Tony Veitch

Veitch finished hosting his weekend sport show on Newstalk ZB in December 2017 following a revamp of the station, and said he would be moving to an online platform for his show. He announced in October 2018 that he has given up sports broadcasting to open a villa retreat in Bali.

In May 2016 Veitch's employers NZME published a piece by him in The New Zealand Herald which included an apology for his past domestic violence. Representatives of New Zealand Women's Refuge responded by stating that this statement was an extension of his former victim-blaming. Dunne-Powell's father issued a statement similarly attacking Veitch's statement as "self-serving".

In January 2015, Veitch married Lisa Bryan on Puketutu Island. The marriage ended in late 2016.

In October 2015 his comments in relation to the 2015 Rugby World Cup incident where a referee Nigel Owens described a contact as "Not a punch just a push of the fist" attracted widespread criticism. Media and members of the public commented that this was an inappropriate comment for someone convicted of domestic violence to make and representatives of New Zealand Women's Refuge and the National Council of Women responded that his statement on Facebook following the initial criticism showed "a total lack of self-awareness". He has since apologised over the incident.

The day after the assault allegations were made public, Veitch turned up to work on Radio Sport, although Andrew Saville presented the sports news on ONE News. TVNZ released a media statement saying "Sports Presenter Tony Veitch has agreed to step down from his role with TVNZ while media allegations are considered by the broadcaster." It reported that "head of news and current affairs Anthony Flannery said that Mr Veitch would step down while a review was conducted into the allegations made against him by some media organisations." He added that due to the nature of the allegations—in particular the privacy of others, he could not make comment further.

In the New Year of 2011, Veitch returned as the host of the Radio Sport breakfast show and, in 2013, took on other roles with the retiring of Murray Deaker.

Prior to his April 2009 court appearance Veitch made a short comeback, appearing as a guest panelist on Deaker on Sport.

After the publication of the incident, Veitch was charged with six counts of assaulting Dunne-Powell and one of injuring her with reckless disregard, between 2002 and 2006. He was released on bail. On 16 April 2009, he appeared in Auckland District Court and entered a guilty plea to the most serious charge, of injuring with reckless disregard. The Crown did not present evidence regarding the other six charges, and they were dismissed.

Prior to 7 July 2008, Veitch was a highly visible New Zealand sports broadcaster who hosted a Radio Sport breakfast show and the ONE News 6pm sports news until July 2008. He was also involved with other TVNZ programmes such as A Game of Two Halves and Veitch's View.

Veitch's lawyers argued for suppression of the police report, however some details were released prior to the court action. On 7 July 2008, Fairfax Media publications The Press and the Dominion Post reported the incident.

Veitch issued a media statement on 17 July 2008 announcing his resignation from both TVNZ and Radio Sport. He was quoted as saying that "TVNZ has been my life, I have loved my job. There have been a lot of statements made that are untrue which make it untenable now for me to continue in my current roles with TVNZ and the Radio Network."

In 2007, he won a New Zealand TV Guide Best on the Box Award for Best Sport Presenter, an accolade given to him again in 2009, after he resigned.

In 2006 he won NZ Radio Awards Best sports presenter: Best Presenter or Talk Show and was a finalist in Best news: Best News Story Team Coverage (with Peter Everatt).

In early 2006 Veitch seriously assaulted his then-partner Kristin Dunne-Powell. The assault broke Dunne-Powell's back in four places and she needed temporarily to use a wheelchair. The injuries kept Dunne-Powell away from work for several months. Her injuries and the emotional trauma she suffered subsequently forced her to quit a managerial position at Vodafone New Zealand. Veitch paid Dunne-Powell NZ$100,000 not to reveal the assault publicly, and to explain the injuries as a result of falling down stairs.

In early 2005, Veitch was suspended by TVNZ for about a week after appearing in a horse racing advertisement without asking permission from TVNZ. The same year he appeared in the Auckland City All Stars soccer match for tsunami relief.

On several occasions he emceed events for the Cure Kids children's charity, and, in 2002, he appeared in a celebrity race in the Queenstown Winter Festival.

In 2002 he won the SPARC Adidas Award for Television Reporting; "the judges said that TVNZ’s Tony Veitch was a great talent in contemporary television reporting with a portfolio that showed the range of his considering reporting ability."

Tony Colin Veitch (born 1973) is a New Zealand former reporter and sports broadcaster. He hosted a Radio Sport breakfast show and Television New Zealand's ONE News 6pm sports news. Veitch resigned from all broadcasting roles in the wake of domestic violence revelations in 2008 and a conviction in 2009, but later regained significant roles at Newstalk ZB and Radio Sport, until late 2017.