The Government is indicating it may abolish the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA), with Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith confirming the option is now the likely direction of travel.
Speaking at a public meeting in Waikanae, Goldsmith outlined three possible paths for the regulator’s future: maintaining the status quo, narrowing its scope, or disbanding it altogether. He told attendees the Government would “probably” opt for the third approach, a position he later reinforced in comments to Newstalk ZB, describing it as his preferred outcome.
“We haven’t made any final decisions yet, but that’s one of the three options, and that’s where I’m leaning at the moment,” he said. Goldsmith also criticised inconsistencies in the current system, noting it had become “arbitrary as to who’s covered and who’s not covered,” and suggested a shift toward a Media Council-style model, which operates as a self-regulatory body without statutory powers.
When asked directly whether scrapping the BSA was effectively the Government’s intended direction, Goldsmith replied: “Yes, that’s right.”
After granting themselves unnecessary authoritarian powers, it now looks like the BSA is headed for the scrap heap 👏👏👏 😃
“It’s fair to say scrapping the Authority is the direction the Government’s going in?” … “Yes, that’s right” (says Media & Communications Minister Paul… pic.twitter.com/wcD69dtEqs
— 𝓑𝓸𝓫 𝓜𝓬𝓒𝓸𝓼𝓴𝓻𝓲𝓮 🇳🇿 (@bobmccoskrienz) April 14, 2026
So his lips moved and weasel words issued forth.
Haha! Agreed
You can thank the Free Speech Union for this and those of us they prompted to contact Goldsmith. Still a wise decision, they have overstepped the bounds of their mandate.We don’t want free New Zealand to end up like dystopian Australia, a haven for those who cherish totalitarianism and heavy handed censorship.
And what are they going to replace it with🤔, something that will encompasse everything.
Spot on, either National or Labor will after the election. I bet no one will ask that question.
Exactly _ all the more reason to avoid voting national or labour. Both have indicated they want to bring in hate speech laws
Yeah yeah, that’s nice.
Guaranteed they will replace it with something 100 times worse that the left will absolutely corrupt once they get their slimy hands back on the levers of power
Politicians should have woken up to the fact that the Broadcasting Act which became law in 1989 was not compatible with the Bill of Rights Act that became law the following year in 1990.
Section 14 of the Bill of Rights Act states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and opinions of any kind in any form”.
There really shouldn’t be any debate. The Broadcasting Act is dead and should have been buried years ago.
I agree with you on the Broadcasting act of course, but just BTW; the Bill of Rights isn’t worth the toilet paper it’s printed on.
Government, the judiciary, the media, the cops, the learning institutions, the hospitals, and just about everyone else right down to coffee shops and restaurants all ignored it harder than Chris Hipkins ignores wives.
Did goldsmith actually do something? Or signal that he will do something? Hes done nothing since taking office – none of his portfolios have done anything at all!
Given (from experience) the Media Council are completely dysfunctional, count me hugely sceptical that anything based on them could be an improvement
Faafo. When you overstep your mandate that the Govt set you up for then it serves you right..You were blatant in attempts to be a weapon to control conservative or right leaning voices could say while ignoring lies that tvnz & rnz spouted.You only need to look at covid coverage & the bias involved including climate narratives where any expert against these lies was NEVER interviewed,don get me started on the covid protest not a journalist in sight