Sean Plunket charged with court document breach

Broadcaster Sean Plunket has been charged with publishing identifiable Family Court documents without the leave of the court.

Oliver Sean Plunket (58) was scheduled to appear in the Wellington District Court this morning, but his appearance was adjourned to next month. He is yet to enter a plea.

According to charging documents, Plunket is charged with two counts of publishing a report of Family Court proceedings identifying a vulnerable person.

Under the Family Court Act, any person may publish a report of proceedings of the court but that report cannot identify any person under 18 or deemed by the court to be “vulnerable”.

The term “report” includes news articles, social media posts or other written publications.

Both charges carry a maximum penalty of three months imprisonment or a $2000 fine.

Plunket is the editor and founder of The Platform, an independent media company with an emphasis on debate and free speech.

Previously, Plunket was a co-host of RNZ’s Morning Report programme, and had stints as a host on Radio Live, Newstalk ZB and Magic Talk.

 - By Ethan Griffiths

 - Open Justice multimedia journalist, Wellington