Briefing for the Incoming Minister of Broadcasting: December 2011
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BRIEFING FOR THE INCOMING MINISTER OF BROADCASTING: DECEMBER 2011 Introduction This briefing discusses the issues you will need to consider over the next twelve months, and provides background information on your portfolio and the agencies and legislation for which you are responsible. In addition, attached is a short paper on common challenges and issues faced by the cultural sector. This has been discussed with, and agreed by, agencies within the sector. Broadcasting organisations play an important part in creating and preserving audiovisual content that tells New Zealand’s stories, and ensuring that this reaches the widest possible range of New Zealand audiences. A separate paper is also provided outlining the Ministry’s role, structure, staff, and financial provisions. This briefing is structured as follows: Part 1: Portfolio background Part 2: Significant policy and delivery issues Part 3: Other important policy and delivery issues Part 4: Agency monitoring and performance issues Appendix: Broadcasting organisations. 2 Part 1: Portfolio background Broadcasting policy is well‐established… The broadcasting portfolio is concerned with ensuring that New Zealanders receive high quality broadcasting content that informs, educates and entertains, and tells the stories that New Zealanders want to see and hear. Since 1989, the broadcasting market in New Zealand has been open and largely unrestricted except for competition safeguards under the Commerce Act, statutory controls on standards and restrictions on advertising at certain times. While particular arrangements are in place for Māori broadcasting, a key feature of New Zealand broadcasting policy is reliance on an independent funding mechanism, NZ On Air, to ensure that New Zealanders can see and hear programmes on television and radio that depict New Zealand identity and culture. This framework is complemented by a regime for the management of radio spectrum that gives private right holders maximum say over how large parts of the radio spectrum are managed. Rights to radio frequencies used for broadcasting typically exist for 20 years. …and there are clearly defined relationships with broadcasting organisations… As Minister of Broadcasting, you are accountable to Parliament for the operation of NZ On Air (formally known as the Broadcasting Commission) and the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) which exists to regulate standards in relation to broadcasting content. NZ On Air is structured as an autonomous Crown entity (ACE) under the Crown Entities Act and operates at arm’s length from government in terms of its day‐to‐day funding decisions. The BSA is a quasi‐judicial body structured as an independent Crown entity (ICE) under the Act. Your roles in relation to all the funded agencies are referred to in the enabling legislation of individual Crown entities, and in various Cabinet directives. Where an agency is a Crown entity, the nature of its relationship with the government is formally stipulated in the Crown Entities Act 2004. Under this Act, ministerial responsibilities such as appointing and removing board members, determining the remuneration of board members, reviewing each entity’s operations and performance, and participating in a process for setting the strategic direction for each entity are specifically identified. The Act further addresses the power of Responsible Ministers to give directions to Crown entities. This power varies with the type of Crown entity an organisation is defined as being – whether it is a Crown entity company; a Crown agent (which must give effect to government policy when directed by the Responsible Minister); an ACE (which must have regard to government policy when directed by the Responsible Minister); or an ICE (which is independent of government policy with respect to its statutory functions). 3 You also have a close involvement with Television New Zealand (TVNZ) and Radio New Zealand (RNZ), both of which are structured as Crown entity companies under the Crown Entities Act. Formal accountability to Parliament for their operation is provided by the Minister Responsible for TVNZ and RNZ, typically the Minister of Broadcasting. The editorial independence of these organisations is protected by their individual statutes, which contain provisions preventing Ministers from giving direction or dismissing board members with respect to programming, news presentation or standards. One of the amendments made to the Television New Zealand Act 2003 in 2011 was to extend this provision to encompass content placed by TVNZ to be accessed via new media, as distinct from conventional television programmes. As Minister, you are responsible for the Crown’s interest in one non‐government broadcasting organisation – the National Pacific Radio Trust, which runs Niu FM. The Crown also funds Freeview Limited, although the funding agreement is between the Chief Executive of the Ministry and Freeview. The company is an incorporated joint venture with shareholding broadcasters TVNZ, TVWorks (TV3 and C4), Māori Television and Radio New Zealand. Freeview is a platform that enables the broadcast of free‐to‐ air digital television and radio by means of direct‐to‐home (DTH, or satellite‐to‐dish) or terrestrial (DTT) transmission. Funding continues until December 2013, to coincide with the completion of digital switchover. A relationship also exists with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The ASA is an industry body, but maintains regular communication with you through the Ministry. …as well as with related portfolios Issues in relation to Māori broadcasting are the responsibility of your colleague, the Minister of Māori Affairs. Your colleague, the Minister for Communications and Information Technology, is responsible for the management of the radio spectrum on which most current broadcasting services depend. You also work closely with the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage. Two important shared responsibilities in 2012 will be screen sector interventions which are being reviewed jointly by the Ministry and the Ministry of Economic Development (MED) and arrangements for the management of audiovisual archives. Broadcasting and arts, culture and heritage issues are inter‐related… There are strong links between the cultural sector and aspects of broadcasting and media. Television remains the primary vehicle from which New Zealanders source their cultural content. The film and television industries are closely interconnected. The New Zealand Film Commission and NZ On Air, and on occasion Creative New Zealand, collaborate on some funding projects. 4 The government’s interventions in support of music are also closely interrelated. NZ On Air’s support of recordings for radio play and of music videos is complemented by the New Zealand Music Commission’s backing of popular music as a viable local and export industry. In the classical music field, in addition to the Ministry’s support of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Creative New Zealand provides funding for regional orchestras, the NBR New Zealand Opera, the New Zealand String Quartet and Chamber Music New Zealand. Many of these organisations – and other performers – are showcased by Radio New Zealand, which also features programming on various aspects of New Zealand’s popular music. The Ministry’s policy interest in heritage also extends to broadcasting, through its funding of the New Zealand Film Archive, the new archived works provisions in TVNZ’s legislation and the current review of audio‐visual archiving arrangements. Officials that support you… You are supported primarily by officials from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage (the Ministry), which assumed policy responsibility for broadcasting from the Ministry of Economic Development (MED) in 2000. You are also supported by officials from MED in respect of radio spectrum matters and from the Crown Operating Monitoring Unit (COMU) of the Treasury in respect of the financial performance of TVNZ and RNZ. Key personnel are: Ministry for Culture and Heritage Lewis Holden, Chief Executive Roger Perkins, Acting Manager, Media Policy Greg Harford, National Manager, Going Digital. Ministry of Economic Development Len Starling, Manager, Radio Spectrum Policy. Crown Ownership Monitoring Unit James Cunningham, Manager, Sector Monitoring. 5 Part 2: Significant policy and delivery issues There are several largely procedural issues that will need to be addressed over the next few weeks (the 2012 legislation programme and the four‐year plan for the 2012 Budget, both of which are addressed in the next section). Related to the four‐year plan is whether to provide a “help scheme” to assist with the roll‐out of digital switchover and, if so, how this should be funded. As well as digital switchover, in the short to medium term other significant issues are: possible changes to content regulation, including the possible rationalisation and/or consolidation of media standards bodies in New Zealand; demand‐side competition issues in respect to ultra fast broadband. Below is an outline of each issue. We would be pleased to provide any further briefing that you require on these and the other issues addressed in this briefing. Analogue broadcasting is being phased out, starting in September 2012… Digital television has been available from Freeview, Sky and TelstraClear for several years. In 2010, the previous Government determined that analogue services will be closed down by the end of 2013. New Zealand will be “going digital” in the following phases: 30 September