Peters interjected as Luxon ushered for media to leave and proceedings to get under way.
“Before you go – can you possibly tell the public what you had to sign up to to get the money, it's called transparency,” Peters said.
Luxon was asked about those comments but did not respond. Fellow Cabinet ministers shuffled awkwardly in their seats.
Peters' attack on the fund is tied to his criticism of the use of te reo Māori in the media.
“Well, we'll see the speed at which TVNZ and RNZ – which are taxpayer-owned – understand this new message. We'll see whether these people, both the media and journalists – are they independent? Well, isn't that fascinating, i haven't seen evidence of that in the last three years,” Peters said at Government House yesterday.
“You can't defend $55 million of bribery, cannot defend $55 million of bribery. Get it very clear,” Peters said.
Applicants to the fund were asked to show a commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, including a commitment to te reo Māori.
Winston is being hyperbolic, and the media deliberately are avoiding the elephant in the room.
No the media were not bribed to be left-wing – that comes naturally.
But the media were given $55 million of taxpayer funding, and a condition of that funding wasn't just a general commitment to the Treaty but:
Actively promote the principles of Partnership, Participation and Active Protection under Te Tiriti o Waitangi acknowledging Māori as a Te Tiriti partner.
The view of the Treaty being about partnership rather than equality is a highly partisan view. It is a view in fact rejected by the parties that won a majority of seats in the last election. So it is no surprise that some of those mps think the media were not neutral as a result of accepting $55 million conditional on accepting Labour/Greens views of the Treaty.
David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders.
4 comments:
Like any side that loses, there are consequences.
The media were on the losing side and those that are state-funded should now realise those consequences.
At the very least, there should be a standard of reporting expected of all state-funded media to be neutral, fair and balanced.
That has been missing in action for many years now and it has to be restored.
Getting rid of reporters like John Campbell and a raft of others who cannot conceal their contempt of anything centre-Right and democratic should be the next step. They clearly do not meet the first criteria.
I hope Winston has a devilish plan in mind. He's certainly dropping enough hints.
Not sure it was bribery, more like blackmail.
With the controversy so topical the msm should be repeatedly quoting the exact conditons as above. Some have very recently deigned to allude to, but I have seen no full direct quotes. And certainly no mention that the currnt Treaty reinterpreation vey much a requirement of the Labour maori caucus.
Given we the taxpayers funded these media deplorables it is high time for a clean out of them. I would happily contribute to another $55m to clean out the left bias and have a decent balanced media that would start to rebuild the trust they have lost in the vast majority of the population. Journos, once admired are now at the bottom of the heap in trustworthiness.
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