10. Question No. 10—Broadcasting and MediaMELISSA LEE (National) to the Minister for Broadcasting and MediaQuestion No. 10—Broadcasting and Media10. MELISSA LEE (National) to the Minister for Broadcasting and Media: Does he stand by all his statements and actions regarding the Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media Bill?Hon WILLIE JACKSON (Minister for Broadcasting and Media): Yes. I stand by all the statements in the context that they were made.Melissa Lee: Can the Minister confirm the $370 million merger of RNZ and TVNZ has no regulatory impact statement or cost-benefit analysis?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: I can confirm as of yesterday that there is $109 million per annum in new funding in terms of this new entity and that the member has got her funding all out of sync. This is an investment in terms of New Zealand culture that the member seems to completely misunderstand. The $320 million that she keeps talking about in terms of creating a new merger is not true. In fact the cost of the new merger is going to cost this Government in terms of establishment a mere $40 million over four years.SPEAKER: The main part of that has not been addressed. You can ask an extra question.Melissa Lee: Asking again can the Minister confirm the $370 million merger of RNZ and TVNZ has no regulatory impact statement or cost-benefit analysis?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: I'll come back to the member on that.SPEAKER: I think that deserves even another extra question.Melissa Lee: Why does the Minister not know if in fact this huge move by the Government to merge the two biggest public media entities has in fact had a regulatory impact statement or even a cost-benefit analysis when they're spending $370 million of taxpayer money?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: We've had a clear cost-benefit analysis in terms of this project.Hon Members: Where?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Come to my office and we'll show you.Melissa Lee: Is it a good use of $370 million of taxpayers' money in a cost of living crisis to merge RNZ and TVNZ when submitters to the select committee have said there is and I quote no vision or substantial rationale for the merger and it is rightly viewed as a doomsday machine if improperly handled."?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: We've said this before that the problem of the National Party is that it's never a good time to invest in anything. That was the same with the health system. That was the same with the housing set-up. It's the same with the education system. The reality is we see this entity as being incredibly important in terms of the New Zealand national identity and I want to say to the member in this House—Maurice Williamson said the same thing when we set up Māori Television: how can you invest in Māori television when Māori health is so bad when Māori education is so bad—SPEAKER: Nō reira. E noho.Melissa Lee: Can the Minister confirm he will continue to direct the merged RNZ and TVNZ entity to quote his words "change its attitude and culture" and is it not an attempt to assert political control before the merger has even taken place?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Not at all. Not at all. No—not at all. We're going to have a charter that the merger will be working by but it's better to get the rules straight from the start. The reality is we want TVNZ to work in tandem with us and they're doing that because New Zealand has changed. We no longer have trust in national media. No longer is there trust in what's happening at a national media level. We need a trusted public broadcaster because national identity is incredibly important and no longer do people trust New Zealand television or New Zealand radio. Our last survey told us that New Zealand radio is the second-most listened-to medium; New Zealand television is fourth—second and fourth. So we need a national broadcaster for a great public identity.Melissa Lee: What does the Minister think "editorial independence" means?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: It means the decision to be able to make your own decisions without Government influence. That is the intention of this entity. That is the way we will progress. That is the way we will proceed. There's no way we'll be telling editors how to run their news. We will be clear that we require a change of culture. It's not just about making money; it's about New Zealanders feeling proud knowing who they are. We need a different New Zealand voice recognising Māori Pasifika Asian and other ethnic minorities. It's not just about one group any more.Naisi Chen: Supplementary.SPEAKER: Supplementary Naisi Chen. [Interruption] Order!Naisi Chen: Talofa Mr Speaker. So why is it important to invest in public media?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: For the Opposition again every democracy in the world invests in public media to support their democracies and culture. That's the case of the BBC. That's the case in Ireland Australia and Canada. We absolutely believe New Zealanders deserve that too. They should be able to see themselves and hear themselves. It's not just about one group of people. There are currently pressures on our public media. They're fighting for audiences at the moment with the multinational giants. Audiences especially young people have switched to online platforms. It can't be about them just—SPEAKER: Order! Order! Order! That's enough.Melissa Lee: In his answer to questions yesterday why did he say—and I quote—"we encourage people and agencies to give feedback. We don't mind criticism." only to contradict himself by saying that the submitters who criticised the bill were wrong?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: I'm allowed to have an opinion. I'm allowed to have a view. They have every right to put a submission; I have every right to give my opinion. That's how it works. We encourage submitters to keep giving their views. If you want to ask me questions on their views keep asking questions.Melissa Lee: Does the Minister believe that anyone who criticised him or the bill are in fact wrong?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Sometimes people will be right and sometimes they will be wrong. That's how it works sometimes with submissions. But we encourage the submissions and we've had some excellent submissions. But we don't get all sensitive when there's a bit of criticism. We encourage it; we support it. That's why we're going so well in the polls at the moment and you're not."