Does NZ have a right wing government right now? Nothing in the history of anything has ever improved with “Self regulation” so it must be useless policy season.
It is useless policy season. This is highly unlikely to get through before the upcoming election. The press releases are mostly just virtue signalling.
New Zealand has always imported the bulk of its television content from the USA, Australia and the UK (more rarely Canada and elsewhere.) Other than "Shortland Street", the news and some sports games, there has been disappointingly little in the way of domestic television production.
I’m highly doubtful about this - it seems to be an excuse to disestablish the BSA, rather than a genuine basis for the decision.
I think this will help drive more partisan and sensationalist media, like one gets in the US. NZ has been relatively resistant to populism and partisanism in the past, partially because we have a watchdog to make the media all play nice.
Based on their arguments, they should really be expanding the BSA’s remit to officially cover internet-based NZ media.
Also, they’ve done a press release and talked on the radio about it to try and stir up headlines, but it’s highly unlikely to get through parliament before the upcoming election. Based on the current polling, the makeup of parliament is likely to dramatically alter by the end of the year: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_2026_N...
Without knowing anything about the current state of NZ politics, some general political strategies could be the source:
1. since they are in a lame-duck state (as you mentioned, everyone expects there will be an overhaul), they are trying to get done the dirty stuff they promised to big donors (this particular thing looks like a wet dream of Rupert Murdoch, for example)
2. since they expect to be beaten, they think unleashing the "dogs of hell" of unregulated media might actually help them
3. they have an actual proposal that is different from this but that they can sell as a compromise, after the inevitable pushback on this one, which will then be rushed through sight-unseen "because there is no time left"
4. this is just campaign noise, meant to attract interest from moneyed media so that they get treated well in the upcoming election cycle
This is what caused their problems
https://lawnews.nz/administrative-public/bca-investigates-it...
Typical colonists. Trying to one up the homeland on prudishness. Australia is making similar "save the children" noises.
They investigated one too many rightwinger who supported the government
Jacinda Ardern's other half was in broadcasting. It's not a new issue. They're all part of the same clique.
he made fishing shows, not exactly politically contentious
Does NZ have a right wing government right now? Nothing in the history of anything has ever improved with “Self regulation” so it must be useless policy season.
It is useless policy season. This is highly unlikely to get through before the upcoming election. The press releases are mostly just virtue signalling.
New Zealand has always imported the bulk of its television content from the USA, Australia and the UK (more rarely Canada and elsewhere.) Other than "Shortland Street", the news and some sports games, there has been disappointingly little in the way of domestic television production.
I’m highly doubtful about this - it seems to be an excuse to disestablish the BSA, rather than a genuine basis for the decision.
I think this will help drive more partisan and sensationalist media, like one gets in the US. NZ has been relatively resistant to populism and partisanism in the past, partially because we have a watchdog to make the media all play nice.
Based on their arguments, they should really be expanding the BSA’s remit to officially cover internet-based NZ media.
Also, they’ve done a press release and talked on the radio about it to try and stir up headlines, but it’s highly unlikely to get through parliament before the upcoming election. Based on the current polling, the makeup of parliament is likely to dramatically alter by the end of the year: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_2026_N...
Without knowing anything about the current state of NZ politics, some general political strategies could be the source:
1. since they are in a lame-duck state (as you mentioned, everyone expects there will be an overhaul), they are trying to get done the dirty stuff they promised to big donors (this particular thing looks like a wet dream of Rupert Murdoch, for example)
2. since they expect to be beaten, they think unleashing the "dogs of hell" of unregulated media might actually help them
3. they have an actual proposal that is different from this but that they can sell as a compromise, after the inevitable pushback on this one, which will then be rushed through sight-unseen "because there is no time left"
4. this is just campaign noise, meant to attract interest from moneyed media so that they get treated well in the upcoming election cycle
If I were a betting man, I would put money on 1.