Mallard Trevor: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
Mallard Trevor: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Volume:670;Page:17047] 
12. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour—Hutt South) 
 to the  
Minister for Communications and Information Technology 
: Who made the decision to defer MediaWorks’ payment of $43 million to the Crown? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Communications and Information Technology) 
: 
 Cabinet made a decision in October 2009 to offer all radio broadcasters deferred payment terms on their spectrum licence renewals. MediaWorks was one of nine companies to take this up. I would note that I put out a press release announcing the deferred payment option on 22 October 2009—some 17 months ago. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Did he take part in that Cabinet discussion? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: Yes I did take part in that discussion. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Was Cabinet told that the interest rate was between one-half and one-third of banks’ rates at the time for distressed companies? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: Cabinet made a decision on the interest rate to be offered and the announcement that I made subsequent to that decision was that it would be 9.5 percent plus the inflation rate at the time which I think worked out in the case of the company in question at about 11.2 percent. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The question was not what the rate was; it was whether Cabinet was apprised of a particular fact. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The members will not exchange comments. I invite the member to repeat his question to avoid further problems. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Was Cabinet told that the interest rate was between one-third and one-half of banks’ rates for distressed companies? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: I will repeat my answer. Cabinet was told and I announced afterwards that the interest rate would be 9.5 percent plus the inflation rate applying at the time which is what Treasury recommended as a rate for the loan. That was announced in the press release. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Will the current 11 percent interest rate made available to that distressed company also be made available to distressed companies suffering from the effects of the Canterbury earthquake? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: The member confuses himself. This was deferred payment terms for radio spectrum licence renewals. It was announced at the time and it was done at the time because a significant number of renewals were required at the same time as the economic recession was at its worst. Cabinet made the decision to allow those payments to be made over time provided that there was no cost to the Crown and that interest was recovered and that is what happened. 
Sue Kedgley 
: In the light of the Government’s decision to allow the privately owned broadcaster MediaWorks to defer payment of $43 million to the Crown will the Government end its 5-year funding freeze on Radio New Zealand and not require a full-year dividend from State broadcaster Television New Zealand (TVNZ); if not why not? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: I do not have responsibility for either TVNZ or Radio New Zealand. However I point out that private broadcasters pay for their frequencies and Radio New Zealand does not. So if we are in the business of saying that there should be equal treatment then either Radio New Zealand has to start paying or the private broadcasters have to stop. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Now that the 11 percent rate has been established as an appropriate rate for deferrals or loans— 
Hon Steven Joyce 
: No that’s not correct. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: —has been established as an appropriate rate for a deferral which is shown in the MediaWorks accounts as a loan—will it also be made available to businesses in Christchurch? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The Minister can only answer that within his ministerial responsibilities. If he can answer it within his ministerial responsibilities he is welcome to try. 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: All I can say is that it is a deferred payment for frequencies and the member needs to understand that. I point out too that ultimately if the Government had not offered it and radio broadcasters had gone broke then the member and his friends would have been accusing us in the House of not doing anything to help save jobs in the broadcasting industry. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The Hon David Cunliffe and the Minister will cease that. I have called— 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: Threatening a member are we? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I say to the Hon David Mr Cunliffe that if he wants to be the third person to leave the Chamber since I have been Speaker he should just keep doing that.