Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Newly sworn Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has accused state-funded media organisations of a lack of independence from the previous government.
Speaking to media after his swearing in, Peters began by saying: "There are many people, and I'm sure in this room, who never thought we could possibly make a comeback like this and we have. So it's a sense of modesty and enormous gratitude to the people who slaved it out there for a long, long time in a difficult campaign to bring us back."
As the standup continued, one journalist suggested he step forward to be closer to the microphones but Peters was having none of it.
"I'll organise that if you don't mind, you just ask the question," Peters said. "If we're going to have a change in this regime going forward, it's called mutual respect. I happen to believe the media is critical in a democracy, but you got to play a role properly. Be independent, be neutral."
He was asked how quickly he expected government departments to take action on removing te reo Māori from their names.
"Well, we'll see the speed at which TVNZ and RNZ - which are taxpayer owned - understand this new message. We'll see whether these people, both the media and journalists - are they independent? Well, isn't that fascinating, I haven't seen evidence of that in the last three years."
He then laughed, and said "you can't defend $55 million of bribery, cannot defend $55m of bribery. Get it very clear".
That last remark was a reference to the Public Interest Journalism Fund, a three-year $55m contestable fund for journalists initially set up to shore up public interest media during the Covid-19 pandemic, which was wound up in July.
This included funding for 219 jobs and 22 industry development projects. Political coverage was exempted from eligibility to benefit from it. The fund was administered by NZ On Air.
RNZ's charter requires the broadcaster to be independent, including providing "reliable, independent, and freely accessible news and information".
While the organisation is funded by the government, by law no ministers of the Crown or person acting on their behalf may give direction to RNZ relating to programming, newsgathering or presentation, or standards, and cannot have staff removed.