General Debate 10 November 2026

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General Debate

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Benedict Yu

How can RNZ post an $11.8 million loss?

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/361056963/rnz-calls-snap-15-minute-meeting-broadcaster-prepares-table-books

RNZ has a predictable and assured source of revenue. The Government via New Zealand on Air. 95 percent of its revenue is from the government.

“The email said the deficit was due to a number of factors, including $2 million of land sales incorrectly accounted for as revenue in the budget, personnel expenses being $3.2 million over budget and operating expenses coming in at $6.4 million over budget.”

….. So there is a $2 million accounting error and $9.6 million in uncontrolled expenditure.😳 That is a 14.7 percent budget blowout. RNZ revenue is about $65 million.

Honestly you would think that the Board would be looking at the CE.

In October, the chief financial officer suddenly resigned.🤔

https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/361044042/emergency-sunday-board-meeting-called-following-cfos-unexpec

“RNZ board chair Brent Impey says he can’t say why the public broadcaster’s chief financial officer resigned on Friday night, but stresses there’s “definitely not” any suggestion of criminality.”

So they are in the red by nearly $10 million. The CFO has done a runner. And we do not know why.

There are surely some serious questions to be asked here.

And in typical Goldsmith fashion…. 😅

….. “Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith – who lost his seat but will remain in his role under caretaker conventions, said it was an internal matter, but said the result was “disappointing”.”

“disappointing.” 🙄 OK.

“Impey declined to answer further questions about the reasons behind Parker’s [the CFO] departure on the grounds that it was an employment matter.”😕

I don’t think that is good enough.

There are so many unanswered questions about this little disaster. For a start, when was Goldsmith informed, and what did he do about it? Also why did the CFO suddenly disappear? She is probably in Belize 🇧🇿. 🙂
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November 10, 2026 8:01am
- peterwn
  
  The CFO probably resigned because no one paid any attention to his monthly reports (or if he did not prepare meaningful monthly reports he was incompetent). Assuming the reports were meaningful and were showing an undesirable trend, the CEO should be reading them (or at least the ‘Executive Summary’ which the CFO should provide. and if not the CEO is incompetent.
  Interesting that some years ago the CEO of Sky City responded to an unsatisfactory financial report by laying off 200 staff. It raised the immediate question as to how hiring got so out of hand causing the CEO to resign.
  
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  November 10, 2026 8:16am
  - Benedict Yu
    
    “she”
    
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    November 10, 2026 8:23am
- artemisia
  
  Sale of RNZ Henderson land to NZTA coming up – $51million. Phew. RNZ will be spending whatever they are permitted to keep. If any.
  
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  November 10, 2026 8:32am
Cassandra

Andrea Vance sees change coming in Labour: She reports “widespread acceptance inside the party that a personnel change at the top is inevitable,” alongside a deeper reckoning. Labour has lived in a “third-way straitjacket” since 1993 – “caution and median-voter triangulation,” fighting “on the right’s economic turf.”

The emerging view is that this election exposed the strategy as exhausted, and that the path back may require “an unapologetic move to the left.”

In some ways that makes sense. Labour foot soldiers continually harp on about neoliberalism and wanting a change, presumably back to socialism and “taxing the rich”.

I applaud their honesty. Where that’d leave the country is quite clear: a cold but equally impoverished Fiji.

Socialism is like pregnancy – you can’t just have a little bit. Let’s hope voters see that.
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November 10, 2026 8:01am
- mike
  
  Reject all ‘socialism’, you reckom?
  
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  November 10, 2026 8:32am
Souvlaki

A very good opinion piece from Ashley Church……compulsory reading for all National MPs and political aspirants.
I doubt Luxon has the insight to act on it….
https://ashleychurch.com/a-huge-wake-up-call-for-national/
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November 10, 2026 8:06am
- Benedict Yu
  
  I think that this is right.
  
  “A refreshed National Party then needs to get serious about economic growth, reducing unnecessary government spending, restraining the size of the public service, removing barriers to investment and enterprise, and creating a tax and regulatory environment that rewards people who build businesses, employ staff andke 93risks.”
  
  I made this point yesterday but I’ll say it again. National cannot agree to the Opportunity bottom line of meeting the 2030 Paris Accord obligations. It would increase energy costs and possibly push the country into recession.
  
  Or we can pay for international carbon credits.
  
  $5 billion
  
  https://carbonmarketsolutions.com/new-zealand-treasury-report-estimated-the-cost-of-meeting-new-zealands-2030-paris-agreement-target-could-be-between-4-4-and-5-billion
  
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  November 10, 2026 8:22am
Yvette

Te Pāti Māori announced in August that they did not want party votes. They explicitly said they want to create overhang. Their MPs did not even party vote for TPM. And their strategy worked.
https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2026/11/two_overhangs_but_for_different_reasons.html

Quite plainly the Maori seats that the Maori Party have, do not reflect their party vote.

But, apparently, in the seven Special Maori Seats so far, all candidate votes counted are about 188,700.
Te Pāti Māori candidate votes total is about 81,600, which is roughly 43% of the candidate votes cast.

So they don’t actually represent the majority of Maori who voted either?
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November 10, 2026 8:14am
peterwn

A big kudos to David Farrar for his thoughtful, objective and analytical commentary on the likely final outcome of the election. This concluded that there is only a small probability that the Left would prevail. There are people out there who were needing to make business decisions (even if moving Kiwisaver into a different fund) or even psychological peace of mind and an objective commentary provides the way forward. By comparison it makes MSM journalists seem like chooks running round with no heads.
Interesting too is the developments with the Opportunities Party. They are strutting around as they hold the Ace of Spades and all the trumps even though there is only at best a 5% chance they would be in a ‘king maker’ role after the final account.
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November 10, 2026 8:27am
mike

I wonder if the country is better off the longer there is a ‘caretaker’ government.
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November 10, 2026 8:34am

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