Jonathan Coleman MP
National Party Broadcasting Spokesman

5 July 2007

Maharey rearranges the deck chairs

The review of the TVNZ Charter is going to do nothing to disguise the abysmal failure of Steve Maharey's broadcasting policy, says National Party Broadcasting spokesman Jonathan Coleman.

TVNZ has announced today that the process for reviewing the charter is underway.

"Of course the Charter was Steve Maharey's baby, and it's no surprise that he will want to sidetrack the broadcasting debate into a discussion on the feel-good nature of the Charter, rather than focus on the real financial problems facing TVNZ.

"There is nothing against which the Charter's objectives can be measured, and redrafting it is unlikely to make any difference to what the public sees on their television screens.

"Mr Maharey is on record saying that he looked forward to the Charter delivering all sorts of things. The reality is that his broadcasting policy has made nobody happy.

“He has saddled TVNZ with a dual remit that is making life hell for anyone working at the state broadcaster, and he would be hard pressed to show any difference the Charter has made to programming.

"This review of the Charter is unlikely to excite anybody but academics and officials.

"What Minister Maharey would be far better to concentrate on would be coming up with a workable broadcasting policy that will survive the digital challenge.”

ENDS

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