AUCKLAND (Television NZ / Pacific Media Watch): New Zealand's opposition Labour Party is disappointed after the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) cleared a radio segment hosted by Prime Minister John Key.
John Key hosted an hour-long show on Radio Live last month where he interviewed All Blacks captain Richie McCaw, Warriors' star Lewis Brown and entrepreneur Richard Branson.
He described the show as an "election free zone".
Labour complained to the BSA, saying that the show was an election programme, but the BSA said it was not, and even if it was, it would not have breached broadcasting standards.
Labour identified parts of the show which it said had some political content.
These included Key's comments about re-scheduling Coronation Street, the broadcasting of listener feedback which was favourable to the Prime Minister, and a discussion about the European economic situation and the Standard and Poor's credit downgrade.
But the BSA said it did not consider the hour to be an election programme, and that these comments were "the sorts of light flim-flam and frivolity that are to be expected on this type of entertainment show".
Labour Party General Secretary Chris Flatt said the BSA has made its decision based on "a very narrow interpretation" of the rules around what constitutes an election advertisement.
"The BSA has ruled that only programmes that overtly and directly encourage voters will breach the Broadcasting Act," Flatt said.
"The BSA has said that they believe any encouragement of voters by the Prime Minister's radio show would only have been incidental and therefore not in breach."
The BSA said that while Key may have benefited politically from hosting the show, it was not a breach of the Broadcasting Act.
The general election is on November 26.
Pacific Media Watch
