Briefings to Incoming Ministers, 2005

• Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage

• Minister of Broadcasting

Briefing to the Minister of Broadcasting: Hon Steve Maharey, October 2005

Download briefing as PDF (520k)

Contents

Introduction

Congratulations on retaining the Broadcasting portfolio. The Ministry for Culture and Heritage looks forward to continuing to work with you towards the achievement of your government’s broadcasting objectives. We believe that in doing so we are assisting you in a role of vital importance: involvement in culture is a fundamental part of the business of government, and broadcasting is a key means by which our distinctive culture is maintained.

New Zealand ’s culture is maintained also by languages and film, by arts and creative activities, by sports and recreation, and by engagement with our history, heritage and environment. As with broadcasting, aspects of these operate effectively without public intervention, but significant parts of our cultural life would simply not be present without assistance from the government.

The rationale for this assistance is not just the existence of entities such as Television New Zealand, Te Papa or the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and the discrete experiences they offer individuals. It is the broader implications of widespread access to and understanding of New Zealand culture that makes this a crucial area of government engagement. This is particularly and increasingly true given globalising trends (in technology, marketing and travel, for example) which pose a threat to the special cultures of smaller nations – at the same time as cultural distinctiveness is being more highly valued within such fields as trade and tourism.

The policies, organisations and activities which represent government’s involvement in the cultural sector therefore have a strong bearing on New Zealand’s standing in the world; on our development as a self-aware, confident and cohesive society; and on New Zealanders’ sense of identity. This nation building potential of cultural policy is central to its future direction.

It is implicit also in a number of current projects within the Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Various pieces of broadcasting policy work, for example, recognise the very great influence of the broadcasting media on New Zealanders’ sense of their society and their involvement in its development. Advances in digital and web technology make possible initiatives such as Te Ara the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, the upcoming cultural portal, and new kinds of television delivery – all of which mean that cultural information and experiences are or will be significantly more accessible. The enhancement of legislative protection for important cultural objects, the development of memorials, and the production of works of history are other examples of Ministry projects which are premised on the importance of New Zealanders knowing and valuing their culture and country.

Given the range of potential cultural projects, of course, any government’s involvement in culture must of necessity be selective (and will result in certain opportunity costs). You, along with your ministerial colleagues, make decisions about what elements are most deserving of public resource; the Ministry takes very seriously its responsibility to inform, support and execute those decisions.

We will also continue to support you and your colleagues in your engagement with the range of organisations that supply cultural services to the Crown. Crown entities such as NZ On Air play an important role, as do non-government bodies from which the Crown purchases services, but which it does not own. The Crown investment in the non-departmental organisations funded through the Ministry is considerable (some $280 million in 2005/06); agency governance and funding issues require the ongoing attention of government if the investment is to be as effective as possible.

In supporting government’s cultural involvement, we will continue to work closely with other central government organisations. Some of these, such as the National Library, have an explicitly cultural focus; others such as the Department of Conservation, the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs and the Ministry for the Environment have objectives very closely aligned with the work of this Ministry.

But there is a cultural component – actual or potential - to the work of many other departments too. The fact that cultural initiatives can contribute to the achievement of other, non-cultural government objectives is increasingly recognised (though it needs to be better understood throughout government and embedded in the broader processes of policy development). The Ministry has developed working relationships with, for example, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as cultural tools have been employed in support of higher employment and international diplomacy. The Ministry works also with local government organisations towards the cultural wellbeing of local communities.

The country’s broader wellbeing is served by government’s commitment to culture as an integral part of New Zealand life, and to broadcasting as a key means by which our culture is supported and transmitted. Your portfolio, and that held by the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, offer regular opportunities for government to ‘speak to the nation’ in terms that promote constructive analysis of our past, of current issues, and of possible futures.

This briefing has afforded the Ministry the opportunity to supply you with an updated summary with respect to our own operation, and an outline of the responsibilities of the other agencies that fall within your portfolio (some of which it is expected will provide you with separate briefings). It also reminds you about current policy issues, and other matters that will require your attention in the short term.

Martin Matthews
Chief Executive

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THE MINISTRY FOR CULTURE AND HERITAGE

The Context Within Which the Ministry Operates

Government involvement in culture is, in broad terms, intended to:

• promote New Zealanders’ sense of identity and place in the world;
• enable experiences that offer enrichment of our thinking and insight into others’ perspectives;
• create strong communities by helping people understand and respect the different cultural elements within our society; and
• contribute to economic growth.

These objectives are supported by the three organisational outcomes towards which the Ministry works:

• effective government involvement in culture;
• widespread access to and understanding of New Zealand culture; and
• culture and heritage contribute to the achievement of other government outcomes.

Detailed information on the strategic orientation of the Ministry is provided in the 2005 – 2009 Statement of Intent, a copy of which is supplied along with this briefing.

The Work of the Ministry

The Ministry for Culture and Heritage provides advice to the New Zealand government on cultural matters, including on its involvement in heritage, history, broadcasting and the arts. It implements certain cultural programmes on government’s behalf, and assists government in its management of resources allocated to the support and development of culture. It undertakes activities and produces resources that foster understanding of and access to aspects of New Zealand’s history, heritage and identity.

Each year the Ministry signs an output plan with the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, the organisation’s Responsible Minister. This agreement details the matters on which the Ministry focuses its attention and expends its resources for the period in question, and the services it provides to the Minister and Associate Ministers for Arts, Culture and Heritage, and to you as Minister of Broadcasting. (A separate output plan covering Vote Sport and Recreation is signed with the Minister for Sport and Recreation.) A copy of the current (2005/06) output plan, signed with the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage in May 2005, is attached.

The following sections outline the various aspects of the Ministry’s work.

Provision of Policy Advice

The Ministry has primary responsibility for the provision to government of policy advice on cultural issues. We undertake various projects that enhance our ability to provide this advice; and that implement the policies of the government of the day.

