David Lange - Life After Politics

Life After Politics

In 1996 Lange sued the Australian Broadcasting Corporation over an alleged defamation that it broadcast about him. The ABC used the defence that there exists in the Australian Constitution an implied right to freedom of speech on political matters, but the High Court of Australia found against them, reversing the then existing law (see Lange v Australian Broadcasting Corporation). The case was later settled on terms favorable to Lange.

In a key New Zealand defamation case (Lange v Atkinson 3 NZLR 385), Lange sued political scientist Joe Atkinson for representing him in the magazine North & South as a lazy prime minister. In a 1998 judgment, and on appeal in 2000, the courts affirmed a new qualified privilege for the media to discuss politicians when expressing the criticisms as the "honest opinion" of the author.

Lange was a New Zealand Rugby League board member and served as the organisation's Vice-President.

Lange received the Right Livelihood Award in 2003 for his strong fight against nuclear weapons.

In January 2006, Archives New Zealand released to The Sunday Star-Times newspaper a box of David Lange's previously classified documents. They revealed New Zealand's ongoing involvement in Western alliance espionage, and a threat by the United States to spy on New Zealand if it did not back down from its ban on nuclear ships.