25 June 2001 Media Statement

Alliance central role in Crown-Owned Company

The Alliance is pleased to have played a central role in making the decision to create a new Crown-Owned Company, TVNZ. We were not supportive of a split between BCL and TVNZ, Deputy Prime Minister and Alliance leader Jim Anderton said today.

"The new Crown-Owned Company will deliver a higher standard of public broadcasting in a commercial environment, and allow use of the latest technologies.

"Alliance Ministers questioned the idea of splitting BCL from TVNZ and at the end of the day the arguments didn't stack up," said Jim Anderton.

"Keeping BCL as a separate subsidiary of TVNZ allows both development of BCL and complementary growth with TVNZ. The business activities of these two parts of TVNZ are highly complementary and full separation would have incurred costs while not necessarily generating any efficiencies.

"The discussions with Labour were constructive as both parties explored the issues.

"TVNZ's biggest threat continues to be National and ACT plans to privatise the public broadcaster," said Jim Anderton.

ENDS

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