NEW ZEALAND’S COURTS HAVE SET A high bar for prosecution of offensive speech. In 1984, the published a column attacking the people of Australia, accusing them of various sporting outrages (the underarm bowling incident, the disqualification of a New Zealand horse from the Melbourne Cup, an alleged poisoning of the All Blacks) and personal failings (“our loud-mouthed neighbours across the Tasman”, “Australians are like kiwifruit; if you have too many of them they make you sick”).
