The Government will disestablish the Broadcasting Standards Authority after deeming the media regulator’s role “doesn’t make sense” amid an evolving industry.

Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith today confirmed the Government had agreed a process to wind down the BSA and “investigate self-regulation options”.

The Government had been considering the future of the authority, first established in 1989, after it determined it had jurisdiction over online broadcaster The Platform.

“The BSA regime was designed for a broadcasting environment that is rapidly disappearing,” Goldsmith said.

“Today, audiences move seamlessly between traditional broadcasting, on‑demand services, podcasts and online platforms - yet only a small portion of that content is subject to the BSA’s regulatory oversight. It doesn’t make sense.”

Goldsmith argued media entities were subjected to “inconsistencies and unfair outcomes” through content being judged differently if it was broadcast live or accessed on demand.

He pointed to the New Zealand Media Council as a self-regulation mechanism, adding he expected the Media Council would become the “primary regulator for journalism”.

The Media Council is funded by major media organisations to rule on fairness, accuracy and decency. Unlike the BSA, it holds no legal powers.

“I’m confident that greater industry self-regulation is the most practical way to level the playing field across platforms, and can provide an appropriate level of oversight to maintain ethical journalistic standards and audience trust,” Goldsmith said.

Legislation to repeal provisions in law relating to the BSA would be drafted in the coming months, Goldsmith said. The BSA would continue in its role until that legislation was passed.

Act MP Laura McClure, who had lodged a Member’s Bill to abolish the BSA, welcomed the decision.

“Kiwis no longer rely on a handful of TV channels. They choose what they watch and listen to from a vast range of platforms.”

“If you don’t like something, you switch it off. We don’t need a taxpayer-funded taste police in Wellington deciding what people are allowed to hear.”

The Platform v BSA

The issue came to a head last month when the BSA ruled it had jurisdiction to consider a complaint against Sean Plunket’s The Platform.

The complaint took issue with Plunket describing tikanga Māori as “mumbo jumbo”.

But before considering the merits of the complaint, the authority had to first determine whether it had jurisdiction.

The BSA deemed it was “required to consider under the Broadcasting Act, complaints about The Platform’s Live Talkback programme, because the programme meets the Act’s definition of ‘broadcasting’.”

At the same time, the authority said it had not found it had jurisdiction over on-demand content from the likes of Netflix, AppleTV, Prime Video, Disney+, YouTube, or other overseas entities streaming content for New Zealand audiences, nor over personal online content posted or livestreamed by individuals.

Plunket rejects the decision, claiming Parliament didn’t intend for the BSA to cover online broadcasters when the law was written in 1989, as they didn’t exist.

New Zealand First’s Winston Peters also slammed the decision, saying it was “bordering on fascist”. He called for the BSA to be scrapped.

Act also criticised the decision, having earlier lodged a private member’s bill to disestablish the BSA.