In providing advice to you and to the Minister and Associate Ministers for Arts, Culture and Heritage, we bear in mind the strong points of intersection between your portfolios. The broadcasting media – and, in particular, public broadcasters - have a very significant influence on the way that New Zealanders develop their sense of their culture and their nation.

Our culture is represented by the portfolio held by your colleague the Minister for Sport and Recreation, too. Some areas of high performance sports and nationally iconic teams (such as the All Blacks) are cultural touchstones for New Zealanders, and the Ministry’s broad advice to you is informed by an understanding of the cultural importance of sport. (The Ministry is not charged with providing policy advice to the Minister for Sport and Recreation, however; our role in relation to this portfolio is limited to monitoring the performance of SPARC, the Crown entity that does provide this advice, and the performance of the New Zealand Sports Drug Agency.)

In developing its policy advice, the Ministry liaises closely with the other government departments which have cultural objectives - or objectives which are very closely aligned with those of this Ministry - but which work to other ministers. These departments include the National Library, Archives New Zealand, Te Puni Kokiri, the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs, the Department of Conservation, and the Ministry for the Environment. In the case of broadcasting we work particularly closely with the Ministry of Economic Development which retains responsibility for spectrum policy and allocation, something that has a direct impact on your broadcasting responsibilities.

Cultural tools can be used towards the achievement of non-cultural objectives, too; this Ministry works very closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Ministry of Economic Development towards diplomatic and economic goals, for example, and sees the potential for cultural policy having useful application across a greater range of departments.

The Ministry is currently working on a large number of policy projects, and you will receive detailed briefings on them as required.

Funding and Monitoring of Other Organisations

Much of the funding that government invests in culture is allocated to non-departmental organisations; some of them Crown entities (such as NZ On Air and Te Papa), others of them non-government bodies from which the Crown purchases services (such as the New Zealand Film Archive and the Royal New Zealand Ballet). This investment is considerable: some $280 million is being made available through the Ministry to non-departmental organisations in 2005/06.

Where you are an agency’s Responsible Minister, you have ultimate responsibility for ensuring that government’s ownership and funding of this agency represents effective intervention in the cultural sector. The Ministry assists you in this role by, from time to time, undertaking or commissioning such reviews as you (and perhaps Cabinet) consider necessary. These reviews may focus on the legislative mandate given particular agencies, certain aspects of their operation, their performance or their funding levels.

On a day to day level, the Ministry assists you in discharging your legislative responsibilities in relation to the non-departmental organisations, and monitors the Crown’s interest in them. We manage the disbursement of their funding, work closely with them as they develop their accountability documents, and monitor their operations to ensure that their expenditure is in support of the purpose for which they were established or funded. We endeavour to ensure that any issues are brought to your early attention.

The Ministry will also provide you with assistance when you are making appointments to the boards of the statutory agencies for which you are responsible. This is an important task: the quality of these appointments has a very significant effect on the agencies’ performance.

We also maintain close contact with the Crown Company Advisory Monitoring Unit (of the Treasury) which advises you in relation to your shareholding interests in TVNZ and RNZ, along with the Minister of Finance.

Appendix I provides an outline of each of the organisations that is responsible to you as Minister of Broadcasting.

Services to Ministers

Various other services are provided to ministers by the Ministry. These include the preparation of replies to ministerial correspondence and requests for official information, and the drafting of speech notes and replies to Questions in the House. They also include other general services which assist ministers in discharging their portfolio obligations to Parliament, such as preparing papers supporting the ministers’ roles in relation to the Budget cycle.

Work in New Zealand History

Government has long acknowledged the necessity for it to play some part in the recording of aspects of New Zealand’s past; the role now undertaken by the Ministry in researching and writing works of New Zealand history had its genesis in the establishment of a unit within the Department of Internal Affairs in 1938.

The Ministry specializes in producing histories of state activity, war history, and other histories of national significance – works that, though they may not be attractive commercial propositions, do play a significant part in enhancing New Zealanders’ access to their history and cultural heritage. There is now widespread recognition that better understanding of our history helps give New Zealanders a sense of identity and place; and that that in turn promotes improvements in areas ranging from family life to international undertakings.

The Ministry often works in cooperation with commercial and academic publishers and broadcasters to make its history accessible. Recent book titles include We Call it Home – A History of State Housing in New Zealand;Hell or High Water – New Zealand Merchant Seafarers Remember the War and Frontier of Dreams: The Story of New Zealand, published by Hodder Moa in association with the TV One series, for which the Ministry was the conceptual adviser and quality assurance provider.

Web publishing offers significant opportunities to deliver historical material to new audiences, and the Ministry is active in this area too: the nzhistory.net website is a popular and respected source of information on key aspects of this country’s past.

The growing public interest in New Zealand’s war history has meant that this has been a significant focus of the Ministry’s historical work; and the aging of those who participated in World War Two has been an additional impetus for projects such as the oral history series based on their memories. The Ministry is also already planning projects that will mark the centenary of the beginning of World War One.

In addition, the Ministry provides advice about New Zealand history to organisations and individuals, and administers grants that support work undertaken by other historians.

Production of Reference Works

As with their investment in works of history, New Zealand governments have from time to time determined the need for New Zealanders to have access to information resources unlikely to be produced by the market. Most recently, government made the decision to produce Te Ara the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. This is an authoritative but broadly accessible and lively online publication, which was launched in February 2005 and has already won several awards.

The complete Te Ara publication will be made available as a series of themes over the next seven years, according to the following schedule:

• 2005: New Zealanders ­ - the arrival and settlement of the people.
• 2006: Earth, Sea and Sky – shaping forces such as geology, tides and climate.
• 2006: The Bush – New Zealand’s landforms, fauna and flora.
• 2007: The Settled Landscape – how people live in, use and change their environment.
• 2008: Trade and Exchange – the economy, business and city life.
• 2009: Connections – social groups, families and communities.
• 2010: Nation – systems of government and symbols of national identity.
• 2011: Daily Life – the customs, leisure activities and beliefs that make New Zealand unique.
• 2012: Creativity – arts, culture, invention and innovation.

