✨ Royal Commission Terms of Reference
(i) The cases for and against fixing a quota for programmes to be produced in New Zealand, the appropriate level of any quota, and the desirability of using the Australian points system or a modification of it in applying a quota:
(j) How the development of the New Zealand Listener may be assured so that it continues both as an independent journal of news and opinion published by the Corporation and as a journal that gives the background to. and lists, all programmes broadcast by holders of warrants:
(k) The adequacy of the present arrangements for funding and touring the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra:
- The corporate structures, ownership, financing, profitability and links with other news media companies of the holders of warrants in respect of private broadcasting stations and the aims, operations, programming, station structure, and staffing of private broadcasting stations; with particular reference to—
(a) The matters referred to in paragraphs (b), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), and (i) of clause 2 of this warrant, which paragraphs shall apply as if every reference in those paragraphs to the Corporation were a reference to a private broadcaster and with such other modifications as are necessary; and
(b) The cases for and against imposing an excess profit levy on the holders of warrants in respect of private television stations for the purpose of providing funds for the development of non-commercial public broadcasting services:
- The resources and functions of the Broadcasting Tribunal and its role in relation to the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand, the holders of warrants in respect of private broadcasting stations, and the Complaints Committee; with particular reference to—
(a) Whether the present monitoring of the performance of the holders of warrants is adequate for the Tribunal's purposes:
(b) Whether the present complaints system and its governing legislation require simplification and reform:
(c) Whether the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand has sufficient independence under the Broadcasting Act 1976 and whether, in particular, the Broadcasting Tribunal should continue to have power to determine applications for warrants by the Corporation:
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The adequacy of section 34A of the Broadcasting Act 1976 as it relates to the purchasing of overseas television programmes, and whether alternative or additional procedures are required:
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The reflection in broadcasting of the multicultural nature of New Zealand society, the recognition of regional, sectional, and minority interests in the design of programmes, and the provision of opportunities for access broadcasting; with particular reference to—
(a) The extent to which programmes build on and explore—
(i) Maori culture and language, and the history and current interests and concerns of Maoris; and
(ii) The past and present of the Pacific Islands and the cultures and current concerns of Pacific Islanders; and
(iii) The cultural links and interests of New Zealanders with continental European or Asian backgrounds:
(b) The recruitment and training of staff fluent in the relevant languages:
(c) The recruitment and training of the other staff needed to produce and broadcast programmes of interest to each cultural group, including those required for technical positions as well as those required for production and programme positions:
(d) The role of a Maori and Pacific Islands commercial radio station not only as a broadcasting station but also as a production centre for programmes to be broadcast from other broadcasting stations:
(e) New Zealand's shortwave radio and overseas programme services and their requirements for effective transmission capacity, staff, and funding:
(f) The opportunities for development of a wide range of programmes for rural, regional, and urban interests and for specialised audiences:
(g) The extent to which various forms of access broadcasting are being presented and could usefully be extended:
- The desirability of developing a more direct and specific association between television as a medium and education as a lifelong process so that television would offer, at suitable times, both local and overseas educational programmes to link with pre-school, school, tertiary, extra-mural, continuing education, vocational and retraining courses; with particular reference to—
(a) The needs of educational institutions and Government departments for programmes in some or all of the areas listed:
(b) Whether sufficient use is made of appropriations under section 23 of the Broadcasting Act 1976 to fund the employment of Corporation production staff and the provision of facilities for the editing and preparation of educational programmes, and whether the Corporation and private broadcasters should draw a proportion of New Zealand programmes from educational institutions and private production companies:
(c) Whether specified hours of the week, outside of peak viewing periods, should be reserved as non-commercial and educational community service hours:
(d) Whether, with a view to further improving the quality of programmes for children, additional or different requirements should apply to the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand and private broadcasters, and whether advertising should be permitted during such programmes:
- The desirable limits on radio and television advertising, the efficacy of standards and rules, and the question of television and violence; with particular reference to—
(a) Whether the number of advertising minutes per hour at various times of the day on television should be revised:
(b) Whether the amount of commercial radio advertising is acceptable to the public or whether it requires reduction:
(c) The non-commercial character of the National Programme and Concert Programme radio services:
(d) The need for rules in relation to the sponsorship of programmes:
(e) Whether certain kinds of programmes should be free of advertisements, and whether continuous action in televised ceremonies and sport should be free of interruption until a natural break occurs:
(f) The adequacy of internal monitoring by the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand and private broadcasters in relation to programming and advertising standards:
(g) The need for advisory committees in relation to public and private broadcasting, and, in particular, the manner in which such committees should be constituted and funded:
(h) Whether firm recommendations can follow from established knowledge about the relationship between television and violence:
- Any associated matters that may be thought by you to be relevant to the general objects of the inquiry:
And We hereby appoint you the said Robert McDonald Chapman to be the Chairman of the said Commission:
And for the better enabling you to carry these presents into effect you are hereby authorised and empowered to make and conduct any inquiry or investigation under these presents in such manner and at such time and place as you think expedient, with power to adjourn from time to time and place to place as you think fit, and so that these presents shall continue in force and any such inquiry may at any time and place be resumed although not regularly adjourned from time to time or from place to place:
And you are hereby strictly charged and directed that you shall not at any time publish or otherwise disclose, save to His Excellency the Governor-General, in pursuance of these presents or by His Excellency's direction, the contents of any report so made or to be made by you, or any evidence or information obtained by you in the exercise of the powers hereby conferred on you, except such evidence or information as is received in the course of a sitting open to the public:
And it is hereby declared that the powers hereby conferred shall be exercisable notwithstanding the absence at any time of any one or any two of the members hereby appointed so long as the Chairman or a member deputed by the Chairman to act in his stead, and one other member, are present and concur in the exercise of the powers:
And We do further ordain that you have liberty to report your proceedings and findings under this Our Commission from time to time if you shall judge it expedient to do so:
And, using all due diligence, you are required to report to His Excellency the Governor-General in writing under your hands, not later than the 30th day of June 1986, your findings and opinions on the matters aforesaid, together with such recommendations as you think fit to make in respect thereof:
And, lastly, it is hereby declared that these presents are issued under the authority of the Letters Patent of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second constituting the office of Governor-General of New Zealand, dated the 28th day of October 1983* and under the authority of and subject to the provisions of the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1908, and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council of New Zealand.
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VUW Te Waharoa —
NZ Gazette 1985, No 21
NZLII —
NZ Gazette 1985, No 21
✨ LLM interpretation of page content
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Terms of Reference for Royal Commission on Broadcasting and Related Telecommunications
(continued from previous page)
🏭 Trade, Customs & Industry7 February 1985
Royal Commission, Broadcasting, Telecommunications, Terms of Reference, New Zealand Listener, Symphony Orchestra, Private Broadcasting, Broadcasting Tribunal, Multicultural Programming, Educational Broadcasting, Advertising Standards
- Robert McDonald Chapman, Appointed Chairman of the Royal Commission