Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Broadcasting) : I move, That the Television New Zealand Amendment Bill be now read a first time. This bill amends the Television New Zealand Act 2003, in line with the Government’s manifesto commitment to replace the current Television New Zealand charter with a less prescriptive list of functions, and to leave Television New Zealand (TVNZ) free to function as a competitive multimedia company. The other principal purpose of the bill is to amend the principal Act to allow for the rescreening of TVNZ’s archived pre-1989 television programmes in a process of compensation payments being made to rights-holders when the archived programmes are rescreened.

The Government’s election manifesto included a commitment to retain TVNZ in public ownership, and to provide certainty to our public broadcasters. This bill affirms that policy commitment. For many years TVNZ has effectively operated as a commercial broadcaster. The exceptions are TVNZ’s digital channels, TVNZ 6 and TVNZ 7, which will be directly funded by the Government until the end of this year.

Under section 12(2) of the Act, TVNZ’s principal objective is to give full effect to its charter while maintaining its commercial performance. This dual mandate to meet detailed charter expectations and fulfil commercial objectives has proved to be totally unworkable. The introduction of the charter in 2003, and of the funding to support charter programming, did not result in appreciable points of difference between the prime-time schedules of TVNZ and other broadcasters. Indeed, the real question to ask is whether there was any appreciable difference in content on TVNZ before the charter, as compared with after the charter. The answer is that there was not. TVNZ’s charter was first reviewed in 2007-08 and was considered by a select committee, but legislative change did not result because this Government’s preference was to remove the charter altogether.

This Government is committed to public broadcasting. We have shown our support by making the funding that was formerly ring-fenced for TVNZ’s charter commitments available as contestable funding through New Zealand On Air. The Platinum Television Fund allocates $15.1 million per annum for projects to screen on any of New Zealand’s six free-to-air national broadcasters, with preference given to projects scheduled for prime-time viewing. Our view is that no one broadcaster or production company has a monopoly on the best ideas, and the Platinum Television Fund gives the best possible projects the chance to make it on to our screens.

The existing Act does not recognise TVNZ as a multimedia company. Times have changed, and clause 4 of the bill therefore amends the purpose clause of the Act accordingly. TVNZ’s online services are the sorts of services that will now be recognised and encouraged in the legislation. Clause 4 also reflects the new general statement of functions to replace the charter, and these are outlined in what will be a new section 12 of the Act, as substituted by clause 6.

With the passing of this legislation, TVNZ’s functions will be to be a successful national television and digital media company; to provide high-quality content that is relevant to, and enjoyed and valued by, New Zealand audiences; to provide both New Zealand and international content and reflect Māori perspectives; and to include the provision of free-to-air channels available to audiences throughout New Zealand. This is a clear and succinct statement of TVNZ’s functions. TVNZ will continue to provide broadcasting services to all New Zealanders, and the public will continue to have access to local content on TVNZ, including material with a Māori perspective. However, TVNZ will now have the flexibility it needs in order to effectively pursue commercial objectives, and to continue its transition from a traditional broadcaster to a multi-platform digital media company with diverse income streams and services.

TVNZ’s online presence continues to grow. Its website—tvnz.co.nz—receives 1.4 million unique hits per month. The TVNZ ondemand service has been enthusiastically received, attracting 300,000 unique browsers per month, and it is now returning a profit. In October last year, TVNZ launched its first online-only interactive drama, Reservoir Hill, which was a massive hit with the targeted audience. This online growth has not been at the expense of traditional television viewing, and indeed television audiences reached an all-time high in 2009.

If TVNZ is to be recognised as a digital media company, other sections of the principal Act need to reflect this. Under section 28 of that Act, shareholding Ministers cannot give direction on programme content to TVNZ or its subsidiaries. An amendment is required to recognise that TVNZ now provides content on several media platforms that may not meet the definition of “programme”. Clause 9 amends section 28 to include content among the matters for which editorial independence is preserved.

Television New Zealand’s archive is a unique and valuable record of New Zealand’s historical, social, and cultural life, and it is an important part of our screen heritage. As such, it is in the public interest that publicly funded programmes be available for further viewing. Currently a significant number of programmes are effectively locked up in the TVNZ archive, because they are unable to be screened until a number of rights clearance issues are resolved. Prior to the establishment of New Zealand On Air in 1989, programmes were often produced for or by the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand, with individual contracts for each actor, writer, director, composer, or other contracted contributor associated with every episode of every programme. The contracts reflected a single channel era, and required every rights-holder to be contacted before rescreening and a payment to be negotiated with that person. That means that everyone loses out. The public is deprived of the opportunity to view publicly funded material, and those who have contributed creatively to the programmes have no chance to earn recognition or royalties from further screening of those programmes.

Under this bill, reuse of these programmes will ensures maximum value from the initial public investment and deliver attribution and a modest financial reward to rights-holders. The reuse of the works allowed in the amendment will be confined to TVNZ’s free-to-air delivery platforms, at no cost to the viewer and with no direct commercial gain to TVNZ. Clause 10 inserts a new Part 4A, “TVNZ archived works”, into the principal Act to make provision for the rescreening of television programmes produced before the establishment of New Zealand On Air back in 1989, although still recognising the rights of persons with an interest in the archived work. New section 29C will enable TVNZ to screen an archived work multiple times free of charge on its television channels, on TVNZ ondemand, and on any other delivery platform with which TVNZ may enter into an agreement for the supply of content, such as New Zealand On Screen.

New section 29G requires TVNZ to establish a TVNZ Archived Works Fund, which will be used to make payment to individuals who register their interest in an archived work that is to be screened. The processes for registration, assessment of applications, and the review process are outlined in new sections 29I through to 29P. The details about where the scheme will be administered have yet to be finalised. In brief, TVNZ will give notice of its intention to screen an archived work through public notices on its delivery platforms, in major metropolitan newspapers, and in any relevant industry or guild publication. The notice will advise when a particular archived work is to be screened. People who believe they have contractual rights in an archived work will be able to register their interest. These applications will be assessed according to the person’s role in production, and compensatory payment will be made on the basis of the assessment.

Before this scheme can be introduced, the Copyright Act 1994 also requires amendment to exclude the communication of an archived work, as defined in this bill, from being an infringement of that Act. Clauses 13 and 14 of the bill make those amendments to the Copyright Act.

This legislation marks a new era for TVNZ. In a converging media environment, TVNZ needs to have a flexible and realistic set of statutory functions to position it as a modern, competitive broadcaster. The TVNZ archived works scheme will ensure that rights-holders will gain benefit from their work, the public will no longer be denied the opportunity to view works that are part of New Zealand’s cultural and broadcasting heritage, and further value will be gained from the public funding invested in the programmes.

At the appropriate time, I intend to move that this bill be considered by the Commerce Committee. I commend this bill to the House.