In addition, between 2005 and 2008 there will be features on 22 major geographic regions and 50 iconic places such as Cape Rēinga and Milford Sound.

Management of Monuments, Graves and Emblems of Nationhood

The Ministry is responsible for overseeing and maintaining - and, in some cases, developing - certain markers of our New Zealand identity. These markers are points of reference which enhance our sense of nationhood, and which can contribute to the development of greater social unity.

For example, the care and development of national monuments and memorials, including the National War Memorial (which incorporates the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior), are managed by the Ministry.

The Ministry is currently working on several memorial projects. A memorial in South Korea recognising those New Zealanders who served and died in the Korean War and its aftermath is scheduled to be unveiled in November 2005. Work is progressing towards the erection of a memorial in London. It is planned that this will be completed by late 2006, and will honour the relationship between the United Kingdom and New Zealand, with particular reference to the shared sacrifice in the two World Wars. The Ministry is also working to advance the establishment of a National Memorial Park in Wellington’s Buckle St.

The Ministry is responsible for the maintenance of war and historic graves; and for dealing with matters associated with the New Zealand flag, the National Anthems, the New Zealand Coat of Arms, and some aspects of Waitangi Day commemorations.

Administration of Legislation

The following is the full list of legislation under which the Ministry has responsibilities, either directly or in support of ministers. (See the section ‘Other Organisations in the Portfolio’ for more information about the relationship between Ministers and statutory agencies.)

• Antiquities Act 1975
• ANZAC Day Act 1966
• Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa Act 1994
• Broadcasting Act 1989 (Parts 1 to 4 and section 81)
• Flags, Emblems and Names Protection Act 1981
• Historic Places Act 1993
• Massey Burial Ground Act 1925
• Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Act 1992
• National War Memorial Act 1992
• New Zealand Film Commission Act 1978
• New Zealand Sports Drug Agency Act 1994
• New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Act 2004
• Radio New Zealand Act 1995
• Seddon Family Burial Ground Act 1924
• Sovereign's Birthday Observance Act 1952
• Sport and Recreation Act 2002
• Television New Zealand Act 2003
• Waitangi Day Act 1976

You will be provided with detailed information relating to these statutes as necessary.

Administration of Government Policies, Schemes and Funds

The Ministry administers:

• the Cultural Diplomacy International Programme, which is funded from the Growth and Innovation budget and aims to use culture to advance New Zealand’s trade, tourism and diplomatic interests in key countries and regions of the world;
• the Regional Museums Policy for Capital Construction Projects, which provides central government support for regional projects that have national significance;
• the programme for Government Indemnity of Touring Exhibitions, which relieves institutions of the prohibitive costs of insuring expensive touring exhibitions, thereby providing New Zealanders with cultural experiences to which they would otherwise not have access ;
• the Commemorating Waitangi Day Fund, from which funding is available for national and community events marking Waitangi Day;
• the New Zealand History Research Trust Fund Awards in History, which provide financial assistance to people carrying out projects that will significantly enhance the understanding of New Zealand's past;
• the Australian Sesquicentennial Gift Trust for Awards in Oral History, which support oral history projects relating to the history of this country and its close connections within the Pacific, and which thereby add another dimension to our understanding of our past;
• the Fellowship in Maori History which provides researchers with an opportunity to produce accessible, scholarly Maori history for a wide audience;
• the Grants to Publishers scheme which enables them to publish works which will make a significant contribution to the understanding of New Zealand history (but which are not commercially viable); and
• the allocation of frequencies for non-commercial radio and television broadcasting, and we ensure that licence conditions continue to be met.

Chief Executive and Staff

The Chief Executive of the Ministry is Martin Matthews. He took up the job in an acting capacity in July 1998 and was confirmed in the position in September 2000.

The Ministry currently has 90 staff, including part-time workers. The organisation is structured into seven working units: Heritage Operations (8 ‘full time equivalent’ staff), History Group (11), Policy Group (21), Agency Group (10.5), Reference Group (18), Corporate Services (9.5) and Stakeholder Communications (3.5). Each of these units is headed by a manager who works directly to the Chief Executive. The Ministry’s legal adviser and Kaihautu Maori also work directly to the Chief Executive.

A diagram showing the structure of the Ministry is attached as Appendix II.

Cost of the Work of the Ministry

The work that the Ministry performs is predominantly funded from Revenue Crown. The baseline revenue Crown funding for 2005/06, after excluding the one-off effects of new initiative funding and expense transfers, is $11.310 million.

The Ministry provides services under four departmental output classes, under two Votes, as follows:

Vote Arts, Culture and Heritage

Heritage Services $4.031 million

This output class includes administering cultural legislation (such as the Antiquities Act 1975) and government schemes (such as that providing for the indemnity of exhibitions); managing national monuments and war and historic graves; and producing history and reference works (including Te Ara the Encyclopedia of New Zealand).

International Cultural Diplomacy $2.089 million

The funding for this output class is sourced from the Growth and Innovation budget, and provides for the Cultural Diplomacy International Programme. The Programme aims to help establish and maintain a New Zealand cultural presence in key overseas regions, to boost our profile and our economic, trade, tourism, diplomatic and cultural interests.

Policy Advice and Grants Administration $5.092 million

This output class includes advising government on cultural matters, the management and disbursement of payments to a number of cultural agencies, and monitoring the Crown’s interests in these organisations.

Vote Sport and Recreation

 Purchase Advice and Monitoring $.098 million

This output class relates to the provision of purchase advice and monitoring services with respect to SPARC and Drug Free Sport New Zealand (the New Zealand Sports Drug Agency).

