The Government has announced it will move to disestablish the Broadcasting Standards Authority<\/strong>, declaring the long\u2011standing regulator \u201cno longer fit for purpose\u201d in a media environment dominated by digital platforms, podcasts, livestreams and on\u2011demand content.<\/p>\n\n\n Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith<\/strong> said the BSA was built for a broadcasting world that \u201cis rapidly disappearing,\u201d with only a shrinking slice of modern media falling under its jurisdiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNew Zealand\u2019s media landscape has changed dramatically, but our regulatory settings have not kept up,\u201d Goldsmith said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t make sense that similar content is treated differently depending on whether it\u2019s broadcast live or accessed on demand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the proposed changes, industry self\u2011regulation<\/strong> will become the default model, with the New Zealand Media Council<\/strong> expected to become the primary oversight body for journalism \u2014 the same model already used by print and many digital outlets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Government will draft repeal legislation in the coming months. The BSA will continue operating until the law is passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour<\/strong> has celebrated the move as a major win for ACT, which has long argued that the BSA\u2019s structure is outdated and inconsistent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the announcement lands in the middle of a much bigger cultural fight \u2014 one that has dominated talk radio, social media, and free\u2011speech circles for months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The BSA\u2019s recent attempt to assert jurisdiction over The Platform<\/strong>, an online\u2011only talk station, triggered a storm of public debate. The regulator\u2019s ruling \u2014 later challenged \u2014 became a lightning rod for arguments about free speech, digital broadcasting, and the limits of state oversight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Platform founder Sean Plunket<\/strong>, who has been at the centre of the controversy, has publicly welcomed the Government\u2019s decision. He has repeatedly argued the BSA had no lawful authority<\/strong> over online\u2011only broadcasters and accused the regulator of ideological overreach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Plunket has framed today\u2019s announcement as proof the BSA had \u201clost its way,\u201d calling the move a necessary correction in a media environment where audiences \u201cmove seamlessly between platforms the BSA was never designed to regulate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Free Speech Union has also backed the shift, calling the BSA\u2019s recent actions \u201coverreach\u201d and urging the Government to restore a consistent, platform\u2011neutral approach to media oversight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Goldsmith says the goal is simple: a level playing field<\/strong>, consistent standards, and a regulatory model that reflects how New Zealanders actually consume media in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether this shift strengthens trust in journalism \u2014 or simply exposes deeper fractures in the media landscape \u2014 will be the next battle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Mike Bain\/cvnznews.com The Government has confirmed it will disestablish the Broadcasting Standards Authority, calling the 35\u2011year\u2011old regulator unfit for a digital media era. The move follows months of controversy involving online broadcaster The Platform and has been hailed as a political win by ACT \u2014 and a personal vindication by Sean Plunket. The Government<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[41],"tags":[1102,390,113,1103,1018],"coauthors":[709],"class_list":{"0":"post-12693","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-bsa","9":"tag-media","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-sean-plunket","12":"tag-the-platform"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Plunket.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12693"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12696,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12693\/revisions\/12696"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12693"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=12693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cvnznews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/paul-goldsmith-.avif\")
Minister for Media and Communications<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nA political win \u2014 and a cultural flashpoint<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Plunket: \u201cA vindication\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n