‘I’m not a broadcaster, I’m a webcaster’: Sean Plunket hits back at BSA as Minister considers options

Wednesday, 1 April 2026

Sean Plunket says he is a journalist, but he should not be subject to the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) because he is not a broadcaster.

That comes as Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith said the Government is considering all options - including abolishing the regulator.

“I’m not a broadcaster, I’m a webcaster,” Plunket told Stuff, after the BSA confirmed in a landmkark ruling that it has jurisdiction over digital talkback show The Platform.

The decision marked the first time the regulator has extended its reach to an online-only show.

Plunket’s comments come despite a video published two years ago and pinned to The Platform’s YouTube channel, which features him stating: “I’ve been a journalist and a broadcaster for nearly 40 years.”

Talking to Stuff, he said the BSA’s decision was “wrong on law, wrong in process and goes against the New Zealand Bill of Rights”. He argued it was up to Parliament to decide what a broadcaster is, not the BSA.

The BSA’s determination stems from a complaint regarding Plunket’s comments on karakia and tikanga Māori, which he had dismissed as “mumbo jumbo”. The Authority ruled that live online programmes intended for a New Zealand audience meet the definition of “broadcasting” because they are transmitted via “telecommunication”.

Plunket, who declared “game on” against the regulator, accused the BSA of “Orwellian mind control”.

He also claimed Prime Minister Christopher Luxon had personally assured him last year that the government “had his back” regarding the “overreach,” but had since done nothing.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Luxon said he did not recall having that conversation. “We have not interfered in this process at all, the BSA is independent,” he said. “I can’t imagine that’s something I’ve said.”

What’s a broadcaster?

Most of the BSA’s decision turns on the definition of “broadcaster”. The regulator found that The Platform, which streams via the internet and holds itself out to be media, fell within it.

According to Plunket, this risks wide-ranging implications. “I am concerned for other people who choose to communicate through the internet, that one day the BSA will decide they don't like them and subject them to the kangaroo court they're trying to subject me to,” he said.

The BSA’s decision does consider the risk of extending the law’s application too far. But it ultimately determined The Platform was different from individuals who share content online because it holds itself out to be a media outlet.

Asked about this distinction, by Stuff, Plunket pointed out that he doesn’t need a broadcasting license to operate.

Broadcasting licenses are required to operate radio or TV stations in New Zealand.

Plunket is now hoping for a law change to abolish the BSA, something both New Zealand First and ACT have said they support. ACT MP Laura McClure has advanced a private member’s bill to this effect.

Paul Goldsmith told reporters on Wednesday that this was an option he was considering.

“There's three options. We could leave it as it is, to let the courts decide, or we could change the legislation, or we could abolish the BSA. That's something that the Government can consider,” he said.

Asked if he could share a time frame on that work, he said “no, but we don’t want to leave this dragging on too much longer”.

Goldsmith also brushed off comments made by Plunket to Stuff that he is “as much use as an ashtray on a motorcycle” in this area.

“Sean Plunket is interested in attracting people to listen to his show, and he says all sorts of outrageous things. Good luck to him,” he said.

Peters, ACT, support abolition

In an interview with The Platform on Wednesday morning, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the BSA was “bordering on fascist” and called for the agency to be abolished.

He described the ruling as a case of “breathtaking audacity”.

“They say there’s a huge gap between existing law and modern communications, but virtually the next breath, they say they have the capacity to bridge this huge gap all by themselves,” he said.

“What you’ve got here from the BSA is bordering on fascist behaviour. Frankly, they should go. They should be abolished. They’re out of time. They’ve got no use anymore.”

Peters signalled he would support McClure’s member’s bill, replying “Amen, brother”, when asked by Plunket if he would support it.

In a statement, McClure called the BSA a “bureaucratic empire” that has taken a law written for “rabbit-ear TV”, and stretched it over the internet.

She said the agency was now acting as a taxpayer-funded “taste police” that has outlived its usefulness. She confirmed she was writing to the Minister to urge the Government to scrap the authority entirely.

Goldsmith told reporters that was something his caucus will have to consider.

Free Speech Union CEO Jillaine Heather has also weighed in, condemning the move by the BSA as “gymnastics,” arguing that an unelected panel shouldn't be reinterpreting a 1989 statute to decide what New Zealanders can say on the internet. She called on the Government to clarify that the Broadcasting Act does not extend to the web, stating that any regulation of online speech must be decided by Parliament.

Meanwhile the BSA has defended its position, stating that excluding online broadcasters would create a “significant gap” in public protections. Chief executive Stacey Wood previously dismissed criticism of the move as “a touch on the dramatic side”.

While the ruling specifically targets The Platform, the BSA intends to conduct further consultation on how the decision affects other New Zealand-based online broadcasters. For now, the Authority will proceed to rule on the substance of the original complaint against Plunket.