The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling on Broadcasting Minister Kris Faafoi to rule out any taxpayer-funded purchase or bailout for Mediaworks’s channel Three.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “For the last few months Mediaworks has been angling for some kind of government assistance. Today’s announcement is its final move. The Minister may be tempted to be seen ‘saving’ channel Three by giving it a bailout or taking it under the Government’s wing as a quasi-state broadcaster.”

“This would be a raw deal for taxpayers. The traditional, costly free-to-air television model is no longer profitable. It needs to evolve, not be artificially propped up by taxpayers.”

“It will be sad to see channel Three closed, but in its place we should expect something new and leaner to emerge.”

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