9. BRENDON BURNS (Labour—Christchurch Central) Link to this
to the Minister of Broadcasting
What reports, if any, has he received from the board of TVNZ on the estimated market value of the airtime for the advertisement featuring the Hon Bill English promoting TVNZ 7’s Spotlight on the Economy series that is being run 130 times on TV One, 2, 6 and 7?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Leader of the House) Link to this
He has not received any reports and does not expect to receive any.
Is the Minister satisfied with the processes at Television New Zealand (TVNZ) that have seen airtime valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars given over to the “in plain English” promotion involving the State broadcaster’s shareholding Minister?
Is he satisfied that TVNZ news managers were not consulted during the internal vetting of the “in plain English” promo, given today’s Dominion Post reports that news staff expressed “strong concerns” about the promotion.
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE Link to this
The Minister of Broadcasting does not involve himself in the internal workings of any broadcast agency in this country.
Is the Minister aware of any proposals by TVNZ to extend its new-found interest in promoting politicians in difficulties, and will we soon be seeing a helicopter view of education, with 135 trailers for “Plain Tolley”, and “ACC Cuts Made Simple” promoting “Plain Smith”?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE Link to this
He has no idea what the programming future might hold for TVNZ, but I suggest that if the member wishes to advance those ideas, he talks to the broadcaster directly himself. They seem very good ideas to me.