Minister_of_Broadcasting,_Communications_and_Digital_Media

Minister for Media and Communications

Minister for Media and Communications

New Zealand minister of the Crown

The Minister for Media and Communications[lower-alpha 1] is a minister in the New Zealand Government with responsibility for the government's broadcasting and media policies, including the diversity and accessibility of broadcast content, broadcasting standards, the regulation of the print media, and the oversight of state media corporations TVNZ and Radio New Zealand.[2] The current Minister is Melissa Lee, a member of the National Party.

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History

In 1936 the First Labour Government decided that broadcasting would be run by the state. As a result a government minister in charge of Broadcasting was appointed and new legislation (the Broadcasting Act 1936) was passed that abolished the existing New Zealand Broadcasting Board and established the new National Broadcasting Service in its place. A Director of Broadcasting was appointed and a Broadcasting Advisory Council formed as a result of the act to advise the minister.[3][4] The Labour Party had specifically sought to broadcast parliamentary debates via radio as a means of allowing the public to listen and make their own judgment of events, rather than relying solely on the press, whom Labour were distrustful of.[5]

Later the minister oversaw the introduction of television into New Zealand and became responsible for the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC).[6]

Between December 2016 and October 2017, the broadcasting portfolio was disestablished, with portfolio responsibilities shared between the Minister for Communications and Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage.[7] The position was recreated from October 2017 with a title change reflecting a broader scope. The Minister is advised by officials from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.[2]

Under the Sixth Labour Government, the focus of the portfolio was on creating a new Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media entity which would have been formed by merging TVNZ and Radio New Zealand into a single state broadcaster.[8] The plan was later scrapped.[9]

List of ministers

The following ministers have held the office of Minister of Broadcasting.[10]

Key

  Labour   National

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See also

Works cited

  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.

Notes

  1. The portfolio was previously Minister of Broadcasting, Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media and Minister of Broadcasting and Media.

References

  1. [1]
    "Parliamentary Salaries and Allowances Determination 2016" (PDF). www.parliament.nz. New Zealand Parliament. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 November 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  2. [2]
    "Broadcasting and Media". Broadcasting and Media. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  3. [3]
    "Control by Minister". The Evening Post. Vol. CXXI, no. 135. 9 June 1936. p. 5. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  4. [4]
    "Broadcasting Portfolio". Nelson Evening Mail. Vol. LXX. 1 July 1936. p. 7. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  5. [5]
    Gustafson, Barry (1986). From the Cradle to the Grave: A biography of Michael Joseph Savage. Auckland, New Zealand: Reed Methuen. pp. 193–4. ISBN 0-474-00138-5.
  6. [6]
    "Television in New Zealand; TV emerges in New Zealand". NZ History online. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  7. [7]
    "Our Ministers | Ministry for Culture and Heritage". 31 January 2017. Archived from the original on 31 January 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  8. [8]
    "New details revealed as Cabinet agrees on RNZ, TVNZ public broadcasting decision". RNZ. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  9. [9]
    "Watch: TVNZ/RNZ merger scrapped, income insurance and hate speech laws delayed". RNZ. 8 February 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  10. [10]
    Wilson 1985, pp. 89–97.
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