Auckland newspaper The New Zealand Herald reported that on 23 November 1966, Eyre had responded to an election meeting question in Devonport that his personal solution to end the war in Vietnam was to drop "a basin full of bombs" on the enemy. Leader of the Opposition, Norman Kirk, took advantage of the Herald article as the war was a large issue at the . Eyre claimed the reporting was not contextually related to his comments about military targets and he successfully sued for defamation over the reporting of the remark.
Newspaper The New Zealand Herald reported on 23 November 1966, that during an election meeting in Devonport, Eyre proposed a solution to end the Vietnam War by dropping "a basin full of bombs" on the enemy. Opposition leader Norman Kirk capitalized on the article since the war was a major concern at the time. Eyre argued that the reporting did not accurately reflect his comments about military targets and he won a defamation lawsuit against the Herald for misrepresenting his remark.