TV One's $30,000 clothes job

The clothing budget for Simon Dallow and Wendy Petrie comes from advertising revenue.

It takes up to $30,000 a year to make sure One News presenters Wendy Petrie and Simon Dallow look the part.

Figures released yesterday show that Television New Zealand sets aside $20,000 for Petrie's on-screen wardrobe and $10,000 for Dallow's on-air threads.

The presenters have summer and winter wardrobes and the clothes are all from New Zealand designers.

Clothes are worn on a two-week cycle, rather than being worn once and then tossed away.

TVNZ spokesman Robin Field said the clothes belonged to the company, not the presenters, "and not a dollar of taxpayer money goes near it".

He said the budgets for current affairs shows - including clothing - - were paid for from advertising, which makes up 90 per cent of the broadcaster's total revenue.

"Only 10 per cent comes from charter funding from the Government, and that goes into local programming that we probably wouldn't make if we were a purely commercial outlet," Mr Field said.

"The clothing allowance - let's be honest - is paid for by Telecom, McDonald's, whoever the advertisers might be. And the presenters on our flagship news show need to have a varied wardrobe."

There was an expectation from the viewers to look good, Mr Field said.

A style director advises Petrie and Dallow on what to wear.

At the end of each year, clothes are donated to charity. Many items have been donated to Dress for Success, the charity that gives clothes to women who are returning to work.

Mr Field said Petrie's budget was twice the size of Dallow's because there were higher expectations for a woman's wardrobe.

He said other presenters also had clothing budgets available to them, but these were worth less because they were not on screen five nights a week.

He could not say how the figures compared with former presenter Judy Bailey's clothing budget.

Last year, TVNZ had to pay more than $9000 to replace some of Bailey's personal ($3607) and on-air ($5438) clothes, which the broadcaster accidentally sold before her final night as presenter.