Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will have to make a call on whether to speak to David Seymour about his criticism of TVNZ, a media law expert says.
Otago University law professor Andrew Geddis said it remained an open question whether Seymour's critical remarks breached the spirit of legislation governing TVNZ.
The ACT leader has come under scrutiny for repeatedly attacking the media, including 1News Senior Political Reporter Benedict Collins.
Staff at the national broadcaster faced the prospect of losing their jobs after proposals for re-structuring were announced this morning.
Speaking on Newstalk ZB this morning, Seymour said: "I saw a report on 1News, Benedict Collins grinning down the camera about Chris Luxon's apartment costs.
"These are the people that cry, 'Oh you've got to give us sympathy, and you're inhumane and you should be kinder to us'."
In response, Seymour was accused of breaching strict rules governing state-owned TVNZ. Seymour is a shareholding minister in the broadcaster, as a result of his ministerial portfolio.
Melissa Lee said she was told about the broadcaster's restructuring announcement on Wednesday. (Source: 1News)
Under the TVNZ Act, he could not direct the broadcaster on how to gather or present news
Seymour said in response: "The accusation is farcical."
Geddis told 1News there was a question over whether the ACT leader had broken the spirit of the law. He added that the prohibition on giving directions to TVNZ applied to all ministers, not just shareholding ministers of the broadcaster.
"The question with David Seymour is, has he has he fallen afoul of the spirit of the Act, through his criticism, even if he’s managed to stay onside of the black letter law?
"The legislation that establishes TVNZ has, within it, a prohibition on ministers giving any direction to TVNZ or its employees, as to the content of their programmes, including news programmes. That is a legal prohibition on giving directions.
"The term 'directions' isn't then specified in the Act. But it would be something like a minister perhaps writing to TVNZ or someone within TVNZ, saying, 'I want your programmes to look more like this'."
He continued: "It probably needs to be something which is that formal and direct to really fall afoul of that legal prohibition."
Geddis continued: "There's the letter of the law, which prohibits the giving of directions, there's then a question of the spirit of the law.
"Why is that in the legislation in the first place? Why provide that protection?
"It's because the ministers are ultimately the owners of the TVNZ but they're also the subject of its coverage. And we need the news media to be free and able to comment, without the fear that there will be some sort of retribution for doing so."
He added: "The Prime Minister, as the head of the government, is ultimately responsible for all ministers' conduct — the behaviour of all ministers.
"If the PM thinks that it's inappropriate for a shareholding minister to be undermining public trust in TVNZ as an institution, then the Prime Minister has to go to the minister and say, 'stop it, cut it out'.
"Ultimately, it comes down to what is the Prime Minister prepared to do in the wake of David Seymour taking these actions."
Earlier this week, Seymour also took a swipe at Newshub, which faced closure and hundreds of job losses.
Regarding 1News reporting, he said today: "I've used one reporter's behaviour as an example of a wider point that media has become too self-reflective and not self-aware."
Broadcasting Minister Melissa Lee said earlier today she would speak with Seymour about his remarks.
Asked whether she had contacted him, Seymour said: "No, she hasn't, and it's not really her job to be honest".
Luxon told media earlier: "Politicians of all parties probably think they get unfair treatment from the media but the bottom line is you play a very important role in our democracy."
In a statement about Seymour's comments, a TVNZ spokesperson said: "David Seymour has singled out 1News reporter Benedict Collins for doing his job – that is, challenging politicians and policies across the political spectrum on behalf of New Zealanders.
"We are not asking for sympathy, but are asking for our politicians to respect the independence of our media so they can get on with their work."
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