The NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party (NZOFP) has today announced its landmark media reform policy, calling for an immediate end to the “editorial filtering” of political discourse and the opening of Parliament TV to all registered political parties.
The announced policy follows a recent meeting between Party Leader Sue Grey and Parliamentary Services to discuss direct access for parties to broadcast their policies. NZOFP contends that utilising the taxpayer-funded Parliament TV platform is the most cost-effective and trusted way to restore informed voting and democratic transparency in New Zealand.
“Trust in our mainstream media has collapsed because New Zealanders feel they are being fed a government-sanctioned narrative,” says NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party – Sue Grey. “While we continue on from challenging the Electoral Commission on unfair broadcasting allocations, our focus is now on ensuring the public has direct, unfiltered access to the policies of all registered parties. Parliament TV belongs to the people, and it should be used to empower them, not just to broadcast the views of the existing parliamentary bloc.”
Proposed Legislative Amendment: Essential Media Balance
A core pillar of the NZOFP reform is a specific amendment to the Broadcasting Act 1989 to ensure that professional media can no longer hide behind vague requirements.
Amendment to Section 4 (1)(d): We propose to remove the phrase “reasonable efforts” and replace it with a “Statutory Duty” for Balanced Reporting. Broadcasters will be legally required to present significant alternative points of view on all controversial issues of public importance.
“This is a critical shift from ‘trying’ to ‘doing’,” the Party stated. “By making balance an essential requirement rather than an optional effort, we ensure that every Kiwi has the right to hear both sides of a story, especially when it concerns their health, their freedoms, and their future.” – Says Broadcasting spokesperson and candidate Aly Cook
Key Pillars of the 2026 Media Accountability Policy:
- Unfiltered Transparency via Parliament TV: A proposal to provide all registered political parties with airtime on Parliament TV to present their policies directly to the public. NZOFP believes this promotes democracy by increasing access to information on a trusted platform.
- The “All-Voices” Reporting Standard: Requiring that in any news coverage of political policy or election issues, media outlets must invite comment from a diverse range of registered political parties, ending the “major party” monopoly on the news.
- Equal Prominence for Corrections: Any correction or apology ordered by a regulator must be given the same prominence as the original story. If a misleading claim was a headline, the correction must be a headline.
- Independent Oversight: Replacing the state-appointed BSA and industry-funded Media Council with a single, truly independent Media Standards Commission where appointments are managed by an independent panel, not a Minister.
See the full Policy Statement here: NZOFP – NZOFP Broadcasting Policy Statement
The NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party is championing a public petition to secure this access to Parliament TV to promote informed voting and direct democratic engagement for all parties.
Sign the Petition Use Parliament TV to share policies of registered parties before the election.
signed
While I’ll definitely vote NZOFP, restoring trust in any media is a wasted effort and I’ll just continue what I’ve learnt to do in the past 5 years – I’ll just get news from a variety of sources and I’ll continue ignoring mainstream media.
Thank you. Take a look at the policy statement we are proposing putting into law the balance that media should uphold and looking at an even playing field for small political players to become involved.
This is IMO the last rescue option NZ bs media will have..
If they are too vacuose and arrogant to not grasp this life line, they might as well be relegated to the dustbin of relevance.
A fair minded and much needed amendment. Regrettably the 5% threshold remains and that is essentially “vote theft”. Its high time this undemocratic aspect of MMP was amended, as it locks people into voting for parties that are already in office, for fear of not having their voice heard. Taking this on would be a good place to start.
Only if people realise they need to support people they really want in … We are growing our membership dramatically and support is rising for us even if the polls dont say we see it in the sign up number and we have the best team we have had had in nearly 15 years as a party. We either need 5% or a candidate win. We have our eyes on both but people want change and people in who care and are not part of the machine they have to support
Read NZ Loyal’s media policy, third line from the bottom…
https://nzloyal.com/resources/
They should be encouraging people to get rid of their TV and activate their mind instead.
Television turns your brain into mushy, manipulable goo. You need it about as much as you need a lobotomy.
Tommy, there is one benefit of Millennials’ and Gen Z’s addiction to phones: they do not watch TV anymore.
I have attended some Millennial parties and what my ears heard was extremely surprising and extremely encouraging. What I heard would never be reported by MSM. The polls are all wrong. IMO there is a tsunami building. The beehive will be dumbfounded. Thej are so out of touch, thej will not know what hits them.
The problem with these little parties is they start off sounding great, then they join with like minded other little parties and just when you think they are gaining momentum right before the elections they all have a tiff with eachother so none of them gets the 5%. It’s almost like it is planned (rolls eyes).