Suing TVNZ for defamation, Julian Batchelor tells the court his case is being funded by the director of another New Zealand media company.
Jim Grenon, the Canadian billionaire and director of media company New Zealand Media and Entertainment (NZME), has been revealed as the financial backer of a defamation case brought by controversial evangelist Julian Batchelor, who led the nationwide “stop co-governance” roadshow in 2023.
Batchelor is suing TVNZ and academic Sanjana Hattotuwa, a former researcher for The Disinformation Project, relating to an August 2023 video news story and associated online article in which Hattotuwa described Batchelor as using “racist rhetoric” and speech that “instigated harm offline”. He is seeking damages of $50,000 and an apology on the 6pm news bulletin.
Grenon’s involvement was revealed during questioning under oath by Hattotuwa’s lawyer Davey Salmon KC in Auckland District Court.
Batchelor had previously claimed to be backed by supporters with “deep pockets” but had not revealed their identity. In court on Monday, he repeatedly tried to avoid answering before being ordered to address the question by judge David Clark.
“The person who’s funding it is Jim Grenon,” Batchelor told the court. He said Grenon was paying his legal fees directly to his lawyer.
“And how did he get involved in this?” Salmon asked.
“He saw the TV1 piece on TV and he saw the written piece that went with it and he phoned me the next day and said, ‘I’ve been following you, I don’t think you’re a racist. I think we should sue TVNZ’.” In clarifying questions, Batchelor confirmed it was also Grenon’s idea to sue Hattotuwa.
Batchelor paraphrased the conversation again, describing Grenon saying, “You are not a racist. I’ll follow you very closely, and I want to support you.”
Salmon continued: “Does Mr Grenon have an interest in the outcome? Will you be giving him the money?”
“He does not need money,” Batchelor said. “He will receive the money if compensation is granted by the court, and it will go to pay for all the expenses that he’s paid to get us this far.”
When asked if Grenon would receive money if he was awarded damages, Batchelor said they had not discussed that detail.
Earlier this year, Grenon purchased a 16% stake in NZME, leading to a shakeup of the executive leadership and board. He has since increased his investment and now has 18.5%. NZME owns the New Zealand Herald, ZB and a range of other newspapers and radio stations. Grenon previously owned media company The Centrist, which has formally thrown its weight behind Batchelor’s defamation case.
Batchelor told the court he had suffered personal and professional harm due to the TVNZ story. “In public I can sense people recognising me on the street and it would be negative. One time when I went into a cafe a group went quiet and I heard one person say ‘That’s him, Julian Batchelor, the racist’.”
Under further questioning from Salmon, Batchelor said he was not a racist and disagreed with Nazism and right-wing extremism. He repeatedly stated that he believed Māori had fundamental character flaws. “It’s the lack of character inside Māori that I believe is the issue,” he said. “If Māori don’t address the issue of character, then the culture and the language might as well die a natural death.”
He told the court that he believed Māori were not indigenous to New Zealand and that a race of fair-skinned, ginger-haired people had settled the land before Māori arrived.
The Spinoff has approached Grenon for comment.
The hearing is continuing today.
