UF gives TVNZ a future while Greens see red

United Future MP Marc Alexander has welcomed the passage of the TVNZ Bill, which provides the best of both worlds - a charter recreating TVNZ as a true public service broadcaster and an autonomous Transmission Holding Ltd which won't be undermined by the need to fund the former.

"The Greens are clearly unable to see the commonsense reasons for the break-up of the structure," says Marc Alexander.

"They would have you believe that the broadcast decisions of TVNZ will not be able to stand on its own merits; that the profits from THL would be better siphoned off to prop up an economically oblivious broadcast operation; and that politically correct programming takes precedence over providing what the viewers want!"

Despite the protestations of the Greens that an eleventh hour deal was struck, Mr Alexander said that the decision was based on discussions "as far back as last October, and were welcomed by Labour as rational, reasonable and in the interests of maintaining the integrity of both sides of the TVNZ equation".

"Lets face it, the business acumen of the fuming Greens can hardly be held up as a pass in economics 101. I suppose they're just a wee bit red over the fact that they cannot now secretly funnel public money into programmes no one would want to watch," Mr Alexander said.

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