February 16, 2023 3:00pm by David Farrar

Yes ditch AM broadcast of Parliament

Stuff reports:

Tea and scones might be off the menu for MPs as inflation eats into Parliament’s budget.

Parliament’s Clerk of the House, David Wilson, told MPs on Wednesday he was considering spending cuts as he grappled with rising costs. Services that could be slashed included AM radio broadcasts of the House, tea trolleys for MPs sitting on committees, and education trips overseas for MPs.

“We can no longer meet the cost of all of our operations in supporting Parliament. We’ve done what we can to keep our costs down, but we’re a small agency, with a limited budget, and facing rising costs,” he told Parliament’s Governance and Administration Committee.

Wilson said one of the few “big ticket” items the clerk’s office spends on was broadcasting sittings of Parliament across AM frequencies. The $1.3 million contract for the broadcast service was up for review, and was “close to the amount we need to save”.

That’s easy then. Scrap it.

“I realise it is a big move, we’ve been broadcasting on radio since 1935. It’s not something I want to rush into.

It is now 2023.