Radio NZ 8 year funding freeze

Byron from Hikurangi Coastal

Received this today from team@actionstation.org.nz
We won!  You were amongst the 32,337 who demanded a thaw of Radio New Zealand’s funding, today the melt has begun.
It's just over a month since we delivered our petition to Parliament, and today the Government responded with a $2.85m funding boost in the budget announced earlier this afternoon! 1

People power has prevailed in this case. The quality independent journalism that RNZ delivers is crucial to maintain our democracy. The Government has finally done something to recognise this.

But, it doesn’t go as far as we’d hoped. Dr Peter Thompson, from the Coalition for Better Broadcasting recently calculated that RNZ is now underfunded by $14m a year. 2
When you compare this boost to the $60 million per year the Government has committed to attracting Hollywood Producers, it does make you wonder about priorities. 3 
While we celebrate the $2.85m boost there’s still much more work to do.

References:
1. Budget 2017 at a glance, RNZ, 25 May 2017
2. RNZ:'Every ice age ends', Newsroom, 23 May 2017
3. Hunt for the Funding-people, Māori TV, 23 May 2017

snip

You may remember the TV news item 12 April 2017 where the 32,000 signature petition was presented to opposition MPs, in a big block of ice. The government declined to accept it.
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The small $2.85m funding boost, will soon be used up to pay the rent on the Auckland building they no longer own. During the eight year funding freeze, the Government said they had to sell it.
The Budget is the usual ‘minimum change, maximum headline’ stunt. Remember, the finance minister was their election campaign manager - he knows all these techniques.

RNZ listenership has risen dramatically. See their Annual Report:
www.radionz.co.nz...
So the people like it, even if the Govt doesn't.
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This is worth six minutes of your time: "The Fix Is In"
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