Where you could argue freedoms are curtailed is in the commercial model theatres have to adopt in order to survive. Our public subsidies are relatively small so theatres have to attract "bums on seats."
A daring expose into torture allegations at Guantanamo Bay might make for gripping theatre that raises political consciousness, but most theatre directors know it probably won't do gangbusters at the box office. So they plump for a genial comedy or an inoffensive musical. One could argue that our Government doesn't have to censor our arts by force, as they do it fiscally.
In television we have a similar picture. Now and again you get a penetrating local drama or brilliant satire, but both can be expensive. With all channels adhering to a strict commercial ethos, few networks are going to stick their heads out and do something overtly political or anti-establishment.
We are told how much "freedom" we have with our 200-odd cable TV channels and numerous internet portals, but I'm not so sure. So much of it is dreadful reality rubbish. I remember in the days when we only had one or two channels. You could watch quality TV all Sunday night. Of course, by the word "quality" I mean things that I like. I am a great lover of satire and I grew up watching McPhail and Gadsby, Gliding On and Fred Dagg.
There are many excellent satirists in New Zealand - read the Civilian, listen to Jeremy Wells' "Hosking Rants" on Radio Hauraki or read any columns by Toby Manhire and Steve Braunias if you don't believe me.
But our media executives, especially in television, seem so risk-averse that biting satire seems to almost sneak in by mistake and with little fanfare.
As for the Electoral Commission, they made the appalling and misguided decision to ban musician Darren Watson's hilarious Planet Key at election time. Though it poked borax at the Government, it was not funded by any political party and was simply an artist's statement, yet it was deemed to be an "election broadcast". I predict a long and successful career in the public service for the bureaucrats who made that decision. Vladimir Putin would be proud.
Though Nanny State keeps out of our theatres, music venues and comedy clubs, as well as our bedrooms, things get slightly tricky when we move into the "mainstream media".
In Dirty Politics, Nicky Hager has documented the way "independent" media commentators are given special assistance by the Government in the form of information, and in the case of a sympathetic right-wing blogger, fast-tracked OIA information from the SIS.
More recently, the woman whose ponytail was repeatedly tugged by John Key was apparently named against her will by the New Zealand Herald in what appears to be a case of very dubious ethics.
So by all means let's celebrate the freedom of speech we have, which is substantial, especially in the under-funded arts. But let's also not kid ourselves that we live in an entirely free country where media organisations are free from manipulation by governments and corporate interests.
-Dave Armstrong is a playwright, scriptwriter and columnist. The Canon Media Awards on May 22 celebrate media freedom.
