Fair Go? Not for me, says farmer

Mark Story | 24th July 2009

Robert McVitty reckons he hasn't been given a fair go.

The Manawatu dairy farmer was outed on TV One's Fair Go programme on July 15 for not paying a $66,000 debt to Ongaonga widow Paula McCutcheon.

He claims he was "victimised" by the show and that Fair Go took advantage of a grieving widow to produce a "sensationalised report".

"Despite the fact plenty of dairy farmers like me have been hit hard by the recession and are struggling to pay creditors, Fair Go still jumped at the chance to leverage off this woman's tragic situation to hang my family out to dry," Mr McVitty said.

"My family, my business, my reputation have been crucified on national television simply because their producers wanted to create something newsworthy."

He and his wife had received abusive phone calls and threats since the show.

During the programme, Mr McVitty failed to front in an 11th-hour deal between his Palmerston North solicitor and Fair Go to repay a $66,000 silage contract debt he had owed the McCutcheon family since November.

"They set a payment deadline that I couldn't meet, and they knew that.

"They also knew I was intending to pay as soon as I possibly could, yet they ran with the story anyway."

 Mrs McCutcheon received payment in full the day after the programme went to air.

Fair Go presenter Phil Vine denied the allegations.

He said the payment deadline was agreed between Fair Go and Mr McVitty's barrister, who indicated it would be worth Fair Go flying to Palmerston North to pick up the cheque.

"The cheque was not forthcoming before that deadline," Mr Vine said.

He believed Mrs McCutcheon's circumstances made her "markedly different" from other creditors.

"The facts speak for themselves. Despite repeated requests from Paula, her accountant and her lawyer, Mr McVitty neglected to pay the money he owed."

Neither did he believe Mr McVitty's bank was to blame for stalling the payment.

"The BNZ was not standing in the way of that payment being made.

"This was evidenced by the fact that the cheque received was banked on Monday, and cleared in a matter of hours," he said.

 Fair Go "categorically rejects" the claim it victimised Mr McVitty's family.

"At the very least, we consider his actions in not paying this debt to a grieving widow woefully tardy.

"At the worst, deeply upsetting to a woman who deserves to be treated with care and respect," Mr Vine said.

Mr McVitty has ruled out legal proceedings against Fair Go.

"The damage has already been done. I sympathise with Paula McCutcheon for her tragedy and bear her no ill-will at all," he said.