Tom Phillips died following a shootout with police after they were called to reports of a burglary in the early hours of 8 September Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi / Police
An injunction preventing the media from publishing certain details related to the investigation into Tom Phillips and his family remains in place.
The matter will be discussed again in the High Court on 17 October.
Phillips died following a shootout with police after they were called to reports of a burglary in the early hours of 8 September. One of Phillips' children, who was with him at the time, then began assisting police and said there were firearms at the campsite.
More than 12 hours later the remaining children were located in a remote campsite, deep in dense bush about 2km away from where Phillips was fatally shot.
Lawyer Linda Clark, acting for the Phillips family, then went to the High Court in Wellington seeking an urgent injunction.
The injunction - which prevented media, police and Oranga Tamariki from publishing certain details related to the case - was granted by Justice Helen Cull.
The interim order lasted 48 hours, with the matter called in the High Court at Wellington on 11 September before Justice Cull.
At the end of the hearing, Justice Cull said the injunction would remain until further order of the court.
The matter was argued again in court on Thursday.
Media organisations, including RNZ, were heard on the matter. As the hearing was in chambers, media are only permitted to report the result of the hearing.
Justice Cull said the injunction would remain until further order of the court. The matter is to be heard again on 17 October.
Domestic media outlets including RNZ have been abiding by the injunction, as they are legally compelled too, but questions have been raised about compliance by social media platforms users and platforms.
Fielding questions from reporters, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith delivered a blunt assessment on the complexities of the courts enforcing local suppression orders on the World Wide Web.
"Modern technology is putting pressure on traditional rules that we've had in a way that's getting more intense and so it's becoming a more and more difficult situation to navigate.
"What I am looking for is solutions that will actually work and none have been presented so far."
The minister said it was ultimately up to the courts to enforce suppression orders, but he was having ongoing discussions with justice officials about what the government could do to support them to do their job.
"It continues to be an issue that is getting more and more fraught with each passing year. There is a global set of platforms out there that do not necessarily follow our domestic suppression laws.
"How do we deal with that? Like I say, I haven't been presented with any effective solutions yet, but it's an ongoing discussion."
Paul Goldsmith. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
Goldsmith, who has had engagement with the likes of Google and Meta (Facebook) on the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill, said he spoke to the tech giants regularly.
"We do have an opportunity to have a say, but I'm also conscious of the fact that we're a small country in a global world."
Pressed on what courts could actually do to enforce suppression orders in the meantime, Goldsmith said the matter would be resolved.
"I'm not a lawyer. I'm not going to provide legal advice for you or your viewers, but these are the sorts of issues that will be resolved."
Phillips 'no hero'
Speaking to the media after the shooting, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said Phillips was "no hero".
"No one who does this to children is a hero. No one who unleashes a high-powered weapon on one of my officers is a hero."
Police Minister Mark Mitchell reiterated Chambers' comments to Mata.
"I understand that maybe there's a small part of our society that may see him in that light.
"I think most fair-minded Kiwis would say that a father that takes his children into the bush like that, four years with firearms and depriving them of a normal childhood and upbringing, putting them in in dangerous situations through his own continued violent offending… that is not a hero, that is not a good father.
"That is a father that seems to be more focused on their own needs than the needs and the safety of their own children."
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