BILLIONAIRE ORDERED OUT OF NZ

The billionaire businessman who walked free from an Auckland court on
Friday was the second American let off drug charges in the court that day.

Just minutes before the case of the super-rich America's Cup visitor, Judge
David Harvey discharged another American caught at Auckland Airport trying
to bring in cannabis.

The court's leniency to the billionaire, whose name was suppressed by Judge
Harvey, made news around the world after it was disclosed in the Weekend
Herald.

The tycoon's identity was published in newspapers outside the jurisdiction
of New Zealand courts and posted on the Internet.

Lawyers for the Herald will file papers in the Otahuhu District Court today
seeking leave to appeal to the High Court against Judge Harvey's
suppression order.

The billionaire, caught with more than 100g of cannabis as he entered the
country, is understood to have agreed to make a donation to an Auckland
drug rehabilitation centre, Odyssey House.

He will have little time left to enjoy the America's Cup as the Immigration
Service has slapped a limited-purpose permit on him requiring him to leave
the country by Wednesday.

The immigration permit gave him seven days' stay from the time he was
charged, solely to attend court. There was no room for appeal.

In suppressing his name, Judge Harvey decided that identification would be
a penalty out of proportion to the offence. However, the man was named by
at least three newspapers published in his home city over the weekend.

Judge Harvey entered no conviction against the earlier defendant on the
grounds that it could have jeopardised his job as a safety officer and
ordered him to contribute $250 towards the cost of prosecution.

That man, whose name was not available from the court yesterday, was caught
with a much smaller quantity of cannabis than his wealthy fellow-countryman.

Unlike the billionaire, he was not granted name suppression. He did not
have his own lawyer but was represented by a duty solicitor who did not
seek suppression.

The police prosecutor, Sergeant Michael Morgan, told the Herald the man was
discharged under section 19 of the Criminal Justice Act.

The billionaire businessman admitted three charges involving more than 100g
of cannabis resin and leaf.

Customs officials found 56g of hashish, a concentrated class-B cannabis
derivative, and 47g of class-C cannabis plant at Auckland Airport and
elsewhere.

Lawyers spoken to by the Herald last night said the publication of the
billionaire's name overseas made a mockery of the suppression order, but
there was nothing New Zealand courts could do.

A Wellington solicitor, Bruce Davidson, said lawmakers and courts had not
given consideration to the dilemma posed by the Internet or how to control it.

"You couldn't control access to the Internet without having blanket
controls, so it's an anomaly."

The billionaire's lawyer, Marie Dyhrberg, said that, irrespective of what
had been released overseas and on the Internet, the matter was still
subject to law here, which was "sacrosanct."

The President of the Auckland Council for Civil Liberties, Barry Wilson,
said the granting of suppression orders was like a lottery.

"The armies of the poor and unemployed who inhabit the cells of Otahuhu
District Court are unlikely to get suppression orders when they are charged
with pretty minor offences."