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Significant Issues, and Matters Requiring Early Ministerial Attention

Your colleague the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage is the Ministry’s Responsible Minister and the individual with whom we sign the annual output plan that stipulates the work we are to undertake for the year. A significant proportion of the Ministry’s resources are directed towards activities related to government’s involvement in broadcasting, however; and, with respect to this work, it is you to whom we report.

The Arts, Culture and Heritage and the Broadcasting portfolios do in fact have considerable areas in common. It is not possible to contemplate the development of New Zealand culture – or government’s involvement with issues of nationhood – without considering the role of broadcasting. It is the broadcasting media, and public broadcasting in particular, that to a very large extent give the people of this country the means to express a shared understanding of what it is to be a New Zealander, and the basis of a common sense of identity.

Television and radio and the new media technologies provide forums within which debates on issues of common concern can – implicitly and explicitly – take place. In the drama, sport, arts, comedy, news, current affairs and documentaries of this country, as made available through broadcast media, New Zealanders identify themselves and the values, priorities and aspirations of their nation. At a time when developments in technology make it easy to access material produced anywhere in the world, any government which values a distinct sense of national identity must acknowledge the importance of maintaining viable domestic alternatives, and the implications this has for investment in indigenous broadcasting.

Having retained the portfolio, you may well have in mind a number of matters that you wish to consider as a matter of priority. The Ministry will be pleased to assist you in that process and will discuss with you any necessary amendments to the 2005/06 output plan signed with your colleague the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage.

This section reminds you of those current issues that are of sufficient urgency or size to likely require your early attention. You are, of course, very familiar with these matters, but we will provide you with detailed briefings in the near future if you require them.

Public Broadcasting Programme of Action

In December 2004 Cabinet approved the Public Broadcasting Programme of Action, addressing all parts of broadcasting policy that have fallen within the Broadcasting portfolio. (Maori broadcasting policy, such as that related to Maori Television, iwi radio and the funding agency Te Mangai Paho, has been the responsibility of the Maori Affairs portfolio.) The five-year Programme was published in February 2005, and sets out a series of policy proposals to be investigated under six priority headings:

• achieving adequacy and certainty of public funding for broadcasting;
• strengthening public broadcasting;
• facilitating the successful development of digital broadcasting services;
• enhancing regional and community broadcasting;
• enhancing independence and responsibility in broadcasting; and
• enhancing the incentives for producing higher-quality content and schedules.

This document was developed at a stage when the policy programme begun in 1999 was largely complete. The earlier programme had concentrated on the reconstitution of TVNZ as a public broadcaster with a statutory charter, and measures to promote local content, through funding support of NZ On Air and the encouragement of voluntary targets on television and for popular music on radio. A 'Stock-take' paper was published in 2003, reviewing these and other measures taken since 1999, and seeking private and public sector opinion on what the priorities for broadcasting policy should be for the second half of this decade.

The broadcasting sector’s response to this stock-taking exercise clarified the environmental trends and likely future developments that policy should aim to address, and informed the development, during 2004, of the set of six unranked priorities and specific proposals that are set out in the Programme. While the rationale for the selection of these priorities is given in the Programme text, the broad themes currently guiding the Programme can be summarised as:

• the establishment of public funding for broadcasting on a basis that is less susceptible to the perception of political influence and to ad hoc, demand-driven pressures on government (first priority);
• ensuring that the publicly owned components of the broadcasting sector (the public broadcasters, NZ On Air, and the Broadcasting Standards Authority) are able to adapt to likely changes in the broadcasting environment (second, fifth and sixth priorities);
• the importance of a successful transition to digital broadcasting in free-to-air television and the development of digital services in radio (third priority); and
• strengthening the role of regional and local broadcasting, both commercial and non-commercial (fourth priority).

Updates on three aspects of the Programme, the future of the Pacific Radio Network, the review of Radio New Zealand’s charter, and the transition to digital television, are provided separately below. Recently, other work related to the Programme has focused on:

• scoping the priority, “Achieve Adequacy and Certainty of Public Funding for Broadcasting”, towards the possible contracting of external expertise to assess funding mechanisms and formulas used in comparable countries;
• reviewing possible statutory definitions of broadcasting and related terms as a preparation for working with NZ On Air and the Broadcasting Standards Authority on proposals to modernise their functions (under the priorities “Enhance Independence and Responsibility in Broadcasting” and “Enhance the Incentives for Producing Higher-Quality Content and Schedules”); and
• the development of enhanced Charter evaluation via an evaluation framework (under the priority “Strengthen Public Broadcasting”).

The Future of the National Pacific Radio Network (NiuFM)

In 2005, Government agreed to maintain the National Pacific Radio Network, which had been established as a three-year Reducing Inequalities pilot. This followed an independent evaluation of the network and a separate independent review of its governing trust’s administrative and governance arrangements, which had confirmed that the pilot network had demonstrated the value of a national Pacific radio network.

Government’s agreement to continue providing the bulk of the funding was however subject to a further review of the Network’s objectives, form and governance arrangements. An officials’ working group is undertaking this review, and is about to consult with Pacific communities. The group is scheduled to report to Cabinet by 27 February 2006 on the form and objectives of the network, how it could be more closely tied to public broadcasting objectives and have closer relationships with Radio New Zealand and other broadcasters, how new governance arrangements could protect the interests of the Crown and of Pacific communities, and any capital funding likely to be required.

Review of Radio New Zealand Charter

The Radio New Zealand Act 1995 contains a Charter which helps guide its operation as a public service broadcaster.

Section 7 of the Act requires that the Charter is reviewed every five years by the House of Representatives. The first review experienced considerable delay, and the amendments it produced did not come into force until July 2004. Notwithstanding this delay, there is no scope to deviate from the legislative timetable which prescribes the commencement of the next review before the end of the current year.

In anticipation of the upcoming second review by a Select Committee, Radio New Zealand has commenced its own public consultation exercise concerning the content of its Charter. The Ministry has been consulted by Radio New Zealand during its preparation of the consultation material, but Radio New Zealand is the public face of the exercise. The consultation document is posted on its website and has been distributed in hard copy; it includes Radio New Zealand’s proposed revised text of its Charter, and more general information on Radio New Zealand and its role. Submissions will be analysed by the Ministry and Radio New Zealand.

