Right now, we are witnessing the final death rattles of the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA); they know their time has come. Why? Because technology has surpassed and overtaken the dated act that is the Broadcasting Act 1989. When the act was written, they did not Invision the internet age and how the broadcasting boundaries have moved into a different age.
Shaun Plunket, founder of the Platform media company, has been notified that the BSA has decided that they have now extended their own boundaries and defined who sits under their scope without defining it in law. They have notified Shaun that they are investigating a complaint against the Platform for saying the words ‘Mumbo Jumbo’. This is troubling as they are moving the goalposts to suit those they don't agree with and what they think we should not hear. This is not the role of the BSA, and if it is left to the BSA to define its own boundaries, then it will be left up to unelected individuals to determine what free speech is and what is hate speech.
Balance New Zealand will disestablish the BSA authority and amend the Broadcasting Act 1989 to remove the BSA from the act.
So how do we protect citizens from hate speech? How do we protect minors from objectionable content? How do we protect free speech? How do we set standards for responsible media content? Who defines what responsible content is, and who defines hate speech?
Balance New Zealand believes we need to put in place protections by introducing an Act of law that:
Firstly, Protects free speech and the ability to protest lawfully.
Secondly, defines what hate speech is and how it can be identified.
Thirdly, strengthen protections for defamation against individuals and groups.
Lastly, determine appropriate language and content available to minor recipients.
Broadcasters and media outlets, both existing and new, are a diverse range of individuals and companies championing their own causes for non-biased, biased, extreme and liberal points of view and current affairs reporting should be protected by acts of law, not a governing authority made up of unelected officials.