My wife Jackie and I sold our home to invest in NBR. When I talk about the cost of producing journalism, I know where some of that money came from.

We made that decision because we believed people would pay for independent journalism that helped them understand business. We accepted the risk. What I struggle to accept is the suggestion that another business should be allowed to use that work unless we specifically tell it not to.

That is the concern behind the warning from 63 international media and creative organisations about reported Australian copyright proposals involving an opt-out for AI training.

Think about what that asks of a publisher. Find out who wants your work, establish how to object, check whether they have respected your objection, then fund the fight if they haven’t. All while continuing to produce the material everyone apparently finds so useful.

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I have some experience of that last part.

At NBR, we have spent considerable time and money pursuing New Zealand government agencies over the sharing of our journalism beyond their licences. Material our subscribers pay to access has been circulated to people without the required subscriptions.

The response when I raise this publicly is sometimes: take them to court.

Easy enough to say. I pay our lawyers from the business. The department pays its lawyers with taxpayers’ money. Our subscribers are taxpayers too, so they help........

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