Simon O'Connor: 'Broadcasting' too wide a net

The Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) attempted overreach is just another example of bureaucratic and judicial hubris, and it is time for Parliament to reassert its sovereignty.

The Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) has recently decided to go after Sean Plunket and his online radio show, The Platform. The BSA has unilaterally decided that they have the legal authority to oversee his online presence and consequently, I would argue, the work that Bob McCoskrie and I do via our social media platforms as well as the work of Reality Check Radio (which I also host a show on). In particular, the BSA is entertaining a complaint from someone who is offended that Sean said tikanga is “mumbo jumbo”.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 23/8/24

No, NZ will not be moved, but the PM and his deputy are headed for Tonga (with a schedule that does not mention Seymour)

So who and/or what will be left behind?

That’s what we wondered, on learning from the government’s official website: New Zealand heads to Tonga to talk Pacific.

The country is not on the move, of course. But Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Tonga next week to meet with Pacific leaders on priority regional issues.