According to RNZ’s latest annual report, Chief Executive, Paul Thompson, received a $65,538 bonus and a $13,628 pay rise for the 2022/23 financial year despite RNZ failing to meet its key performance targets and running an operating deficit of $739,000.

Responding to this news, Campaigns Manager Connor Molloy said:

“By all accounts, the last year at RNZ has been a shambolic disaster. Viewership is down, satisfaction rates are below target, and the organization is still recovering from an editing scandal earlier in the year. Under any profitable private company, Thompson would have been hauled over coals for such a shoddy performance. Instead, taxpayers are having to fork out thousands of dollars to reward his failings.

“At a time when Kiwis up and down the country are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis, there is no reason why any taxpayer-funded executive should be receiving a massive hand out, let alone one that has failed to deliver on almost every metric.

“This is yet another embarrassing example of a state-funded entity refusing to engage in fiscal discipline and keep its costs down. It is plain to see that RNZ has failed to satisfy its audience. Paul Thompson should take responsibility for these inadequacies, pay back the bonus, and offer to take a pay cut not a pay rise."

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