New Zealanders worried about the TVNZ and RNZ merger won’t be reassured by Broadcasting Minister Willie Jackson’s wild display on Q&A today, National’s Broadcasting and Media spokesperson Melissa Lee says.

“Minister Jackson’s interview was a train wreck. The way he talked on Q&A is a clear sign he intends on interfering with the culture, operations and decisions of the new entity while having political influence over it.

“Yet again, Minister Jackson gave no reasons for the merger. If anything, this interview gave clear reasons for it to be halted.

“The Minister appeared to suggest an entrenchment strategy for the TVNZ and RNZ merger by saying ‘what we want to do is entrench a strategy going forward’. A surprising choice of words given the Government’s latest embarrassing U-turn.

“Minister Jackson must explain what he meant by entrench a strategy, and if he and his Government plan on adding more entrenchment clauses to push their unpopular legislations through.

“This mega media merger will cost taxpayers $6 billion over the next 30 years. It should not be a priority for a Government when New Zealanders are facing a cost of living crisis and the Reserve Bank is asking them to reign in their spending.”

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