The Sunday Star-Times

The Sunday Star-Times is a New Zealand newspaper published each weekend by the Fairfax group in Auckland. It covers both national and international news, and is a member of the New Zealand Press Association and Newspaper Publishers Association of New Zealand.

The Sunday Star-Times was first published in March 1994 after the merger of The Dominion Sunday Times and The Sunday Star.

The paper was edited by Cate Brett from 2003 until 2008 when she took up a post at the New Zealand Law Commission. She was replaced by Australian Mitchell Murphy who, in 2010, was promoted to the role of publisher for Fairfax Sundays. In May 2010 David Kemeys was appointed editor, reporting directly to Murphy.

The paper is perceived to be centre-left, with a focus on providing an entertaining Sunday read with a mixture of news, features and celebrity gossip.

Regular contributors for the Sunday Star Times include Rosemary McLeod, Michael Laws, and Finlay MacDonald. Steve Braunias was a regular columnist for the Sunday magazine part of the newspaper, but was sacked in early 2011 for with a Gisborne police prosecutor named Claire Stewart.

Māori Party claims

In 2004 the paper published a front-page story claiming the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service was spying on members of the newly formed Māori Party. The article was co-authored by Nicky Hager. A government inquiry led by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security later rejected these claims in April 2005, however and the paper had...
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