Covid saves RNZ from funding cut

The pandemic forced the Government to agree to a permanent $7.25 million funding increase for Radio NZ in its last budget, saving the organisation from a funding cut of 16 per cent.

The Government had previously agreed to increase the funding by $7.25m but it would expire after two years.

The Government initially declined RNZ’s request to make that funding increase permanent.

But a Treasury paper released to Stuff under the Official Information Act shows the Government changed its decision due to the pandemic.

The funding increase is a sore point between the Government and RNZ.

The Government made the top-up in its 2019 Budget for the next two years but RNZ thought it would be added to its permanent budget.

On April 13, 2020, Finance Minister Grant Robertson was briefed on revisiting the proposal.

The paper said RNZ had also asked for more money from the 2020 Budget but this was declined.

That would have meant the broadcaster’s annual baseline funding would have snapped back to $35.35m.

‘‘RNZ submitted a Budget

2020 bid to seek an extension to the $7.25m annual operating funding increase for

2021-22 and 2022-23 to allow it sufficient time to plan beyond the expiry of its current funding,’’ the paper said. ‘‘This bid was declined.’’

But it warned the bid was declined because, at the time, ministers were considering merging RNZ and TVNZ, a proposal put on ice during the pandemic but since revived. The paper said Covid-19 had changed the calculation about what resources the radio broadcaster would need.

The Government chose to increase RNZ’s funding in Budget 2020 but used money from the $50 billion Covid-19 response fund.