His views have , at times , been controversial . An example was his opinion piece relating to " '' Breakfast for Canterbury '' " which was broadcast by TVNZ following the 2010 Canterbury earthquake . The piece began : " As dawn broke over the ruined city , God decided to punish the urbanites one more time . He sent them Paul Henry and his Breakfast television team . Billed as Breakfast for Canterbury , the Auckland TV people came down once more to feast on the already well-gnawed bones of injured Christchurch . " He also made trenchant comment on , and took a controversial position in relation to , aspects of the David Bain retrial . Van Beynen was accused of approaching a juror , which led to criticism of him by an official of the High Court and media outlets
2010 Canterbury earthquake
2010 Canterbury earthquake
Martin van Beynen