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Summarised by Centrist
The Broadcasting Standards Authority will be scrapped in favour of greater media self-regulation, Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith has confirmed.
Goldsmith said New Zealand’s media landscape had changed, but “regulatory settings have not kept up”. He said the current system can create inconsistencies and “unfair outcomes”.
“If you’ve got a panel discussion on a podcast that’s on demand, that’s not covered, but if you’ve got a panel discussion on RNZ, it does, and there’s no sort of logic for that,” Goldsmith told RNZ.
The announcement comes in the wake of the BSA’s attempt to assert jurisdiction over The Platform’s live online talkback programme. The BSA said the programme “meets the act’s definition of ‘broadcasting’”.
Winston Peters called that “blatant overreach” and “highly concerning”. Goldsmith said the Platform case was not the direct reason for the change, but it “raised the broader issue of where the boundary should lie”.
Goldsmith said the BSA was designed for a broadcasting environment that was “rapidly disappearing”.
The Platform host Sean Plunket said the decision was good news for free speech. “I find it amazing that the BSA decided to pick a fight which ended up in its own demise,” he said.
Chris Hipkins called the move “risky” and said it was “irresponsible” to abolish “basically a consumer protection” without a clear replacement.
Laura McClure called it “absolutely fantastic news for freedom of speech in New Zealand”. She said the BSA had gone “beyond its remit” by asserting jurisdiction over internet and podcast content.
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