At this stage it is proposed that the preparatory work will then be forwarded to the Select Committee prior to commencement of its review programme. We will discuss with you the desirability of this matter going back to Cabinet prior to its consideration by the Select Committee, so that Cabinet can provide any necessary further guidance to the Committee.

Digital Broadcasting

Digital technologies have reshaped broadcasting across the globe, and will continue to do so: New Zealand cannot avoid engaging with this issue. The government’s policy stance on digital broadcasting will very probably determine if free-to-air television survives in the longer term, in particular, the extent to which and in what form free-to-air television in New Zealand continues to be a feature of our cultural landscape.

There are a wide number of issues surrounding digital broadcasting. These relate not only to questions of which platforms (digital terrestrial or satellite services, or both) might be appropriate, but extend to questions such as broadcast and transmission costs, consumer costs and education, criteria and a process for analogue switchover, new or enhanced programming content, and competition issues.

The Ministry is currently involved in discussions related to both digital audio and digital television broadcasting. It is in the area of digital television services, however, that there is greatest urgency for the finalization of sound and durable government policy. Internationally, digital television is characterised by audience fragmentation and the development of multiple services available primarily on a subscription or pay-per-view basis. Facilitating the successful development of free-to-air digital television services is therefore a priority if the cultural and civic benefits of public broadcasting services (such as TVNZ and Maori Television), free-to-air television, and taxpayer funded local content are to remain accessible by all New Zealanders; and New Zealand citizens are at the same time to enjoy the potential for new digital content and enhanced public services.

Cabinet considered the broad public policy aspects of digital television in 2003, when it took a number of ‘in principle decisions’ and invited TVNZ (and Maori Television) to develop a business case and plans for digital television. The free-to-air television broadcasters, led by TVNZ, have since been working cooperatively to develop options for a free-to-air digital television service. A number of technical and commercial/policy matters have been resolved at industry level, leaving several key issues now requiring government input. TVNZ has been invited to prepare a business plan for a free-to-air digital television package for Ministers within the next few months. This package will likely involve both digital terrestrial and satellite services, to ensure that all New Zealanders have access to at least one digital option.

In the meantime, this Ministry is leading an inter-departmental group addressing a range of associated policy matters. The government is likely to need to make a suite of decisions – relating to platforms, content, subsidy, regulation and the criteria and process for an analogue switchover – by early 2006, once any TVNZ proposal has been evaluated.

Appointments to Broadcasting Organisations

You are responsible for making appointments to the boards of both statutory and non-statutory agencies in the broadcasting sector. Some of these appointments you make in association with your colleague the Minister of Finance.

In 2006, you will be required to make four appointments (including the Chair) to NZ On Air; and three appointments (including the Chair) to the National Pacific Radio Trust. You will need also to make a recommendation to the Governor-General (who has formal responsibility) for three appointments (including the Chair) to the Broadcasting Standards Authority. In addition, you will be jointly responsible, with the Minister of Finance, for making three appointments (including the Chair) to Television New Zealand; and two appointments (including the Chair) to Radio New Zealand.

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Other Departmental Advisers

As Minister of Broadcasting you from time to time receive advice on particular matters from other departments – namely the Crown Company Monitoring Advisory Unit of Treasury (CCMAU) and the Ministry of Economic Development (MED). The Ministry for Culture and Heritage endeavours to coordinate the work of officials involved in broadcasting, in order to streamline your engagement with the multiple departments. These include Te Puni Kokiri, which works to the Minister of Maori Affairs on Maori broadcasting matters.

Crown Company Monitoring Advisory Unit

CCMAU is a semi-autonomous unit of the Treasury which is responsible for assisting ministers in the management of the shareholding interests in Crown-owned companies. As both TVNZ and RNZ are companies in which you are a shareholder, CCMAU separately advises you on matters associated with this interest. This typically relates to the companies’ financial performance, position and outlook.

The Ministry works closely with CCMAU, recognising that your interests as a shareholder cannot be completely separated from you policy and funding interests as Minister of Broadcasting.

Ministry of Economic Development

MED has responsibilities for, amongst other things, spectrum policy and management. While these are matters for which the Minister of Communications is primarily responsible, you have a direct interest with respect to their relationship with broadcasting. MED provides advice to you directly on these issues, although the Ministry for Culture and Heritage is responsible for advice on non-commercial broadcasting spectrum allocation.

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Other Organisations in the Portfolio

As Minister of Broadcasting, you have formal relationships with a number of broadcasting organisations, most of which have a statutory basis and receive funding through Vote Arts, Culture and Heritage. The Ministry will assist you (and the Ministers for Arts, Culture and Heritage and Sport and Recreation likewise) in the execution of your role in relation to the organisations for which you have responsibility.

Information about each of the organisations in your portfolio is provided in the Appendices. More detailed briefings about their purpose and operations will be supplied over the next few weeks if required. You may also receive separate briefings from several of the organisations themselves.

The Relationship Between You and Broadcasting Organisations

Organisations in the cultural sector have traditionally operated at ‘arm’s length’ from government, even when receiving public funding. This reflects a long-standing view in New Zealand (and many other Western countries) that culture should be supported but not determined by central government. The responsibility for many activities that support and enhance New Zealand’s culture therefore lies with relatively independent organisations.

Locating such activities outside central government places an onus on both parties. Government’s successful management of its relationships with cultural agencies depends upon its making good appointments to the boards (where the power to appoint resides with ministers); on its provision of appropriate funding to support the role the agency is required to undertake, or the services it is to provide; and on the establishment and maintenance of open, timely and effective two-way dialogue with each organisation about its strategic direction and priorities.

