Key song wins in Court of Appeal
The artists behind the satirical song Planet Key say they are happy but also frustrated after a court confirmed their song was wrongly banned from the airwaves in the lead-up to the 2014 election.
The Court of Appeal yesterday released a ruling which said singer and songwriter Darren Watson's song and its animated music video by Jeremy Jones did not qualify as election programmes or advertising.
The two artists said they were “happy with the result”, and hoped it would bring an end to their two-year struggle with the commission.
They noted that they had been threatened with referral to the police over the matter, and expresed frustration that the ban meant the song could be not get airtime when it was most relevant.
The ruling said Watson and Jones were not representing a political party or vested interest when they made the video, and were “simply expressing their own political views”.
The commission blocked television and radio broadcasts of the song in 2014 saying that it breached electoral rules.
The music video featured Key using an endangered Maui’s dolphin as a guitar as an oil rig explodes.
It also showed Finance Minister Bill English acting as a caddy for Key while the Prime Minister plays golf with US President Barack Obama.
The commission’s intervention came after an inquiry by a radio station, which wanted to play Planet Key as part of a political programme.
The commission and Watson later sought a declaratory judgment from the High Court, which ruled against the commission in April last year, saying that it had imposed limits on the right to freedom of expression.
The Court of Appeal said it agreed with the High Court’s ruling but for different reasons.
It also said the controversy had “significant implications” for future elections.
Watson celebrated the decision, saying that it was a “win for Planet Key” on his Facebook page.
The commission said it too welcomed the ruling. It had sought the court’s view to get clarification about the matter and how it should interpret election advertisements and programmes.
Because the commission’s appeal was in the interests of clarifying the law, it had agreed to contribute to Watson and Jones’ costs.
Election advertising which encourages people to vote — or not — or which favours a party or candidate must carry a promoter statement and follow spending rules.