Excerpts from the Press Council Decision on Case No: 1090, 1091 and 1092
Released 11 June 2007 (additional emphases mine):

Full ruling available here [PDF]

Introduction
The Press Council has upheld complaints by Tze Ming Mok and others, the Asia New Zealand Foundation and Grant Hannis against North & South for its report on Asian immigration and crime. The Council has found the magazine breached its principles on accuracy and discrimination.

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Conclusion
Freedom of Expression, affirmed by the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act and central to all Press Council considerations, is not unlimited. Amongst other things, it is subject to the prohibition on discrimination in the Human Rights Act. That is reflected in the Council's Principle 8, which provides:

Publications should not place gratuitous emphasis on gender, religion, minority groups, sexual orientation, age, race, colour or physical or mental disability. Nevertheless, where it is relevant and in the public interest, publications may report and express opinions in these areas.

Immigration policy and crime rates in a specific ethnic community or sector of society are legitimate subjects for journalistic investigation by a free press that would fall within the proviso to principle 8. Nor is balance in the form of neutrality necessarily required. Magazines are entitled to take a strong position on issues they address (principle 7). But that does not legitimise gratuitous emphasis on dehumanising racial stereotypes and fear-mongering and, of course, the need for accuracy always remains. The key issue is the absence of correlation between the Asian population and the crime rate. Ms Coddington argues she has recorded the rise in the Asian population and it would have insulted the readers to link that with the crime figures. The Council does not accept this argument. The linkage is vital and should have been made explicit. It is abundantly clear and is not effectively challenged by Ms Coddington, despite quibbles about terminology and direct comparisons of her figures with those of her critics, that the rate of offending is dropping pro rata.  To then talk of a gathering crime tide is therefore wrong.

The suggestion that a "crime wave" - a phrase Ms Coddington points out she did not use - is different from a "crime tide" because a tide can go out is disingenuous. In the context of the article as a whole the implication is clear that crime generated from within the Asian immigrant community is increasing.

Both in the article and in responses to the complaint Ms Coddington refers to a May 2003 North & South article stating that people of Asian origin have long been known in New Zealand for their "all-round fine citizenship." The implication is that this has changed. The statistics do not support this.

The language used is emotionally loaded. There is an explicit statement in the third paragraph of the article "we'll make it loud and clear from the start, the vast majority of Asians making New Zealand their new home are hard-working, focused on getting their children well educated and ensuring they're not dependent on the state (unlike so many New Zealand citizens.)" But the subsequent use of phrases like "The Asian menace has been steadily creeping up on us", "Asian crime continues to greet us with monotonous regularity" and "as each week passes with news of yet another arrest involving a Chinese sounding name" combine to portray a group that has a disproportionate tendency to crime.

The chronicle of crimes is not restricted to gang or professional criminal acts but includes domestic incidents and fraud. That there are serious crimes committed by individual Asians is not at issue but the failure to set this in context, both of other sectors of New Zealand society and of the Asian communities as a whole, cannot but stigmatise a whole group.

There are counter-references in the report. Immigration Minister David Cunliffe is quoted as saying he has seen no evidence Asian crime rates higher than other ethnic groups and Graham Gill of the Commerce Commission is quoted as saying there are "ratbags who regardless of their ethnicity will break laws". But this is followed by a reference to ignorance of "a major problem" and the quotations do not therefore change the overall tenor of the material which in the Council's view does breach the Principle referring to discrimination.

Ms Coddington suggests that in the case of Charles Mabbett there is a conflict of interest. But complaints to the Press Council may be expected to come from parties with an interest and Mr Mabbett has an incontestable right to make his complaint. He and the other complainants seek no special treatment.

North & South did carry a large number of critical letters but any ameliorating effect of this was negated by counter-comments and lack of recognition of the statistical inadequacies. The North & South article has failed to meet its obligation in regards to accuracy and discrimination and the complaints are upheld.