Broadcasting Standards Authority to be Scrapped

Have you ever listened to the radio or watched T.V and heard something that doesn’t sit right with you? Perhaps an issue of balance, fairness, accuracy or privacy? In the past, you might have gone to the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA), an independently run board that helps hold the media to account by accepting complaints from the public and working to ensure accuracy in New Zealand broadcast media.

The BSA was created under the 1989 Broadcasting Act and had authority over broadcasters to impose fines and order apologies. A recent example was the misrepresentation of a quote from Donald Trump, reported by TVNZ. Three complaints were made, and TVNZ was found to have breached broadcasting standards. The BSA asked for a correction during the 6 O’clock news, and 1News noted the opportunity for their team to review their scripting processes.

It’s no secret the media holds immense power, making it important to have systems in place to ensure they’re doing their jobs to the best of their ability. However, according to RNZ, “the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) will be scrapped in favour of having the media self-regulate”.

Media and communications minister, Paul Goldsmith, noted Aotearoa’s media landscape has changed dramatically and believes the BSA is no longer fit for purpose.

"If you've got a panel discussion on a podcast that's on demand, that's not covered, but if you've got a panel discussion on RNZ, it does, and there's no sort of logic for that," he told Midday Report.

He continued, "And so, you know, we could try and extend the brief of BSA far into sort of social media, or we could say, well, actually, why don't we just rely on the self-regulation that works fine for print journalism and set the sector free."

The planned removal of the BSA came about after they questioned The Platform, an independent media outlet that boasts listeners can “…receive and impart views and opinions the mainstream media simply cannot handle.”

In 2025, the BSA received a complaint about The Platform in relation to alleged racist comments.

The Spinoff explains what happened.

“For a long time, internet streamers had been able to eschew the BSA’s oversight. But last year the body decided to consider a complaint over The Platform owner and broadcaster Sean Plunket.”

Winston Peters questioned the decision, asking "why does the Broadcasting Standards Authority think they can make up their own rules in secret meetings?"

Soon after, David Seymour mentioned to parliament reporters that the BSA’s time was over. ACT put together a private member’s bill to abolish the BSA and Winston Peters noted that his party would support this.

However, not all members of parliament are supportive of the decision. Chris Hipkins commented removing the BSA was "risky".

"At a time when confidence in the media is being severely tested, removing one backstop without replacing it with something that's robust and well thought through is a really, really risky thing for the government to be doing."

Hipkins noted that to have a successful democracy, it is “vital” to have a good, robust media to keep powers in check.

"Just scrapping the BSA is not going to solve the problem."

Concerns have been echoed by the Aotearoa Media and Communications scholarly community, who wrote a letter to Goldsmith signed by 66 scholars. The letter urged the government to “retain and modernise the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) rather than abolish it”, noting the disproportionate effects an unregulated media would have on disabled, Pasifika, Muslim, Māori and other minoritised communities, including young people and children.

One of the signatories was Donald Matheson, a University of Canterbury communications professor. He identified three main issues with the proposed scrapping of the BSA.

Firstly, the BSA showed especial care to marginalised communities, something that he fears other regulators won’t be as proactive about.

Secondly, trust in the media will further decline.

Finally, he highlighted how simply getting rid of the BSA was a missed opportunity to align ourselves with how other countries are regulating their media.

When asked how individual media outlets were going to be impacted, he mentioned the possible broadening of the Media Council, who currently serve magazines (like CANTA), and newspaper-based media. However, the media council isn’t curently designed to regulate digital content or social media posts being made by media outlets.

Overall, he feels “the policy is a rigidly ideological ACT policy that Paul Goldsmith has taken on suddenly, without any discussion or planning of what will happen next. You don’t address big issues around the position of media in society like this.”

The Spinoff also raised concerns, noting harmful past content published in Aotearoa that has escaped consequences.

“While media organisations will almost certainly sign up to industry regulations, internet streamers like The Platform and Reality Check Radio almost certainly won’t, preferring a continuation of their unregulated status quo. Both have already issued their fair share of questionable content. If anything, those outlets will feel more insulated from consequences than before.”