‘Perhaps I was a little slow’: Melissa Lee on losing her media portfolio

Tuesday, 30 April 2024

Melissa Lee has answered media questions in Parliament, after she was demoted out of cabinet.

Former media minister Melissa Lee says she may have been “a little slow” to respond to challenges in the media sector, after Prime Minister Christopher Luxon last week took the portfolio off her.

Lee, who had been media spokesperson for the party in opposition and is a former journalist, had been under pressure to respond after the closure of news broadcaster Newshub was announced. Lee repeatedly said she was planning to take a paper to cabinet, but refused to give details.

Paul Goldsmith has taken over the portfolio, with Luxon saying the complex portfolio required a senior minister. Lee retains her economic development and ethnic communities portfolios.

Lee issued a brief statement last week, saying she supported the prime minister’s decision, but on Tuesday morning talked to media for the first time. She repeated she accepted and respected the PM’s decision.

“I was very focussed on what I was actually doing and the media is actually facing a very difficult time and I tried my very best, now I’m looking forward to working on my other portfolios.”

Pressed further she said, “I think what happened was, that media was facing very difficult times very quickly and it’s actually come about quite suddenly.

Stuff owner and publisher Sinead Boucher and Head of WBD NZ Glen Kyne have outlined an agreement to continue a nightly news broadcast on Three.

“Although we were thinking there need to be some changes, it just came about really, really too fast, and I was trying, and things in government take time and you know, perhaps I was a little slow, but what I can say is I tried my very best, and this decision has been made, and I respect the prime minister’s decision.”

Goldsmith, who also holds the arts, culture and heritage portfolio and has been in conferences in the UK this past week, through a press secretary said he was looking forward to taking on the role.

“It’s clear the media industry is facing a number of challenges. I will now work with the media industry on those issues, building on the work Melissa Lee started.”

The media sector has been struggling for some time, with challenges particularly exacerbated during pandemic lockdowns when some publications were prevented from printing. At that time Bauer Media shut its magazine operation - some magazine titles were subsequently purchased - but advertising revenue has dropped across the board.

The Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill is travelling through Parliament at the moment, which would see search engines and social media giants, through either voluntary or compulsory means, compensate news media for the content they carry on their platforms.

But the Government is under pressure to do more, following the closure of Newshub, and the announcement of loss of jobs at TVNZ. Stuff, the owner of The Post, Waikato Times, The Press and Stuff website, has negotiated a contract to deliver the 6pm news bulletin, for Warners Bros Discovery, the owner of Newshub.

Media leaders have suggested a variety of measures could help the industry, including tax rebates on subscriptions, more funding for New Zealand on Air, a levy on digital advertising for redirection to local news content providers, and a levy.