As Minister, you are responsible for conveying the government’s expectations to the relevant agencies. Despite their ‘arm’s length’ status, these agencies need to bear in mind the interests of the government from which they obtain their funding and sometimes their mandate, and to which they are accountable.

Crown Entities

Your roles in relation to the funded agencies within the portfolio are referred to in the Public Finance Act 1989, in the enabling legislation of individual Crown entities, and in various Cabinet directives; you have a collection of responsibilities which together define the way government and the agencies relate to each other. Most of these agencies are Crown entities, however, and this means that, in each case, the nature of its relationship with government is now 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 organisation Crown entities are defined as being – whether they are Crown entity companies; Crown agents (which must give effect to government policy when directed by the Responsible Minister); autonomous Crown entities (which must have regard to government policy when directed by the Responsible Minister); or independent Crown entities (which are generally independent of government policy).

There are several different types of Crown entities in the broadcasting sector. New Zealand On Air, for example, is an autonomous Crown entity. This means that it must bear government policy in mind when instructed by you to do so. Under the Broadcasting Act 1989, however, there is a specific limitation on your powers to direct it with respect to the particular decisions it makes in fulfilment of its legislative responsibilities, and you may not give it a direction in relation to ‘cultural matters’. (The Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage is similarly prevented from giving direction on ‘cultural matters’ to organisations such as Creative New Zealand and Te Papa.) On the other hand, you are specifically empowered to provide NZ On Air with direction on the funding of Radio New Zealand.

The Broadcasting Standards Authority is an independent Crown entity, which means that it cannot be directed by you as Minister.

TVNZ and Radio New Zealand are Crown entity companies, for which you and your colleague the Minister of Finance are the shareholding Ministers. The editorial independence of these organisations is protected by their individual statutes, which contain provisions preventing ministers giving direction with respect to programming, news presentation or standards.

Non-government Broadcasting Organisations

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 Trust Deed for this organisation makes you, along with the Minister of Pacific Island Affairs, responsible for appointing the Board of the Trust.

A relationship also exists with the Advertising Standards Authority. The ASA is an industry body, but maintains regular communication with you through the Ministry.

Funding

As Minister, you have a key role in determining the appropriate level of government funding for the organisations in the portfolio, and in bidding for any additional funding in the annual Budget round. Each year a contractual agreement between you and each of the agencies is developed; this stipulates the funding to be made available from the Crown, and the services to be provided by the agency.

Accountability

Organisations are required to meet rigorous planning and reporting requirements, and can expect their operation and performance to be monitored and, if necessary, reviewed. This process ensures that the government, in the first instance, and subsequently Parliament and the public, can be provided with the assurance that each entity is effectively and efficiently undertaking the role for which it has been created and/or funded.

How the Ministry Assists You

The Ministry has in place a range of programmes that are designed to support your engagement with cultural agencies, and to enhance their governance.

Appointments

We develop all the supporting documentation required for filling vacancies on those cultural agencies for which you have the power to appoint members; and we ensure that all new appointees to cultural agency boards receive an appropriate induction, particularly in relation to Crown governance requirements. (The Crown Company Monitoring Advisory Unit manages the process for appointments to TVNZ and Radio New Zealand, made jointly by you and the Minister of Finance, however.)

A ‘best practice’ programme of upskilling and development for cultural agency boards has also been implemented. The Ministry is preparing a governance guide for Crown cultural boards, publishes regular e-newsletters for board members, and has recently developed an intranet workspace for board members.

All boards are required, under their current Memoranda of Understanding, to undertake performance self-evaluation; and the Ministry provides support in respect to this requirement.

Participating in a Process for Setting the Strategic Direction of Each Crown Entity

The Crown Entities Act has introduced the requirement for each Crown entity to produce an annual Statement of Intent that outlines its activities for the next three years. This enables the Crown to participate in the process of setting the entity’s medium term intentions. The Act specifies some elements of this participation, and the process tends to flow more smoothly when there are clear communications between the Minister, the Chair of each entity, and the Ministry, in the months leading up to the point where the Minister and the Chair to sign the Statement of Intent. A letter of expectations from you to the Chair is often helpful.

Supporting the Budget Round Process

The Ministry reviews Budget proposals from the agencies and provides advice to you on these by December each year. Once decisions have been made on the final set of Budget proposals, the Ministry prepares templates for submission to the Minister of Finance, usually by the end of each January.

Managing Relationships with Crown Entities and Other Cultural Agencies

 The formal mechanism for managing the relationship between the Responsible Minister and each organisation is an annual Memorandum of Understanding. The Ministry prepares these documents, which record the Government’s expectations of the entity and enable both parties to record their understanding of the basis for the monitoring of, and accountability for, the organisation’s performance. Memoranda follow a standard pattern but usually include some matters specific to each organisation. An MOU needs to be signed prior to payments being made to an organisation. Where this may be delayed, the Ministry will negotiate an interim Funding Agreement, usually providing for the first month of payment.

Reviewing the Operations and Performance of Crown Entities and Other Cultural Agencies

The Ministry helps you review the operations and performance of these agencies in the following ways:

• The Ministry prepares briefings about the performance of individual Crown entities and other cultural agencies either quarterly or six-monthly, as specified in the reporting requirements in the Memoranda of Understanding;
• The Ministry briefs you on the content of Crown entities’ Annual Reports before they become public. Individual Crown entities are responsible for helping you meeting the statutory requirements associated with the tabling of their Annual Reports in Parliament;
• The Ministry collates a weekly report covering issues in the portfolio, including activities undertaken by the agencies;
• From time to time, the Ministry may also prepare one-off briefings about specific agency issues, or propose that some aspect of an organisation’s operations or performance is reviewed in more detail.

Improving Agency Connections and Performance

The Ministry facilitates occasional meetings with the board Chairs, and monthly meetings with the Chief Executives of Crown entities and the other cultural agencies, to enhance communication between the organisations and across the sectors. The meetings also provide opportunities to alert organisations to new government initiatives such as Managing for Outcomes, changes to the New Zealand International Financial Reporting Standards, and e-government expectations. The State Services Commissioner attended one of the meetings to outline his project on Integrity and Conduct. From time to time, these meetings stimulate opportunities for multi-agency co-operation and collaborative activity. You may wish to attend one of these meetings.

