Stop Demand founder and barrister Denise Ritchie told
Checkpoint under the public opinion, it would be considered wrong for him to hold a royal honour under these circumstances. There was always the alternative for the prime minister s office to not take any steps until later in the month when he is sentenced, so we wanted to pre-empt that [with a statement]. Given his guilty plea, we thought the process should be relatively straightforward and there was no reason for the process [of removing his knighthood] not to begin immediately, so well done to the PM, it was a decisive step forward.
New Zealand moves to strip knighthood over child porn
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New Zealand moves to strip knighthood over child porn
AFP / Apr 1, 2021, 09:13 IST
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WELLINGTON: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern moved to strip high-profile businessman Ron Brierley of his knighthood on Thursday after the Sydney-based octogenarian pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography.
In what is believed to be an unprecedented move, Ardern s office said she had launched action to remove the honour, which was bestowed on New Zealand-born Brierley in 1988. There is a process for forfeiture, and the prime minister has asked for this to be initiated, a spokesman said.
Sir Ron Brierley.
Photo: Getty Images
Having honed his skills in the 1970s, Brierley s self-named investment company set about finding suitable targets.
It looked for the lame, the tired, the old, and the defenceless companies that were undervalued, underperforming, and ripe for taking.
Brierley Investments would make an offer that few chose to ignore. Having secured a prize it would then look to add value - more often than not through restructuring, taking out costs, dismemberment, asset sale, and then selling the core or rump of the target.
In the space of two decades, Brierley Investments had played with Air New Zealand, Dominion Breweries, New Zealand News (publishers of the now defunct Auckland and Christchurch Stars), Sky City Entertainment, New Zealand Insurance, Australia s Fairfax Holdings, Rothmans, Britain s Thistle Hotel chain, and the UK investment bank Guiness Peat.
New Zealand businessman guilty of having child abuse images
by Nick Perry, The Associated Press
Posted Apr 1, 2021 12:17 am EDT
Last Updated Apr 1, 2021 at 12:28 am EDT
Ron Brierley leaves the Downing Centre District Court in Sydney, Thursday, April 1, 2021. Brierley, one of New Zealand s most well-known businessmen, pleaded guilty Thursday to possessing child sex abuse images, including some of children as young as 2. (Mick Tsikas/AAP Image via AP)
WELLINGTON, New Zealand One of New Zealand’s most well-known businessmen pleaded guilty Thursday to possessing child sex abuse images, including some of children as young as 2.
Ron Brierley’s pleas on three charges in an Australian court have sparked a rarely invoked procedure to strip him of the knighthood he received more than 30 years ago.
Sir Ron Brierley, once a lauded corporate raider, now viewed with contempt. (file photo)
Brierley Investments was once the country’s biggest listed company, its eponymous founder famous for hunting down undervalued companies and selling off their assets for a profit. It’s estimated one in every 20 New Zealanders owned shares in the corporate raider, and it made Sir Ron Brierley very rich, with a wealth consistently estimated well over $100 million, elevating him to the top of the corporate world. Now his reputation is in ruins, after the 83-year-old, who lives in Australia, pleaded guilty on Friday to possessing child sexual abuse material, having been detained attempting to board a flight from Sydney to Fiji in December 2019.