Curran Clare: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Curran Clare: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Advance Copy - Subject to minor change before inclusion in Bound Volume.] 
11. 
CLARE CURRAN (Labour—Dunedin South) 
 to the  
Minister of Broadcasting 
: What duties if any does he believe he has to protect the Broadcasting Commission also known as NZ On Air and broadcasters from political interference? 
Hon CRAIG FOSS (Minister of Broadcasting) 
: 
 Is that actually the question that is on notice? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The changed word was instead of “also known”. The member said “colloquially known” as NZ On Air. But I do not think that changes the substance of the question. 
Hon CRAIG FOSS 
: I believe that the board has the professionalism and the ability to resist political interference. But were the chair of the board to be concerned about any potential political interference I would expect the chair to raise this with me. This has not occurred. My duty is to not interfere in operational matters of the board. 
Clare Curran 
: How did appointing Mr Stephen McElrea the chair of the Prime Minister’s National Party organisation in his Helensville electorate help protect NZ On Air and broadcasters from political interference? 
Hon CRAIG FOSS 
: I did not appoint that particular member. 
Clare Curran 
: Does he think it was appropriate for Mr McElrea to try to stop the broadcast of an NZ On Air - funded documentary about child poverty in New Zealand prior to the election? 
Hon CRAIG FOSS 
: I feel confident in the board. I would always expect all board members if they have concerns about any matter to raise any issues they have with the chair of the particular board. In this particular instance the chair of the board did not raise such matters with me. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. This again was a commendably direct question of the Minister asking him whether he thought a particular action was appropriate. I think the only interpretation you could take if we are using your relatively liberal way of interpreting things is yes but I think most people in the House or the public could not tell that is what the Minister actually said. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member knows the question was seeking opinion from the Minister and where an opinion is being sought on an issue like this there is no particular answer. The Minister gave the House information that there had been no complaint to him that would have required him to exercise any view on the matter and therefore he is not obliged to answer any more specifically than that. 
Clare Curran 
: Does he believe it was proper for Television New Zealand (TVNZ) in what was interpreted by  
Fair Go 
 journalists as an instruction to ask  
Fair Go 
 journalists not to report stories that upset their advertisers? 
Hon CRAIG FOSS 
: I am comfortable that  
Fair Go 
 has always given all participants a fair go. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! Unless some other member wants to have an early shower there will be order. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. This was nothing about what was on TV. The question that the Minister was asked to give an opinion on was not what was on TV but on what  
Fair Go 
 journalists interpreted as a direction not to criticise their advertisers. This does go right to the core of the Minister’s responsibilities both as Minister of Broadcasting and as Minister in charge to make sure that TVNZ is ethically proper. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! I think it is highly debatable whether some of these matters go right to the core of the Minister’s responsibilities. Certainly they are responsibilities of the board but the Minister has very constrained responsibilities in respect of this for very good reason—to avoid political interference by a Minister. The question was asking the Minister about something that I do not believe he does have direct responsibility for. The way the Minister answered it I think was not unreasonable given the nature of the question. 
Clare Curran 
: Can he not see that this is the latest in a long list of slippages in media standards in Government-controlled organisations caused by his Government’s lack of principles? 
Hon CRAIG FOSS 
: I think many members do not see what that member purports to see in many of the questions that she asks.