Over 5,500 Kiwis tell Minister to scrap Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill

Last week, the Government announced it’s progressing Willie Jackson’s flawed Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill, despite evidence from overseas that the model will likely fall flat.

On Saturday, the Taxpayers’ Union launched a tool allowing people to write to Ministers Paul Goldsmith, Winston Peters and the Prime Minister. Over 5,500 New Zealanders have since sent letters calling for the Bill to be scrapped. The email tool can be found at www.taxpayers.org.nz/email_media_bill.

Commenting on this Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: “Bailing out the same old media organisations isn’t the answer to flatlining trust in the media. Even if this digital shakedown would work, media have to learn to stand on their own two feet.

’That’s a big if, and looking at Canada shows how this will play out in reality. No more news links on your social media, and millions of dollars in free advertising for new organisations washed down the pan overnight.

“Over 5,500 Kiwis have already told the relevant Ministers to take this back to the drawing board. At the bare minimum, there’s no excuse not to take the Bill back to Select Committee.”

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