Sunday 11 February 2001

"Marian Hobbs' dawdling around the issue of whether Television New Zealand is to remain a State Owned Enterprise or become a Crown Entity could soon put TVNZ in breach of the SOE Act. Although, with the behaviour of the SOE over the last few months there is a good argument to say it already is", National's Broadcasting spokesperson Katherine Rich said today.

"The SOE Act is clear. TVNZ's principal objective is to be a successful business. It must conduct its business in a manner that is as profitable and efficient as comparable businesses that are not owned by the Crown. Already some of TVNZ's actions are decidedly non-businesslike.

"No comparable business would ever jeopardize its viewership or its advertising support by taking a prime time audience and gifting it to competitors by playing worthy-but-dull minority shows.

"On a lesser note, no comparable business would jeopardize the privacy of a key staff member by discussing pay conditions with the media.

"Already the earning potential of TVNZ has been greatly affected by the naive expectations of bumbling government shareholders and the decisions made in anticipation of the Charter.

"The focus on who gets the dividend, such an important issue 12 months ago, is increasingly irrelevant. There can be no Cabinet squabble about who gets to keep the dividend when there isn't one in the first place," Katherine Rich said.

Ends

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>