Broadcasting

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• Not available on their website yet.

• Establish a new broadcasting body to set, monitor, and enforce rules relating to any obligations attached to the right to broadcast such as minimum local content quotas; as well as issues relating to digital convergence, cross-media and multi-media ownership.
• Review the mechanisms for allocating radio and television frequencies to Maori, public and community broadcasters.
• Introduce a minimum number of hours of locally made children's television that free to air television channels are required to screen, increase funding for this, and move commercial advertisements away from screening during pre-school and school age children's television.
• Bring three existing media industry organisations: the Advertising Standards Authority, the Broadcasting Standards Authority and the Press Council, into a common framework based on the principle of responsible self regulation.
• Review regulations applying to providers of "common carrier" broadcast platforms, to ensure the independence and competitiveness of these digital media channels. (more here)

• Establish a working group to report on funding options to re-establish a Public Service Television Station.
• Continue its strong commitment to the New Zealand content sector and a platform for free-to-air regional TV.
• Work alongside the media industry to set up a new omnibus self-regulatory standards body to cover all media complaints and standards issues. (more here)

• Not available on their website yet.

• We will maintain the current level of funding to Te Māngai Pāho and Māori Television.
• We require broadcasters to increase Māori content in peak times; increase programming that aims to educate our nation and all broadcasters on national broadcasting to be Māori language proficient.
• We will develop rangatahi Māori radio programming.
• We seek recognition that the spectrum is a taonga. We will negotiate 33% (15MHz) of 4G Spectrum (700MHz Band) and future allocations for Māori. (more here)

• We will maintain public ownership of Television New Zealand and Radio New Zealand, and encourage them to adapt to the digital distribution of content.
• Continue to work with broadcasters to use digital technology to increase the amount of captioning both on television and online.
• Ensure broadcasting rules fit the digital age. (more here)

• Combine Television New Zealand (TVNZ) and Radio New Zealand under one state-owned enterprise known as New Zealand Broadcasting (NZB), modelled on similar public broadcasting systems overseas, and with clear aims that include promoting our nation's unique qualities, and the coverage of significant national events.
• Re-establish a non-commercial public service free-to-air channel with a concentration on quality programming based on the TVNZ 7 model.
• Introduce lower dividend requirements to allow more expenditure on quality programming thus removing the need for low value programming with high advertising content.
• Ensure that all future appointments to the NZB board are made on the basis of experience, expertise, and appropriate representation from industry and consumers, and not political patronage.
• Require that salaries paid beyond accepted public service bands, particularly but not exclusively in broadcasting, be cleared with and signed off by stakeholder ministers. (more here)

• Reform the Broadcasting Standards Authority to enable it to fulfil its ombudsman role, including: streamlining procedures and providing extra resources to ensure complaints are dealt with expeditiously, broadening its scope so that it can be proactive in raising issues, and empowering the BSA to defend its rulings from network challenges.
• Reduce the compliance costs of regulations for bands on airwaves for regional broadcasters, to allow new players to enter the market and ensure that local voices have access to the airwaves.
• Maintain Radio New Zealand in public ownership.
• Ensure the Broadcasting Act recognises the importance of Community Access Radio and ensures their continued access to FM and AM frequencies.
• Undertake a review of options for the future of public service broadcasting in NZ including consideration of sustainable funding for Radio NZ, whether TVNZ should be sold and its public functions transferred to a new public television service, and/or potentially merged with RNZ. (more here)