Marian Deforms TVNZ

Tuesday 16 Oct 2001 Richard Prebble Press Releases -- Broadcasting

The new structure of TVNZ confirms that future Governments will be forced to annually inject more cash into the state broadcaster, ACT Leader and former Broadcasting Minister Hon Richard Prebble said today.

"The new structure announced by Marian will just create another layer of bureaucracy. It's really an admission by the Minister that the new Charter is going to be a financial disaster for TVNZ. The Government is siphoning off profits from the broadcasting transmission arm to prop up television programming that nobody wants to watch.

"The financial objective of TVNZ has effectively been removed. Radio New Zealand requires Government funding every year - clearly Ms Hobbs intends the scenario to be duplicated for the broadcaster.

"Short-term, the profitable arm of TVNZ, BCL, will prop up the entire company. But under the Charter, as things deteriorate, that's going to become insufficient.

"As a result of Ms Hobbs' decision, there will be three times more bureaucracy, and a cost for every taxpayer for years to come," Mr Prebble said.

ENDS

For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at act@parliament.govt.nz.

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