Appendix 3A Staff docs.pdf

From:
Pete Barnao
Sent:
Tuesday, 7 April 2026 12:31 pm
To:
Stacey Wood; Helen Cruse
Subject:
Former minister re: BSA
https://theplatform.kiwi/podcasts/episode/willie-jackson-on-the-bsa-dictatorship-of-the-platform
Kia pai te rā | Have a great day
Pete Barnao (he/him)
Communications and Engagement Lead
Please note I am with the BSA Mon-Thurs each week
M:

E:
@bsa.govt.nz
W: www.bsa.govt.nz
Click here to subscribe to our newsletter, the BSA Pānui
Broadcasting Standards Authority | Level 2 / 119 Ghuznee Street, Wellington | PO Box 9213,
Wellington 6141
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1

From:
Sent:
Tuesday, 21 October 2025 3:04 pm
To:
staff
Subject:
new stuff article
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360861110/minister-hints-online-radio-stations-being-subject-
broadcasting-laws
Kia pai tō rā
Executive Office Manager
T: 0800 366 996
M:

E:
@bsa.govt.nz
W: www.bsa.govt.nz
Follow us on X @BSA_NZ and LinkedIn
Broadcasting Standards Authority | Level 2 / 119 Ghuznee Street, Wellington | PO Box 9213,
Wel ington 6141
Click here to subscribe to our newsletter, the BSA Pānui
WARNING: This email contains information which is CONFIDENTIAL and may be subject to LEGAL
PRIVILEGE. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not peruse, use, disseminate, distribute
or copy this email or attachments. If you have received this in error, please notify us immediately
by email or telephone and delete this email. Thank you.
The Broadcasting Standards Authority accepts no responsibility for changes made to this email or
to any attachments after transmission from the Broadcasting Standards Authority.
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1

From:
Pete Barnao
Sent:
Tuesday, 21 October 2025 8:27 am
To:
Stacey Wood
Subject:
Post cabinet
Can’t see anything on it from other sources, but this has gone up on The Platform’s X:
https://x.com/theplatform_nz/status/1980129916403466634
Also, the Free Speech Union has issued this: Over 2000 Kiwis Tell Goldsmith: “Put The BSA Back In Its
Box
Kia pai te rā | Have a great day
Pete Barnao (he/him)
Communications and Engagement Lead
Please note I am with the BSA Mon-Thurs each week
M:

E:
@bsa.govt.nz
W: www.bsa.govt.nz
Follow us on X @BSA_NZ and LinkedIn
Click here to subscribe to our newsletter, the BSA Pānui
Broadcasting Standards Authority | Level 2 / 119 Ghuznee Street, Wellington | PO Box 9213,
Wellington 6141
RELEASED UNDER THE OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT 1982
WARNING: This email may contain information which is CONFIDENTIAL and may be subject to
LEGAL PRIVILEGE. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not peruse, use,
disseminate, distribute or copy this email or attachments. If you have received this in error,
please notify us immediately by email or telephone and delete this email. Thank you.
The Broadcasting Standards Authority accepts no responsibility for changes made to this email
or to any attachments after transmission from the Broadcasting Standards Authority.
1

From:
Pete Barnao
Sent:
Monday, 20 October 2025 9:04 am
To:
Stacey Wood
Subject:
RE: FYI
Out of scope
Section 9(2)(g)(i) - free and
frank
Meanwhile, Mediawatch got a comment from the minister.
Out of scope
Is the BSA now doing what the government had in mind anyway?
"That's in the media reform package that went out for consultation… and the government's yet to
make ﬁnal decisions. But in the meantime the BSA is out there with what it considers is within its
current ability to do," Goldsmith told Mediawatch this week.
"There's a lot of noise about it at the moment. Of course if you're in the sector you want to draw
attention to yourself and so a lot has been said. I don't think our democracy is under threat, but it's an
interesting little exercise."
"I think there's a very small group of people in that category. They're within their rights to test that and
it may well go before the courts. I'm happy to let that ﬂow through the system and see how it goes."
Out of scope
RELEASED UNDER THE OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT 1982

RELEASED UNDER THE OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT 1982
Out of scope
2

From:
Pete Barnao
Sent:
Wednesday, 15 October 2025 5:12 pm
To:
Stacey Wood
Subject:
RE: Stuff piece is live
Includes brief comment from Minister at the end…
From: Pete Barnao
Sent: Wednesday, 15 October 2025 5:11 pm
To: Stacey Wood <
@bsa.govt.nz>
Subject: RE: Stuff piece is live
‘You will not censor me’: Sean Plunket hits
back after BSA looks to widen remit
Stewart Sowman-Lund
October 15, 2025
Provocative broadcaster Sean Plunket has taken aim at the Broadcasting Standards
Authority (BSA) after revealing it’s looking to widen its remit to include online media
networks.
As it stands, the authority has only considered complaints about programmes on TV
and radio, along with online and on-demand content that has previously been
broadcast.
That has meant media outlets like online broadcaster The Platform, which Plunket
founded and is a host on, have avoided the same scrutiny levelled at traditional
broadcasters.
This followed a complaint lodged against The Platform pertaining to comments made
on July 22 that a complainant said were “racist”.
RELEASED UNDER THE OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT 1982
Plunket responded to the complainant: “You plonker, we aren’t subject to the
Broadcasting Standards Authority.”
But in a monologue on his programme on Wednesday morning, Plunket disclosed
details of a draft decision by the BSA, verified by The Post, in which it said it
1

