Minister for Media and Communications explained

Post:Minister for Media and Communications
Flag:Flag of New Zealand.svg
Flagcaption:Flag of New Zealand
Insigniacaption:Coat of arms of New Zealand
Incumbent:Paul Goldsmith
Incumbentsince:24 April 2024
Department:Television New Zealand
Radio New Zealand
Style:The Honourable
Member Of:Executive Council
Reports To:Prime Minister of New Zealand
Appointer:Governor-General of New Zealand
Termlength:At His Majesty's pleasure
Formation:1 July 1936
(as Minister of Broadcasting)
First:Michael Joseph Savage
Salary:$288,900[1]

The Minister for Media and Communications is a minister in the New Zealand Government with responsibility for the government's broadcasting and media policies, including the diversity and accessibility of broadcast content, broadcasting standards, the regulation of the print media, and the oversight of state media corporations TVNZ and Radio New Zealand.[2] The current Minister is Paul Goldsmith, a member of the National Party.

History

In 1936 the First Labour Government decided that broadcasting would be run by the state. As a result a government minister in charge of Broadcasting was appointed and new legislation (the Broadcasting Act 1936) was passed that abolished the existing New Zealand Broadcasting Board and established the new National Broadcasting Service in its place. A Director of Broadcasting was appointed and a Broadcasting Advisory Council formed as a result of the act to advise the minister.[3] [4] The Labour Party had specifically sought to broadcast parliamentary debates via radio as a means of allowing the public to listen and make their own judgment of events, rather than relying solely on the press, whom Labour were distrustful of.[5]

Later the minister oversaw the introduction of television into New Zealand and became responsible for the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC).[6]

Between December 2016 and October 2017, the broadcasting portfolio was disestablished, with portfolio responsibilities shared between the Minister for Communications and Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage.[7] The position was recreated from October 2017 with a title change reflecting a broader scope. The Minister is advised by officials from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

Under the Sixth Labour Government, the focus of the portfolio was on creating a new Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media entity which would have been formed by merging TVNZ and Radio New Zealand into a single state broadcaster.[8] The plan was later scrapped.[9]

List of ministers

The following ministers have held the office of Minister of Broadcasting.

Key
No.NamePortraitTerm of OfficePrime Minister
As Minister of Broadcasting
1Michael Joseph Savage1 July 193627 March 1940width=1 style="color:inherit;background:"Savage
2Peter Fraser27 March 194021 January 1941Fraser
3David Wilson21 January 19418 April 1944
4Fred Jones8 April 194413 December 1949
5Frederick Doidge13 December 194919 September 1951Holland
6Ronald Algie19 September 195112 December 1957height=15 style="border-top:solid 0 grey; background:"
height=15 style="color:inherit;background:"Holyoake
7Ray Boord12 December 195712 December 1960width=1 style="color:inherit;background:"Nash
8Arthur Kinsella12 December 196020 December 1963Holyoake
9Jack Scott20 December 196315 February 1967
10Lance Adams-Schneider15 February 196722 December 1969
height=15 style="border-bottom:solid 0 grey; background:"11Bert Walker22 December 19698 December 1972
height=15 style="border-top:solid 0 grey; background:"Marshall
12Roger Douglas8 December 197212 December 1975Kirk
Rowling
13Hugh Templeton12 December 197512 February 1981Muldoon
14Warren Cooper12 February 198111 December 1981
15Ian Shearer11 December 198126 July 1984
16Jonathan Hunt26 July 198424 August 1987Lange
17Richard Prebble24 August 19874 November 1988
-David Langeacting minister4 November 19888 November 1988
(16)Jonathan Hunt8 November 19882 November 1990height=36 style="border-top:solid 0 grey; background:"
Palmer
Moore
18Maurice Williamson2 November 199010 December 1999Bolger
Shipley
19Marian Hobbs10 December 199923 February 2001Clark
-Steve Maharey
acting minister
23 February 200127 March 2001
(19)Marian Hobbs27 March 200115 August 2002
20Steve Maharey15 August 20025 November 2007
21Trevor Mallard5 November 200719 November 2008
22Jonathan Coleman19 November 200814 December 2011Key
23Craig Foss14 December 20118 October 2014
24Amy Adams8 October 201420 December 2016
No separate appointments20 December 201626 October 2017English
As Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media
25Clare Curran26 October 20177 September 2018Ardern
As Minister of Broadcasting and Media
26Kris Faafoi7 September 201814 June 2022Ardern
height=30 style="border-bottom:solid 0 grey; background:"27Willie Jackson14 June 202227 November 2023
Hipkins
As Minister for Media and Communications
28Melissa Lee27 November 202324 April 2024Luxon
29Paul Goldsmith24 April 2024present

See also

Works cited

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Parliamentary Salaries and Allowances Determination 2016 . www.parliament.nz . New Zealand Parliament . 1 December 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231128025016/https://www.parliament.nz/media/3151/parliamentary-salaries-and-allowances-determination-2016.pdf . 28 November 2023 . live.
  2. Web site: Broadcasting and Media . 2022-10-27 . Broadcasting and Media . 6 November 2020 . en-NZ.
  3. News: Control by Minister . . 5 . CXXI . 135 . 9 June 1936 . 26 May 2020 .
  4. News: Broadcasting Portfolio . . 7 . LXX . 1 July 1936 . 26 May 2020 .
  5. Book: Gustafson, Barry . Barry Gustafson . From the Cradle to the Grave: A biography of Michael Joseph Savage . Auckland, New Zealand . Reed Methuen . 1986 . 0-474-00138-5 . 193–4.
  6. Web site: Television in New Zealand; TV emerges in New Zealand . 21 May 2014 . NZ History online . 22 May 2019 .
  7. Web site: 2017-01-31 . Our Ministers Ministry for Culture and Heritage . 2022-10-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170131043512/https://mch.govt.nz/our-ministers . 31 January 2017 .
  8. Web site: 2020-01-29 . New details revealed as Cabinet agrees on RNZ, TVNZ public broadcasting decision . 2022-10-27 . RNZ . en-nz.
  9. Web site: 2023-02-08 . Watch: TVNZ/RNZ merger scrapped, income insurance and hate speech laws delayed . 2023-02-22 . RNZ . en-nz.