Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
The government is seeking public feedback on a series of proposals which it says may help level the playing field for local media against international competitors.
The five proposals, released as part of a Ministry of Culture and Heritage consultation document, aim to modernise New Zealand's media legislation and regulations.
"There continues to be a hunger and a thirst and an appetite for local stories and local material and local news. New Zealanders are interested in what's going on, and I think there's an audience there. The challenge is to find a way to make it economically sustainable to continue to produce that," Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith said.
There is no commitment, however, to progress the proposals. If Cabinet did agree to them, they would all require legislation and come into force in 2026 at the earliest.
The proposals range from ensuring Smart TVs have New Zealand apps pre-installed and displayed prominently, to requiring streaming platforms and commercial TV broadcasters to invest in local content and make sure it is easily discoverable.
Appearing before Parliament's social services and community committee, Goldsmith said the latter point was an important requirement New Zealand should have.
"We've got a whole lot of international platforms, but the extent to which they have New Zealand content varies enormously. Sometimes it's very difficult to find. So we're out there asking the question, should we have a basic requirement about a certain amount of New Zealand material that should be there, also to encourage them to invest in the production of that."
Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Increasing the amount of captioning and audio description is also mooted, as is merging NZ on Air and the Film Commission. Shifts in technology and markets have meant the functions of the two entities have started to overlap.
The document also proposes revising the broadcasting standards regime to cover all professional media operating in New Zealand.
Currently, the Broadcasting Standards Authority only covers linear TV and radio content, which the public is engaging with less frequently.
Legislation which would allow broadcasters to play advertising on all public holidays is currently going through Parliament.
Goldsmith said governments could not fund media like they used to.
"But there are things we can do, fundamentally, to help the efforts of local media producers to compete more effectively with the global players, by levelling the playing field in different elements," he said.
The select committee also raised the question of whether declining trust in the media worldwide was responsible for falling audiences and revenues.
Goldsmith said the Public Interest Journalism Fund had compounded some issues around trust, and government resources being put into initiatives could undermine broader trust if they got it wrong.
Committee chair and National MP Joseph Mooney said there had been "some commentary that I, and I think many others I guess from the centre-right hear from people, is a frustration with the media in New Zealand being too left-wing in the publicly funded sector".
Goldsmith said it would be hard to find a politician that did not feel hard done by.
"A politician complaining about the media is like a farmer complaining about the weather. You might be right but it makes no difference."
He said while public media remained independent, he believed RNZ's goals to improve trust were "rather too modest" and he had encouraged its board and other entities to be more ambitious.
"We do have a legitimate interest in ensuring that there is a growing audience for that. It's not what the producers think people should hear, it's what actually they want to hear or see that is important."
Meanwhile, the Fair News Digital Bargaining Bill, which would compel tech giants like Google and Meta to pay media companies for the journalism they use, is currently on hold.
Goldsmith said he wanted to "take stock" with what Australia was doing in the space. Australia has recently changed its approach, amidst threats from tech companies to pull news off their platforms.
He said he would be meeting with his Australian counterpart to get a sense of Australia's legislation and see what New Zealand could do to emulate it.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
