11. Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour—Hutt South) Link to this
to the Minister for Communications and Information Technology
What advice did he receive on any perceived conflict of interest before he took part in the Cabinet decision that led to the deferral of the requirement for MediaWorks to pay its frequency licence to the Crown?
Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Communications and Information Technology) Link to this
I sought Cabinet Office advice on whether I faced a potential conflict of interest as a result of my previous association with the radio industry. That advice confirmed that I did not face a conflict in relation to this matter. Nevertheless, I made sure that my Cabinet colleagues were aware of my previous association, and this was noted.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
Why did Gerry Brownlee lead negotiations with broadcasters around this package?
I have no idea what the member is referring to. The decision was made by Cabinet, and the paper went forward under my name.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
Why was it that Gerry Brownlee and his office had a series of discussions with the broadcasters before that Minister was involved; was that informal, or had he recused himself?
The approach that I received was from the Radio Broadcasters Association, and that is the approach that the Government responded to. I am aware that a number of broadcasters at different times approached other Ministers about their concerns, but it was formally dealt with by me through the association. It was taken to Cabinet, and all of Cabinet discussed and agreed on the outcome.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
Was 2degrees offered a similar arrangement for its spectrum; if not, why not?
No, and that is because the approach was made by the Radio Broadcasters Association and 2degrees is, of course, not a member of the association because it is a cellphone company. But the important thing was that Cabinet was asked to consider whether, because the frequencies were due to be paid right at the point of the worst recession since the Depression back in the 1930s, the association could make a delayed payment option available, and after discussion it was decided to do so. I should note that this has actually been in the public domain for the last 18 months. If the member has concerns about other things he might have missed, there is a website called www.beehive.govt.nz, which he might like to refer to and where he could search for other press releases that he missed at the time.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
Is the 11 percent interest rate available to small Kiwi information and communications technology entrepreneurs who owe the Government money, or only to foreign-owned media companies with which he has a long-term relationship?
The point I need to make to the member again is that the rate was available to all those radio frequency holders who were due to renew at that time. His comment about associations is interesting. I think the member is trying to suggest that if somebody was involved with an industry at some point in their past career, they should not be able to be the Minister in relation to that industry. This is an intriguing position, given that as a former teacher he was the Minister of Education afterwards and Annette King, a former dental nurse, turned out to be the former Minister of Health.
Mr SPEAKERI raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I think we have got into that sort of personal situation. I was responding in kind.
That is not a point of order, and the Minister should know that. Members of this House are perfectly at liberty to ask members about perceived or potential conflicts of interest, and Ministers are responsible for answering to this House where there may be any such perception. I will be watching very carefully to make sure that the member does not question the Minister about his personal affairs.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
Was he cognisant of the pending staffing cuts to TVNZ 7 when he approved this deferral for the foreign-owned company?
I reject the assertion in the question. It was offered to all frequency holders who were due to make payments at that time—a deferred payment that involved them paying interest and making their payments over a period of time.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. It was a straightforward question, which asked whether he was cognisant of the pending cuts to TVNZ 7 when he approved this deferral to a foreign-owned company. That was not addressed. Was he cognisant of—
Hon Simon PowerThe Acting Leader of the House should know that he does not interject during a point of order, because that is when we get into a messy situation. The Minister, in answering the question, in my view answered it by pointing out that all broadcasters, as I understand it from his answer, had access to deferral arrangements. His answer, I think, implied there was no favouritism to any one company over any other, and I believe he therefore answered the significant part of the question. The member has a further supplementary question in which to pursue the matter further, if he wishes.
We will not have this. Members can see that when they interject like that, they are likely to cause disorder.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
Was he cognisant of the pending funding and staffing cuts to TVNZ 7 when he approved this process of deferral?