Alexander Marc: Radio New Zealand Amendment Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
Alexander Marc: Radio New Zealand Amendment Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:616;Page:12245] 
MARC ALEXANDER (United Future) 
: 
 I rise on behalf of United Future to support this bill though not quite so effusively as some of the Government members. We support the charter in its present form because it appears to date to have served both Radio New Zealand and the public quite well. We do not believe it is the role of the charter to include a high level of prescription—largely because such provisions risk becoming obsolete rather quickly—and we do not think it actually does. 
Some members have brought up the issue of attaching the words “spiritual and ethical”. I really do not understand why people have a problem with that. The word “spiritual” for example is not quite the same thing as “religious”. It is not putting forth a particular denominational line; it is simply reflecting some of the attitudes people have over and above those of the material world. Spiritual values do not necessarily encompass religious values although the two may on occasion go together. The simple fact is that as a public broadcasting medium Radio New Zealand is there to reflect public attitudes. Some of those attitudes whether we like them or not happen to be spiritual and happen to be—funnily enough—ethical although that is something that the National Party and the ACT party for some reason have a degree of difficulty with. 
Now this is a point that also has not been considered: while the charter’s existing wording arguably encompasses spiritual and ethical development the additional words are consonant with this clause of the charter and Radio New Zealand’s current practice and can be supported. This proposed amendment also reflects a recent change to the statutory functions of the Broadcasting Commission New Zealand On Air in an amendment to section 36 of the Broadcasting Act and are consistent with the equivalent provision in the Television New Zealand legislation. It brings consistency to the two arms of broadcasting and that is important. It is something that members over there seem to have forgotten or have not included in their discussions. 
Another aspect is children’s programme recommendations. Who can disagree with that? As a public service Radio New Zealand ought to include some of our younger listeners. 
Brent Catchpole 
: They do it now. 
MARC ALEXANDER 
: What is wrong with having it included in the bill? What is the problem if that is part of what Radio New Zealand is supposed to do? It is one of the functions it is supposed to perform. In response to a submission from the New Zealand Writers Guild the committee debated at some length the extent to which Radio New Zealand should be explicitly required to provide for children. In response to that it now does. 
One aspect I guess I am not quite so comfortable with is that there seems to be a problem with surveying just how well Radio New Zealand is doing in terms of delivering what it is supposed to deliver. It might sound like a small thing to the Government but I do not think that this issue has been quite as well addressed as it perhaps could be. Section 7(2)(D) of the Act prescribes that Radio New Zealand shall take account of surveys commissioned from time to time to establish whether the audiences for the services provided by the public radio company consider that the quality and quantity of those services is being maintained. 
Why does Radio New Zealand not go into the same surveys as every other radio station in this country? That is a regulatory aspect that I think this Government ought to take a look at. It ought to be part of the mix. If we expect the public of this country to put their hands in their pockets and pay for this service—and I have no problem with that—the least we should have is a transparent means of accountability to those very people. They do with every other radio station in this country and there is no reason why Radio New Zealand should be exempt. The Government should take a cold hard look at that because how on earth do we know how many people are listening and whether the people who are not listening are turning off because the quality of programme delivery is not as consistent as it should be? 
The accountability aspect of Radio New Zealand is very important and I want to spend a little bit of time on it. We believe we are entitled to greater information—not just about the quality and type of programming but also about the greatest indicator of how well Radio New Zealand is doing its job which is audience share. It is severely disappointing that the Government has remained too timid to deal with the real issue surrounding Radio New Zealand surveys—its refusal to participate in the neutral sector surveys that determine actual audience share for all radio stations.