover-ups and the more Golden Handshakes the more I think that a business shouldn’t be able to keep secrets.

    Is just too damn dangerous to allow it.

  3. Graeme 3
    5 March 2018 at 7:22 am

    Stuff, Herald and one respondent are more forthcoming

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/dairy/101948456/Fonterra-takes-out-injunction-against-former-board-member-Leonie-Guiney

    Will be interesting to see what it’s al about.

  4. eco maori 4
    5 March 2018 at 7:22 am

    I’m still trying to work out why Fonterra did not by Nestle that was the best way to deliver the best prices to farmers High value products not just comiditys???????. Now Fonterra is using the justice system to stop information getting out about there conduct or bad conduct. Well expect to see more of this behaviour if we sign that ttp11 Companies above the law. These companies fool us and when they are caught with there pants down the use the courts to cover there deceitful practices.
    These companies will sue us when they want to carry on in there deceitful ways or if the get caught cheating cover there deceit . Are he tangata the people forgetting that the 00.1 % laugh that the common people are honest. What’s there honesty a contract that effect our mokos future and they won’t show the TX DATA? Language that’s deceitful in my eyes Duncan Ka kite ano

    • Stunned Mullet 4.1
      5 March 2018 at 9:13 am

      Nestle’s Market cap is around $250 billion – a bit too big for Fonterra to make a hostile takeover and there would undoubtedly be serious antitrust issues if they did.

  5. eco maori 5
    5 March 2018 at 8:00 am

    Duncan This is the reason that new small political partys have a hard time getting positive media exposer .
    Its not just Labour doing this national are the pros at this art of the spin doctors a artical by Dr Bryce Edwards heres the link from News Room.

    https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2018/03/04/93965/the-conflicting-interests-of-commentators

  6. savenz 6
    5 March 2018 at 8:28 am

    Fonterra has been going downhill decision wise for a while. They keep making the more milk (but less money to farmers), Being cheap and reducing quality on staff, IT decisions and infrastructure like tankers, pretend investment in environmental impacts but beside the scenes don’t really want to change, bad investments overseas again and again. Huge fees to CEO etc while the farmers are struggling.

    Fonterra supposed to be a co operative but being run badly to profit those managers at the top and cut out the farmers. Ironically works so well, as the farmers go bankrupt and their managers and neoliberal buddies creaming off can buy them up.

    Being so insecure that they take legal action against their own people for pointing out ways they can change or differences of opinion.

    Someone was complaining that even the decisions of the hoses on the tankers is wrong. To save a tiny amount of money they have them in the wrong place.

    Time to rethink Fonterra. Sadly those making a bundle from the ‘new’ Fonterra will be driving it into the ground so they profit further at the expense of others and then have some ‘radical’ solution to fix it.

  7. Kevin 7
    5 March 2018 at 10:24 am

    I can see another ad with Richie in it. coming up.

  8. Greg 8
    5 March 2018 at 10:38 am

    There move into China has been a disaster

  9. AsleepWhileWalking 9
    5 March 2018 at 11:26 am

    Clearly they have something to hide.

    The 2014 botulism contamination threat would be hard to top, but maybe this is related.

  10. Bill 10
    5 March 2018 at 11:40 am

    A wee time line and some snippets.

    In October, Fonterra voted in three new (replacement) board members. An independent panel, set up since the previous elections, had recommended all three candidates.

    In November it was reported that Leonie Guiney had been blocked from standing for a second term on the board. Apparently, the same independent panel as above had (according to Manaia farmer Harry Bayliss) rated prospective nominees against a “skills matrix”. Presumably Guiney didn’t satisfy the independent panel’s selection criteria.

    In March Fonterra’s board takes out an injunction “to prevent the publication of what we believe to be leaked and misrepresented details of Board discussions, supplied to the media by a former Fonterra Director.”

    NZX who publish Farmers Weekly are covered by the injunction.

    So are we talking about board discussion on business prospects/matters, or discussions by members of a board on board matters?

    I guess we’ll find out at some point when the board reckons that whatever it is amounts to nowt but spilt milk, ie – not worth anyone crying over.

  11. Ad 11
    5 March 2018 at 2:44 pm

    Action may well be related to similar gagging action against Fonterra former Director Leonie Guiney, as reported here:

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12006637

  12. greywarshark 12
    5 March 2018 at 6:39 pm

    Looks like the innocents rolled the stone away from the door to the hall of the fountain king, and they are trying to say that the substantive stuff behind is none of our business. We are externalities, ants that happen to live in this lovely wet green land with chomping cows, flowing milk and a lot of bull.

  13. Loop 13
    9 March 2018 at 1:41 pm

    old boyze club and Guiney not sheep-like enough, which is wierd when you think about it, they are a dairy company, who wants sheep in a dairy company?

  14. Rooney 14
    9 March 2018 at 5:36 pm

    The opportunity for Fonterra to buy into A2 Milk was a golden opportunity missed – it will forever haunt the company. China and our free trade deal … maybe not such a great deal after all.