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 envision the internet age and how the broadcasting boundaries have moved into a different age.
Sean 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 Sean that they are investigating a complaint against the Platform for saying that ‘Tikanga is Mumbo Jumbo’. This is troubling as they are moving the goalposts to suit those they don't agree with anddetermining the moral compass as to what we should and 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 determinewhat free speech is and what inappropriate speech is.
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 fundamentally need a proper Constitution of New Zealand which will protect free speech and free association and religion, this is something with the right support Balance New Zealand will implement. In the meantime, we will strengthen the Bill of rights by;
Firstly, Protecting free speech and the ability to protest lawfully.
Secondly, defining what hate speech is and how it can be identified.
Lastly, strengthen protections for defamation against individuals and groups.
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.
The current government has indicated recently that they will abolish the BSA and this is great news, we hope this will be enacted before the election, if not, we will continue to champion this directive.
What do you think? Let us know through our social media sites.