GEOFF NEAL AGAINST TVNZ

TVNZ published an online article on 30 January 2024, headlined Fears govt cuts to public service may affect front line staff. It also published a story on YouTube headlined NZ's public sector cuts deeper and wider than National campaigned on.

Geoff Neal complained both stories were biased and wrongly reported that the Government’s public sector funding cuts were being made solely to fund the promised tax cuts.

He said there were a number of other reasons justifying Government’s financial management plans including growing debt, inflation and a recession. Reducing public sector funding had many other benefits.

TVNZ responded by referring to a National Party brochure which stated that its tax plan would be funded by “sensible reprioritisation of Government spending and carefully targeting new revenue measures.” It also quoted an interview with Finance Minister Nicola Willis in December last year in which she said she was confident the Government could deliver tax reductions and that Government agencies had been told to conduct baseline savings exercises which were expected to generate $6 billion over the forecast period.

TVNZ said it had not identified any breach of Media Council Principle (1) Accuracy, Fairness and Balance.

The Media Council can find no basis for this complaint. Both versions of the story reported that public sector funding cuts will “help pay” for proposed tax cuts. That phrasing negates the complaint that the story said that the cuts were being made solely to fund tax cuts.

The complainant has a point that cutting public sector spending could have other benefits, but there is no requirement for every budget related story reporting criticism of public sector cuts, to list all the pros and cons of cutting or increasing Government spending.

Decision:  There were no grounds to proceed.