Not a bad thing actually
Clare Curran released:
Just weeks after TVNZ opened its refurbished Auckland head office costing more than $60 million, RNZ (Radio New Zealand) has been forced to put its Auckland office on the market to keep itself afloat, says Labour’s Broadcasting spokesperson Clare Curran.
“An email to staff has outlined the decision to ‘prioritise the allocation of our resources towards those activities that best deliver audience and content outcomes.’“A funding freeze for eight years has forced RNZ into this invidious position where it has to sell its assets in order to keep operating and delivering a quality service.
I do media quite a lot in Auckland. It has always struck me that the two state owned broadcasters have offices in the middle of the CBD, in the most expensive part of Auckland.
Their private sector rivals are in much cheaper areas such as Grafton where rents are $220 or so per square metre. In the CBD they can exceed $1,000 per square metre.
“The Government is trying to starve RNZ out of existence, which has forced it to put its Auckland asset on the market. Yet, the Prime Minister continues to support TVNZ by recently opening the new state broadcaster’s Auckland building despite a cost blowout of $60.3 million.
TVNZ isn’t funded by taxpayers. To the contrary it pays dividends to taxpayers.
If Radio NZ is saving money on its office costs, so there is more money for radio – that is a good thing.