Jackson pulls back media comments
WELLINGTON: Broadcasting Minister Willie Jackson has been forced to back down on comments he made in Parliament on Wednesday suggesting New Zealand radio and television were not trusted.
He said the reason for the planned merger between TVNZ, a stateowned commercial broadcaster, and Radio New Zealand, the advertisingfree statefunded broadcaster, was that people no longer trusted New Zealand television or New Zealand radio.
‘‘We have no longer a trust in national media. No longer is there a trust in what’s happening at a national media level,’’ he said.
Mr Jackson said in Parliament yesterday his response to questions from National’s Melissa Lee could have been better worded.
‘‘This was no reflection on RNZ and TVNZ, but a reflection that the whole media landscape has changed, with audiences now more likely to be engaged with streaming services or social media than traditional media,’’ he said.
Surveys had shown that RNZ and TVNZ were New Zealand’s mosttrusted media. But overall trust in media was slipping, both domestically and internationally, ‘‘and this Government wants to do something about it’’.
Ms Lee highlighted the fact that officials had prepared no regulatory impact assessment on the establishment of the merged entity under the Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media Bill (ANZPM).
She took up an offer by Mr Jackson on Wednesday in question time to go to his office to look at a business case for the merger prepared by Tracey Martin’s committee, but most of it had been redacted.
It was ‘‘beyond the pale’’ that there was no available costbenefit analysis to show what the merger was going to do to the media landscape — be it the commercial sector, ethnic or community access radio, Ms Lee said.
‘‘I think it is appalling. Nothing has given me confidence that the Government has looked into the impact of the merger,’’ she said. The select committee hearing submissions on the legislation enabling the merger heard yesterday the plan was being advanced on the basis of scant information about its impact.
Concerns were raised by a vast range of interests, including media competitors in commercial media, independent screen producers, screenwriters, community radio and ethnic radio.
The most comprehensive written submission to the committee was made by Auckland University’s Koi Tu: The Centre for Informed Futures.
Speaking on its behalf in person, Dr Gavin Ellis was surprised at the lack of information.
‘‘I’m surprised that Parliament does not have the unredacted business case — in fact, I’m somewhat speechless,’’ Dr Ellis said.
‘‘For Parliament to process this legislation from a position of knowledge, then the more financial information the better. Because we all know traditional media finances are on a progressively steep downward trend.
‘‘Of course, the multinational social media platforms that are sucking half of our advertising revenue are part and parcel of that, but that’s for a different day.’’
He raised concerns about the robustness of the model for the merged entity.
The model, an autonomous Crown entity, would still allow the relevant minister to add or remove additional functions. Such changes should be made in the public view of Parliament, not by the minister, he said.
He said Koi Tu was in favour of the new entity but protections for it should not be left to the goodwill of the current or future governments.
‘‘I always use a particular filter, and I’m sure he won’t forgive me, but I call it the Trump Filter.’’
It was not a matter of what the Government or the next government would do with the law, he said.
‘‘It’s what the government 10 years from now will do with it because this will be around for 20 to 30 years on the basis of previous legislation.’’
WELLINGTON: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says Oranga Tamariki Minister Kelvin Davis will not face discipline after apologising for comments he made about Act New Zealand MP Karen Chhour, which Ms Ardern said were ‘‘too personal’’.
Ms Chhour has accepted the apology from Mr Davis, but said his comments had knocked her confidence ‘‘to stand as a proud Maori woman’’.
Mr Davis had said in Parliament on Wednesday that Ms Chhour needed to ‘‘cross the bridge that is Te Tiriti o Waitangi from her Pakeha world into the Maori world’’ and stop looking at the world with a ‘‘vanilla lens’’.
Mr Davis contacted Ms Chhour yesterday to apologise, saying he had slept on it and decided an apology was needed.
‘‘I made a mistake. I rang her up. I apologised,’’ Mr Davis said.
‘‘What I said was inappropriate. It caused offence.
‘‘It wasn’t an attack on her whakapapa.
‘‘The point I was trying to make is that I disagree with Act’s policies, but I didn’t choose my words properly and I have since apologised.’’
He said Ms Ardern had not told him to apologise, but he had told her he was going to ‘‘and she said it was the right thing to do’’.
Ms Ardern said Mr Davis had admitted he had gone too far.
‘‘It was too personal, and I support the decision he took.
‘‘There is the cut and thrust of the House, but we do need to make sure we are debating the policy, not the personal.’’
Act had called for Mr Davis to be suspended, likening it to the suspension of UK Labour MP Rupa Huq for saying another MP, Kwasi Kwarteng, was ‘‘superficially a black man’’ and if you heard him talk on the media ‘‘you wouldn’t know he’s black’’.
Ms Ardern ruled that out, saying she took responsibility for her own caucus.
Ms Chhour, who is Ngapuhi, said she accepted his apology as genuine, but the comments had hurt her.
‘‘I found it quite hurtful, the personal attack on my identity and how I see the world.
‘‘And I don’t think anybody should have to justify themselves like that.
‘‘I always felt lacking in my identity, and I finally found that confidence to stand as a proud Maori woman and it was taken away from me yesterday.’’
Mr Davis said Ms Chhour was ‘‘very gracious’’ when he apologised by phone.
He said he had disagreed with Ms Chhour’s member’s Bill to remove the requirement for Oranga Tamariki to act in accordance with the Treaty obligations when making decisions on children.
‘‘That’s wanting to return us to a system which basically made Maori kids and their needs invisible,’’ he said.
He said he had not intended to cause offence and denied he was questioning her whakapapa, saying he knew himself what it felt like to have that questioned.
Mr Davis made the initial comments in Question Time after Ms Chhour questioned him about Oranga Tamariki and its funding agreements with Te Whanau o Waipareira.
The questioning followed reports in The New Zealand Herald that Te Whanau o Waipareira was being looked at by the charities regulator after it loaned money to fund campaigns, including John Tamihere’s mayoral bid and the Maori party’s 2020 campaign.
In his response, Mr Davis said it was a Treatybased relationship.
‘‘What the member needs to do is cross the bridge that is Te Tiriti o Waitangi from her Pakeha world into the Maori world and understand exactly how the Maori world operates.
‘‘It’s no good looking at the world from a vanilla lens.’’