The funding boost comes after Prime Minister Chris Hipkins in February pulled the plug on the new entity Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media, which was to cost close to $370m over four years, as part of his policy bonfire, or “reprioritisation”, as he called it.
The Ministry for Culture and Heritage had set aside about $44m to spend on the public media merger, of which just under $19m had already been spent.
Hipkins said at the time the remaining funding would be put towards RNZ and NZ On Air.
Broadcasting Minister Willie Jackson announced today RNZ would receive an extra $25.7m a year, including $12m for current services, $12m for a new digital platform and $1.7m for AM Transmission, which is related to emergency coverage.
NZ On Air will also receive a $10m increase for 2023/24 to focus on reaching new audiences.
Jackson said the new approach meant $364.7m over four years would be saved compared to merging RNZ and TVNZ.
“We must ensure that New Zealand can meet cost of living issues and support the cyclone recovery, while also delivering world -class public media for all of Aotearoa.
“We have listened to New Zealanders and now is not the right time to restructure our public media.
“However, the changing media landscape, increased competition, changing audience demands, and declining revenue pressures facing our public media are not going away.”
Jackson said over the next four years Labour had committed to spending $117.8m.
This includes ensuring there is access to Civil Defence lifeline emergency communications and support to NZ On Air to strengthen collaborative public broadcasting.
Jackson said the funding increase for RNZ meant it would be sustainable for the future.
“This investment will strengthen news and current affairs coverage through a free multi-media digital platform to reach new audiences, expand regional coverage to be truly national, establish a new initiative to prioritise Māori and Pacific content and support RNZ to deliver Civil Defence lifeline emergency communications.
“The funding will support the creation of high-quality content that better represents and connects with audiences such as Māori, Pasifika, Asian, disabled people and our rangatahi and tamariki.
“It is vital that all New Zealanders are seeing and hearing themselves in our public media.”
The $1.7m per year for AM frequency will ensure RNZ continues as a critical lifeline utility in Civil Defence emergencies, Jackson said.
“As we have seen over the past few years, and in particular during the recent severe weather events, RNZ is a crucial lifeline utility in Civil Defence emergencies and is one of the places New Zealanders can turn to for reliable, up-to-date, accurate, and emergency information.”
RNZ board chairman Dr Jim Mather said the increase in funding meant they could continue delivering their current programming amid rising costs, while also expanding into new areas. RNZ’s board was working on a new strategy to prioritise how the funding was spent.
RNZ CEO Paul Thompson said the funding would not only address legacy infrastructure issues but ensure RNZ could reach more diverse audiences which aren’t well served now.
“Media in Aotearoa New Zealand are being challenged by rapidly changing commercial models, the rise of international media giants and foreign content, the increasing cost of local content, and the spread of misinformation, disinformation and public distrust.
“Our ability to collaborate with others means we are very well positioned to provide a resilient and comprehensive service to connect and inform New Zealanders while also supporting the wider media sector.”
Advocacy group Better Public Media chair Myles Thomas said the funding boost would help improve services and make up for some of the “decades of under-investment”, particularly in infrastructure.
Thomas said the funding, however, was nowhere near the level needed for an integrated public media entity and was still well below comparable countries.
“The new funding announcement brings the per capita funding level to $44 per person annually,” he said.
“This compares to Australia at $60, Ireland at $73, UK at $129.
“This comparison shows that New Zealand is still under-investing in its public media compared to other democracies we compare ourselves to.”
Act Party leader David Seymour meanwhile said with high inflation currently the Government should be looking to cut spending instead of increasing funding for public media.