Funding was provided in the 2005 Budget round to support performance-related projects. This funding is being applied to various projects related to baseline funding and performance improvement of selected agencies. T he Ministry has also developed a n intranet to further assist with information-sharing with the funded agencies. Using the platform developed by the SSC’s e-government unit, the Exchange workspace allows for a range of information to be readily distributed to users. This tool also includes a secure discussion space for agencies.

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Appendix One: Broadcasting Organisations

• Advertising Standards Authority - Industry organisation
• Broadcasting Commission (NZ On Air) - Autonomous Crown Entity
• Broadcasting Standards Authority - Independent Crown Entity
• National Pacific Radio Trust - Non-government organisation
• Radio New Zealand International - Division of Crown Entity Company
• Television New Zealand Ltd - Crown Entity Company

ADVERTISING STANDARDS AUTHORITY

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is an Incorporated Society which acts as a self-regulatory body for the advertising industry. The ASA receives no government funding but falls under the Broadcasting portfolio in respect of its consumer-rights function and its relationship with other public broadcasting agencies. About 50 pieces of legislation include advertising standards.

The three main objectives of the ASA are:

• to seek to maintain at all times and in all media a proper and generally acceptable standard of advertising and to ensure that advertising is not misleading or deceptive, either by statement or by implication.
• to establish and promote an effective system of voluntary self regulation in respect to advertising standards (primarily through advertising codes of practice).
• to establish and fund an Advertising Standards Complaints Board (ASCB).

Governance

The Advertising Standards Complaints Board (ASCB) is an independent board which adjudicates on complaints about advertisements which complainants believe breach the advertising codes of practice. The Board has eight members, four from the industry and four public representatives with no connection to the media or advertising industries.

The ASA confers with, and invites nominations from the Minister and the Ministry on the appointment of the public representatives of the board.

The Board’s current membership is:

• Rob Thompson (public representative, Chair)
• Jenny Courtenay (public representative)
• Alan Haronga (public representative)
• Jean Drage (public representative)
• Margaret McKee (alternate public representative)
• Sandy Smith (or Trevor Easton alternate) – representing television and radio
• Jonathan Russell (or Don Ryder alternate) – representing advertising agencies
• Paul Elenio (or Terry Snow alternate) – representing newspapers and magazines
• Janine Chamley (or Jane Anderson alternate) – representing advertisers

The ASA keeps the Minister informed of any important issues, particularly in relation to the review of existing codes or the introduction of new codes.

Executive Director: Hilary Soutar

BROADCASTING COMMISSION (NZ ON AIR)

NZ On Air is established under the Broadcasting Act 1989. NZ On Air ensures that New Zealanders are able to enjoy broadcasting services that would not otherwise be provided on a commercial basis, as outlined in its functions below:

• To reflect and develop New Zealand identity and culture by promoting programmes about New Zealand and New Zealand interests; and promoting Māori language and Māori culture;
• To ensure that a range of broadcasts is available to provide for the interests of women, youth, children, persons with disabilities and minorities in the community, including ethnic minorities; and to encourage a range of broadcasts that reflects the diverse religious and ethical beliefs of New Zealanders;
• To maintain, and, where appropriate, extend the coverage of television and radio broadcasting to New Zealand communities that would not otherwise receive a commercially viable signal; and
• To encourage and establish the operation of archives or programmes likely to be of historical interest in New Zealand by making funds available for broadcasting and the production of programmes to be broadcast; and the archiving of programmes.

Governance

Members of the NZ On Air Board are appointed by the Minister of Broadcasting.

	Position	Date Appointed	Term Ends
Don Hunn	Chair	1 June 2002	31 May 2006
Judy Callingham	Deputy Chair	1 January 2002	31 December 2007
Edie Moke	Member	1 May 2002	30 April 2008
James Coleman	Member	1 July 2000	30 June 2006
Gaylene Preston	Member	1 July 2000	30 June 2006
Paul Smith	Member	21 September 2004	31 August 2006

 

Acting Chief Executive : Bernard Duncan

Funding

All revenue sources ($000 excl GST)
Agency	Year	Vote	Commercial	Sponsorship	Other	TOTAL
NZ On Air	2003/04	89,388	-	-	5,898	95,286
	2004/05	94,212	-	-	5,574	99,786
	2005/06	100,838	-	-	2,000	102,838

BROADCASTING STANDARDS AUTHORITY

The BSA is established under the Broadcasting Act 1989. The functions of the BSA are as follows:

• To receive and determine complaints about alleged breaches of a standard in a specific programme, from persons who are dissatisfied with the outcome of complaints made to broadcasters, and to impose appropriate penalties and costs;
• To publicise its procedure in relation to complaints;
• To issue to any or all broadcasters, advisory opinions relating to broadcasting standards and ethical conduct in broadcasting;
• To encourage the development and observance by broadcasters of codes of broadcasting practice appropriate to the type of broadcasting undertaken by such broadcasters;
• To develop and issue codes of broadcasting practice; and
• To conduct research and publish findings on matters relating to standards in broadcasting.

Governance

Because the BSA is an Independent Crown Entity, appointments to its Board are made by the Governor-General (on the recommendation of the Minister of Broadcasting).

