The Platform’s Sean Plunket claims ‘common sense’ victory as Government looks to scrap BSA
Wednesday, 6 May 2026
Self-proclaimed “webcaster” Sean Plunket has celebrated news the Government will be abolishing the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA), but says he alone can’t take credit for the decision.
The BSA, which regulates broadcast media in New Zealand, has been in the spotlight after it determined it had jurisdiction to consider a complaint about Plunket’s The Platform - an online-only talkback network.
Plunket went on the offensive, telling The Post in April that the BSA had got it wrong and was biased - “but given the ideological stupidity that the BSA has demonstrated to date, I wasn't surprised.”
Speaking on Wednesday after the Government confirmed it would look to scrap the BSA, Plunket - who was briefly on the BSA’s board in 2017, before resigning over a controversial tweet - said “vindicated” wasn’t the word he would use, but he was “satisfied that common sense had prevailed”.
He also walked back previous criticism that Broadcasting Minister Paul Goldsmith was as useful as an “ashtray on a motorbike”, saying: “I hope that my position encouraged him to make this sensible move.”
It was the BSA’s own decision to “overreach their mandate” that had resulted in today’s announcement, Plunket said.
“I just happened to be the person that they took aim at. It's really come about, because, through its own actions, the Broadcasting Standards Authority demonstrated that it was no longer a useful body.”
Read more:
RNZ’s new audio boss on rebooting Morning Report - and what could be next
BSA claims jurisdiction to cover complaint about Sean Plunket’s The Platform
BSA chief executive Stacey Wood said she would not be giving any interviews at this stage, but in a statement said she was proud of the role the authority had played for over 37 years.
“Our primary interest has been to ensure the public continue to have access to accurate, reliable media content, and a regulator they can turn to if they think public standards are breached,” she said.
“It has never been about protecting our existing operating model, and it was clear any future regulator would need to look different to the existing BSA.
“It has always been for lawmakers to decide if the authority plays a role in any future regulatory setup. We’ve worked with officials and provided advice on various proposals over the years.”
Broadcaster Duncan Garner, who hosts the Editor-in-Chief podcast for MediaWorks, and has also been outspoken on his view that the BSA was outdated, believed the right call had been made.
“Good riddance. See you later,” he said. “I think Plunket will be at the front door offering to carry [the BSA’s] bags to the airport.”
The BSA had a “death wish” taking on Plunket, added Garner.
“He put his arse on the line, got people involved and came up with a new media model and venture, and he's been pretty successful. He's worked his arse off in trying circumstances and tough economic times. So I don't know why they'd line up that target.”
Garner questioned why it had taken so long for the Government to come to this decision given Goldsmith had previously made it clear his preference was to scrap the BSA rather than reform it.
“He indicated a number of weeks ago, if not a month or so ago, that one of the things on his mind was getting rid of it. I think that was the only option.”
But media commentator and host of The Fold podcast, Duncan Greive, said he was surprised how quickly the decision was made given “there are so many giant, challenging media issues that the government has proven completely incapable of addressing” - among them the contentious Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill.
Greive, who founded The Spinoff, said scrapping the BSA was the expected outcome.
“I think a year ago I would have been flabbergasted but, given the response to [the] decision to take up The Platform complaint, and the way the drums had been beating from the Coalition - really a moment of largely unified thought on an issue - this was the most likely outcome.”
Goldsmith, who has been approached for an interview by The Post, said in a statement that New Zealand’s media landscape had changed dramatically, “but our regulatory settings have not kept up”.
He indicated that the Media Council - which regulates most online journalism as an opt-in model - would likely become the default regulator for journalism.
In a statement, Media Council chair Brook Cameron said the group would engage with the Government as it considered next steps.
“The purpose of the New Zealand Media Council is to support trust in media and freedom of expression by upholding high standards of journalism. The Media Council has a robust process for receiving and determining complaints to ensure the public has confidence in a fair and independent NZ media sector.”
Greive said the BSA deserved credit for considering the original complaint against The Platform, rather than “placidly ignoring immense and far-reaching change”.
“It did a very brave, existentially challenging thing and accepted a complaint that … in a microcosm, addressed some of the most challenging elements of the kind of tension between our outdated legislation and the reality of media consumption today,” he said.
Given the likes of Plunket and Garner were unlikely to subscribe to any new regulatory body, Greive accepted that little would change in the short term.
However, “it makes sense for all of the sort of establishment media to be under one roof”.
Garner said he wasn’t “100% against” the Media Council having wider scope.
“I'm not a madman … I'm not a rogue. I still hold, you know, journalistic principles,” he said.
But he believed the courts remained the best way to address genuine issues and would be “reluctant” to sign up to a self-regulating regime.
Plunket encouraged anyone with a grievance against The Platform to get in touch directly. “I've always said … if you've got a problem with what we've said, or we've got something wrong, get in contact, ring us up and we'll respond. And if we've got something wrong, we'll put it right.”
TVNZ, one of the outlets currently covered by the BSA, said it was supportive of a regulatory model similar to the Media Council and Advertising Standards Authority.
“We think complaints regimes should be straightforward for audiences and cost-effective for the industry,” a spokesperson said.
“Media in New Zealand by-in-large are responsible and take standards seriously. We welcome scrutiny of our work and a robust complaints process helps instil trust. Less than 1% of complaints TVNZ receives result in a different decision being made and upheld by the regulators.”
ThreeNews has been approached for comment via Stuff.
The Free Speech Union, which had previously criticised the BSA, welcomed today’s news.
'This is the right call. For more than 20 years, Parliament declined to extend the BSA's jurisdiction over the internet. The BSA tried to take that power for itself anyway. A regulator cannot help itself to powers Parliament has refused to give,“ said chief executive Jillaine Heather.
Plunket, in April, claimed prime minister Christopher Luxon had privately told him he “had his back” over the BSA issue - a claim that was rejected by the prime minister’s office.
In response to an Official Information Act request made by The Post about this interaction, a spokesperson for Luxon said: “The Prime Minister has no recollection of an interaction with Mr Plunket following an October post-Cabinet press conference. No debriefs, or follow-up notes are held.”
A separate request for official information to Goldsmith’s office in relation to the BSA has been delayed for another month, with The Post told that further consultation was required.
Any law to scrap the BSA would likely not be passed before the election. Labour’s Chris Hipkins wouldn’t go so far as to say he’d save the BSA, but criticised the Government for scrapping “consumer protection” without any kind of model of what would replace it.
It’s almost four years to the day since The Platform first went live, following Plunket’s departure from MediaWorks’ since defunct Magic Talk.
Plunket said today’s news was a “lovely birthday present” and delivered on a promise he had made to The Platform’s original bankrollers, the wealthy Wright family.
“I said, we're not going to make a lot of money, but we might just change the world. And today I feel like I delivered.”