“considered The Platform was broadcasting when airing the relevant content”, and
would therefore “consider the authority has jurisdiction and is therefore required to
consider the complaint”.
It’s understood this is the first time the BSA is considering a formal complaint about an
online broadcaster.
It has given The Platform until late November to provide submissions on its decision.
In its draft decision, shared by Plunket on The Platform, the BSA concluded it had
jurisdiction to consider the complaint “on the basis the transmission of the programme
met the Broadcasting Act’s definition of ‘broadcasting’”.
AD
It later added: “While this type of broadcasting may not have been contemplated when
these provisions were drafted … legislation applies to circumstances as they arise.”
Plunket told The Post he didn’t think the authority was able to do that.
“If this were to stand, they would potentially be able to apply broadcasting standards
and take and investigate complaints on anyone who put anything on the internet,” he
said.
“I have told them, I've written to them, and I've said, ‘I do not recognise your authority. I
will not take part in your bogus complaints procedure.’ I will hold the individual
members of the BSA, and the BSA collectively, responsible for any damage financial or
otherwise that I or my company suffer as a result of their actions.”
Plunket said that if anybody took issue with content promulgated by The Platform they
already had an avenue for complaint, that being the courts.
“I'm accountable to public opinion, to how many people listen, and I'm accountable in
the civil courts and criminal courts for anything I say, or do, they bring it to the law just
like anyone else.”
RELEASED UNDER THE OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT 1982
Plunket predicted there will be a movement - “perhaps within days” - in favour of
rejecting the BSA entirely.
2

“You will not censor me, and you will not rob me, my hosts, my audience and my
guests of their rights under the Bill of Rights of association and freedom of speech,”
said Plunket.
While the BSA would not comment on the specifics of the draft decision, noting it was
still under consideration, the authority’s chief executive Stacey Wood told The Post it
was acting within the bounds of the Broadcasting Act.
AD
“The definition of ‘broadcaster’ and ‘broadcasting’ in the Act isn’t limited to TV or radio
– it talks about programmes transmitted to the public by any means of
telecommunication,” she said.
“Our position on this isn’t new. In 2019 we announced we were fully reviewing our
jurisdiction to apply a modern interpretation of broadcasting. In 2020 we paused that
review, partly due to announcements that our legislation would soon be updated. The
best and clearest solution lies in legislative reform of media regulation, which we’ve
called for for over 15 years.”
Wood said as this was the first “formal complaint” it had received about an online
broadcaster, the authority “must act”.
“We don’t have – nor seek – the power to censor media. Our interest is in ensuring the
public have access to accurate, reliable media content, and a regulator they can turn to
if they think standards are breached,” she said.
“Far from shutting down free speech, freedom of expression is at the heart of every
BSA decision.”
Plunket believed the authority would be setting a worrying precedent if it adjusted its
jurisdiction, noting political parties regularly share speeches on social media and that
the online media landscape has expanded.
Broadcasting Minister Paul Goldsmith, he said, would be in a difficult position.
RELEASED UNDER THE OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT 1982
“Because they will bullshit that this is an operational matter. I would argue it's far more
fundamental than that,” Plunket said.
Goldsmith, via a spokesperson, later told The Post: “As minister I cannot comment on
operational matters or individual cases.
3

“However, my officials will be keeping me updated due to the potential impacts on
media regulation.”
The Platform was established in 2022 following Plunket’s removal from defunct talk
radio network MagicTalk.
Since then, other online brands built around former mainstream media figures have
become more prevalent, such as the Dom Harvey Show podcast and Reality Check
Radio.
From: Stacey Wood <
@bsa.govt.nz>
Sent: Wednesday, 15 October 2025 5:06 pm
To: Pete Barnao <
@bsa.govt.nz>
Subject: RE: Stuff piece is live
  Out of scope
Stacey Wood (she/her)
Chief Executive
M:

E:
@bsa.govt.nz
From: Pete Barnao <
@bsa.govt.nz>
Sent: Wednesday, 15 October 2025 5:04 pm
To: Stacey Wood <
@bsa.govt.nz>
Subject: RE: Stuff piece is live
  Out of scope
From: Stacey Wood <
@bsa.govt.nz>
Sent: Wednesday, 15 October 2025 5:03 pm
To: Pete Barnao <
@bsa.govt.nz>
Subject: RE: Stuff piece is live
  Out of scope
Stacey Wood (she/her)
Chief Executive
M:

RELEASED UNDER THE OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT 1982
E:
@bsa.govt.nz
From: Pete Barnao <
@bsa.govt.nz>
Sent: Wednesday, 15 October 2025 4:58 pm
To: Stacey Wood <
@bsa.govt.nz>
Subject: Stuff piece is live
4

https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/360855819/you-will-not-censor-me-sean-plunket-hits-back-
after-bsa-looks-widen-remit
Kia pai te rā | Have a great day
Pete Barnao (he/him)
Communications and Engagement Lead
Please note I am with the BSA Mon-Thurs each week
M:

E:
@bsa.govt.nz
W: www.bsa.govt.nz
Follow us on X @BSA_NZ and LinkedIn
Click here to subscribe to our newsletter, the BSA Pānui
Broadcasting Standards Authority | Level 2 / 119 Ghuznee Street, Wellington | PO Box 9213,
Wellington 6141
WARNING: This email may contain information which is CONFIDENTIAL and may be subject to
LEGAL PRIVILEGE. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not peruse, use,
disseminate, distribute or copy this email or attachments. If you have received this in error,
please notify us immediately by email or telephone and delete this email. Thank you.
The Broadcasting Standards Authority accepts no responsibility for changes made to this email
or to any attachments after transmission from the Broadcasting Standards Authority.
RELEASED UNDER THE OFFICIAL INFORMATION ACT 1982
5