Radio NZ 8 year funding freeze
Received this today from team@actionstation.org.nz
We won! You were amongst the 32,337 who demanded a thaw of Radio New Zealand’s funding, today the melt has begun.
It's just over a month since we delivered our petition to Parliament, and today the Government responded with a $2.85m funding boost in the budget announced earlier this afternoon! 1
People power has prevailed in this case. The quality independent journalism that RNZ delivers is crucial to maintain our democracy. The Government has finally done something to recognise this.
But, it doesn’t go as far as we’d hoped. Dr Peter Thompson, from the Coalition for Better Broadcasting recently calculated that RNZ is now underfunded by $14m a year. 2
When you compare this boost to the $60 million per year the Government has committed to attracting Hollywood Producers, it does make you wonder about priorities. 3
While we celebrate the $2.85m boost there’s still much more work to do.
References:
1. Budget 2017 at a glance, RNZ, 25 May 2017
2. RNZ:'Every ice age ends', Newsroom, 23 May 2017
3. Hunt for the Funding-people, Māori TV, 23 May 2017
snip
You may remember the TV news item 12 April 2017 where the 32,000 signature petition was presented to opposition MPs, in a big block of ice. The government declined to accept it.
medium.com...
The small $2.85m funding boost, will soon be used up to pay the rent on the Auckland building they no longer own. During the eight year funding freeze, the Government said they had to sell it.
The Budget is the usual ‘minimum change, maximum headline’ stunt. Remember, the finance minister was their election campaign manager - he knows all these techniques.
RNZ listenership has risen dramatically. See their Annual Report:
www.radionz.co.nz...
So the people like it, even if the Govt doesn't.
www.facebook.com...
This is worth six minutes of your time: "The Fix Is In"
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Poll: How do you feel about dogs being allowed indoors in cafes?
For most of us, seeing a friendly doggo while out and about instantly brings a smile to our faces. But how do you feel about cafes welcoming pups inside?
Cast a vote and share your thoughts below.
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28% I love it!
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31.4% Only in designated areas
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40.5% No, it should be outdoors only.
This one was sent in by your fellow neighbour, can you figure it out?
What is first white then red and the plumper it gets the more the old lady likes it?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
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Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
Rubbish bins
I posted a message about the disappearing rubbish bins in Whangarei a week or so ago (but I limited the area). However, I’ll leave this open to a wider area this time. Apparently this is not just limited to Whangarei. However, I went to the Whangarei District Council website, and sent a general enquiry email as to why this was happening. About a week later, I did get a phone call back. I had mentioned two particular bins that had been removed. The man I spoke with was not aware they had been removed! What I found out is that the rubbish bins are emptied by an outside contractor, not city workers. They come and say they find maybe a single coffee cup in a bin and think the bin doesn’t need to be there, so THEY remove the bin! The more I thought about this, the more I thought this is pure laziness - the more bins removed, the less work that has to be done. How much effort does it take to look in a bin and see the liner does not need to be changed? Where one bin has been removed, there is now rubbish in it’s place. I noticed the bins at a couple of bus stops have also been removed, and there is rubbish on the ground - exactly where the bins used to be! I have been told that one of the bins I emailed about will be replaced. And I will follow up on that if it isn’t back in place in two weeks. (This outside contractor is also supposed to be picking up rubbish twice a week along the Kamo shared pathway as well!)
So - if you noticed bins are missing and they need to be put back, send an email to WDC and tell them the location and that there is rubbish there and the bin needs to be replaced! Rate payers are paying for this service, no doubt.
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