He's in trouble with the opposition - yet again, someone in the opposition's gone crying to daddy, calling on the Prime Minister to sort Winston Peters out.
I mean, last time this happened, it was because he was mean to old 'Bussy Galore'. This time, it's because he's threatened to defund Radio New Zealand.
Now he did this this morning in what I consider to be a highly entertaining tantrum, actually, because he got cross at RNZ for getting cross at him because he wants to define what a woman is in law.
Now, this crying to daddy business that's going on about Winston is utterly pointless, and I bet you Labour knows it, but they're doing it anyway.
But it's pointless because number one, you and I both know that Luxon is not going to sort out Winston Peters. Luxon needs Winston more than Winston needs Luxon right now.
And number two, Winston is not wrong.
Radio New Zealand looks like it is going to lose funding in the upcoming budget - or at least that's the rumour doing the rounds at the moment.
And if RNZ doesn't lose funding, it should lose funding - because it got a funding boost that was enormous under Labour.
It got a $25 million a year injection under Labour. That was a boost of 60 percent. That's huge.
I do not know of any other major media organization in this country that has had a revenue increase during this prolonged recession.
And what's more, despite all of that money, objectively, they're doing a cruddy job - because have a look at what's going on with their audience numbers. They have had an enormous decline in the people listening to them in the last 5 years.
When Winston accused Radio New Zealand of having a woke left bias, there will be plenty of people around this country who perhaps used to listen and don't anymore or don't listen for whatever reason, but there'll be plenty of people who would have been nodding their head in agreement with Winston once they heard that he'd said that.
Now, look, I know this is politics, so maybe Labour sees an opportunity here to play the hero for Radio New Zealand's audience who are horrified at what Winston said, and fair play to Labour.
They can do what they want, it's politics.
But I doubt this is going to be a big vote winner, because frankly, the number of voters who now nowadays care very deeply about protecting the media seems to be at an all-time low.
And also, don't forget this - it's hardly a shock, is it?
Winston Peters attacks the media. I mean, that could have been a headline every year for the last 40 years, couldn't it?
Heather du Plessis-Allan is a journalist and commentator who hosts Newstalk ZB's Drive show HERE - where this article was sourced.
4 comments:
Why is the funding even there now? If RNZ wants funding to promote Labour, the Greens and TPM, they should be asking for it from the funds of those political parties for providing them with a service rather than from the taxpayers.
It is not a funding cut which RNZ needs but a complete change of Board. Currently they are simply advancing Willie Jackson's itinerary of converting it to primarily a channel for maori. Despite National indications prior the election, gratuitous and infuriating te reo continues to be inserted relentlessly. Every other interview on Saturday morning is with some maori, pro maori, or identity with a maori type political viewpoint, all fed and led by Mih???ngi Forbes. Then Julian Willcox shows off his te reo and compares family connections and mutual maori acquaintances, of no relevance to all but a very few in the know maori listeners. All accompanied by infuriating maori hyena laughter characteristic of maori parties and PD gangs. The recent playing of a 1970s time tape drew attention to other woeful changes. The now tolerance of hideous diction; Nathan Rarere, Paddy Gower etc. (Even Sue Bradford improved over the decades but these two stubbornly resist). John Gordon reminded that light classical music exits and is/was very attractive to very many. A recent development on RNZ is puerile quizzes. Much of the music is cacaphonic and seems calculated to deter traditional listeners. There are request sessions where plebian oldies relive the plebeian music of their plebian youth. The tapes of Peter Fry have presumably been lost. it all seems to be a ploy to chase away tarditional listeners and their like to make way for total dedication to maori.
Haven't listened to RNZ for years (after 40+ years of respecting them) because the message became so blatently pro Maori and the indoctrination to learn new fabricated te reo words.
Heather, recall that Willie Jxn wanted the Government to spend $330M on merging RNZ and TVNZ ?
It didn't need a single dollar - it only needed either organization to give mutual permission to use any material.
So what was clearly Willie going do with it ? More Maori magic, now you see it, now you don't ?
Any suggestion that the myriad of taxpayer funded regional Maori radio stations are going to have funding cuts ?
It doesn't take tens of millions of State funding for Maori TV to broadcast kapa haka contests, and foreign racially biased movies to an infinitesimal audience.
Millions to be saved here, and considerable decrease in He Puapua propaganda.
Luv ya, Heather. Your article could be set to music.... [not rap/pop music of course.] I wait to see what Nats will do with Luxon, after the Budget....
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