	Position	Date Appointed	Term Ends
Joanne Morris	Chair	2 October 2003	30 June 2006
Diane Musgrave	Member	1 August 2003	30 September 2006
Paul France	Member	19 December 2003	30 September 2006
Tapu Misa	Member	17 February 2003	30 April 2007

Chief Executive : Jane Wrightson

Funding

All revenue sources ($000 excl GST)
Agency	Year	Vote	Commercial	Levy on Broadcasters	Other	TOTAL
BSA	2003/04	609	-	520	38	1,167
	2004/05	609	-	602	55	1,266
	2005/06	609	-	625	41	1,275

NATIONAL PACIFIC RADIO TRUST (NIU FM)

The National Pacific Radio Trust (NPRT) is a private trust responsible for providing a national radio service (broadcasting as Niu FM) that will:

• Provide an authoritative, accurate, current and reliable information source to Pacific people, reinforcing their languages, values, beliefs and culture in New Zealand;
• Facilitate, contribute to and promote community development that is conducive to the education, employment, housing, health, immigration as well as the social and economic development of Pacific people in New Zealand;
• Harness and grow the best available Pacific broadcasting and management talent throughout New Zealand so that the network as a community-owned platform is sustainable and delivers a quality service;
• Promote effective avenues for training Pacific people in broadcasting and advocating for and on behalf of Pacific people in the media; and
• Provide a window through which the rest of New Zealand can be better informed about the lives of Pacific communities throughout New Zealand.

The national Pacific radio network is currently subject to a review (to be completed by December 2005) that will address the objectives of the network and the most appropriate institutional arrangements for the delivery of the network service.

Governance

Board members are appointed jointly by the Minister of Broadcasting and the Minister of Pacific Island Affairs.

	Position	Date Appointed	Term Ends
Satiu Simativa Perese	Chair	30 April 2002	30 April 2006
Tino Pereira	Vice Chair	30 April 2002	30 April 2006
Sarona Aiono-Iosefa	Member	30 April 2002	30 April 2006
Maureen Passmore	Member	1 May 2004	30 April 2007
Michelle Schaaf	Member	1 May 2004	30 April 2007
Ken Williams	Member	1 July 2004	30 April 2007

Chief Executive : Ms Sina Moore

Funding

Following an evaluation of the national Pacific radio network pilot initiative in 2004, Cabinet agreed to continue future support for NPRT with $3 million in baseline funding from 2005/06. Previously, $1.884 million was appropriated in 2003/04 but this was increased to $2.294 million by way of a fiscally neutral transfer from 2005/06 funding set aside for the pilot. Similarly, $1.734 million was originally appropriated in 2004/05 but a further fiscally neutral transfer from residual 2005/06 pilot funding increased this to $1.875 million.

All revenue sources ($000 excl GST)
Agency	Year	Vote	Commercial	Sponsorship	Other	TOTAL
NPRT	2003/04	2,294	701		3	2,998
	2004/05	1,875	1,340		7	3,222
	2005/06	3,000	1,504		2	4,506

RADIO NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL

 RNZI is an operating division of Radio New Zealand Limited (RNZ), a Crown Entity Company established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. The Ministers of Broadcasting and Finance are Radio New Zealand’s shareholding Ministers.

The role of RNZI is to provide a radio service to the South Pacific that will:

• Promote links between South Pacific communities in New Zealand and their counterparts in the region;
• Broadcast programming which encourages an awareness and understanding of New Zealand policies on regional issues of concern, foreign relations, development assistance, immigration, human rights, economic developments, the environment and trade opportunities;
• Broadcast innovative, comprehensive and independent news and programming of interest to the Pacific region; and
• Work with Pacific broadcasters and organisations that develop Pacific media by offering regional support and training.

Governance

Board appointments to Radio New Zealand are made by shareholding Ministers; the supporting administrative work is undertaken by the Crown Company Monitoring Advisory Unit.

The Board of Radio New Zealand is outlined below:

• Brian Corban, Chair
• Steve Murray
• Rick Ellis
• Judy Finn
• Alison Timms
• Judith Fyfe
• Alan Dick
• Sifa Taumoepeau

Chief Executive of RNZ : Peter Cavanagh

General Manager of RNZI: Linden Clark

Funding

In addition to annual operating funding, capital funding of $2.643 million has also been provided to RNZI in 2005/06 to enable an upgrade of the service’s shortwave transmitter.

All revenue sources ($000 excl GST)
Agency	Year	Vote	Commercial	Sponsorship	Other	TOTAL
RNZI	2003/04	1,525	190	-	18	1,733
	2004/05	1,525	204	-	19	1,748
	2005/06	1,900	185	-	15	2,100

TELEVISION NEW ZEALAND LIMITED

TVNZ is funded through the Ministry to:

• undertake initiatives and to develop, commission and purchase programmes that support the implementation of the TVNZ Charter; and
• maintain television coverage in non-commercial areas.

Television New Zealand Limited is a Crown Entity Company established under the Television New Zealand Act 2003. The Ministers of Broadcasting and Finance are its shareholding Ministers.

Governance

The Board of TVNZ is outlined below:

• Craig Boyce, Chair
• Robert Fenwick
• Dame Ann Hercus
• Phillip Melchior
• Patricia Stevenson
• Brian Gould
• June McCabe
• John Goulter

Board appointments to TVNZ are made by shareholding Ministers; the supporting administrative work is undertaken by the Crown Company Monitoring Advisory Unit.

Chief Executive: Ian Fraser

Funding

TVNZ’s 2005/06 funding comprises a baseline appropriation of $15.111 million for Charter implementation, $1.150 million to maintain television transmission to remote localities and $512,000 to maintain transmission of news and current affairs programming to the Pacific. This latter funding is being maintained while the Ministry explores options for future services to the Pacific, in association with TVNZ and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. An additional one-off payment for Charter implementation of $11.4 million, funded through dividend reinvestment, was appropriated in 2004/05.

All revenue sources ($000 excl GST)
Agency	Year	Vote	Commercial	Sponsorship	Other	TOTAL
TVNZ	2003/04	13,333	335,045		71,365	419,743
	2004/05	26,772	344,000		63,228	434,000
	2005/06	16,773	350,000		53,000	419,773

Appendix Two: Ministry for Culture and Heritage Organisational Structure

See Ministry organisation

 

Page last updated: August 30, 2007

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