Source: Etu Union
E tū says RNZ’s leadership and the Government are dodging responsibility for RNZ’s $11.8 million deficit and leaving workers to carry the cost, after comments from both this week.
RNZ revealed the deficit on Monday, against a forecast deficit of $470,000. It plans to cut the equivalent of 58 full-time jobs by the end of March, about one in six of its workforce. That is roughly double the 25 to 30 roles it announced in August.
Yesterday, Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith ruled out any help for RNZ. “It’s their problem. They broke it. They need to fix it,” Goldsmith told RNZ. He also said RNZ appeared to have done too little to reduce staff numbers.
Also yesterday, RNZ executives met with union delegates to respond to concerns from members. But many questions remain unanswered – such as how the board have come to the number of 58 potential cuts without first presenting a business case to the unions.
Chief executive Paul Thompson has accepted responsibility for the result but will stay on the payroll until the end of December. Board chair Brent Impey, who has called the situation “incomprehensible”, has declined to say whether the board will pay Thompson the remaining $80,000 of his salary even when he is stepping aside for former RNZ Head of News Mark Stevens to take over the organisation as the interim CEO. On RNZ’s Checkpoint this week, when asked about leaders keeping their jobs while frontline staff have to look at cuts, Impey said: “Someone’s got to run the place, don’t they?”
RNZ senior reporter and E tū delegate Phil Pennington says the overhang in the next term of parliament will require more attention from journalists, not less.
“As parliament expands, RNZ shrinks. More MPs are paid as oversight of them is defunded. Is that what we want?”
Phill says workers feel betrayed.
“The board and executive have failed workers who do a terrific job day in and day out to inform the public of New Zealand, including during elections, historic hīkoi, and disasters. We now feel betrayed and angry about the jump to some sort of fait accompli that we must pay the price.
“The same staff are now being told by those who failed them that they have a plan the board and minister approve of, and that plan primarily means slashing staff jobs.
“These are decisions that will determine the future of RNZ for years to come. We reject a plan we have had no input on and knew nothing about until yesterday. We are the front line. We must have a say in our future and RNZ’s future.”
E tū Director Amy Hansen says workers heard a lot of people at the top pointing somewhere else this week.
“The Minister says it’s RNZ’s problem. RNZ’s leaders say they take responsibility, then put forward a plan that lands on workers. Nobody in charge is actually wearing this.
“Taking responsibility means more than saying the words. It means looking at every other option before cutting jobs, and that includes the top of the organisation. The chair won’t rule out a bonus for the chief executive. That’s very hard for staff to take when one in six jobs are on the line.”
Amy says the Minister’s comments ignore his own Government’s role.
“This Government cut RNZ’s funding by $4.6 million a year in 2025 and clawed back another $1.4 million in May. At the same time, the Minister kept pushing RNZ to lift trust and grow its audiences.
“Workers have done that. RNZ is the most trusted news brand in the country and reaches 83% of adults every month. For a lot of New Zealanders, it’s the one place they can get their news without paywalls and pop-up ads.
“For the Minister to turn around now and say RNZ hasn’t done enough to cut staff is a slap in the face to the people doing that work. You can’t keep cutting funding and expect a better service. Fewer people means less journalism.”
Amy says most of the blowout came from one-off costs and accounting mistakes.
“Moving the Auckland office, decommissioning the Henderson towers, cleaning up the Titahi Bay site, and $2 million in land sales counted as income by mistake. None of that was caused by journalists. Cutting permanent jobs to cover one-off mistakes doesn’t add up.
“The independent review doesn’t even have its terms of reference yet. RNZ has a new chief executive on the way. The next Government hasn’t been formed. It’s far too early to be locking in cuts this big.”
E tū is calling on RNZ’s board to:
- immediately pause any further consideration of job cuts
- release the business case for the proposed job cuts
- show what other savings have been considered, including at senior levels
- give workers a real say in RNZ’s future
- hold off on final decisions until the next Government and Media Minister are in place.
“Workers have held RNZ together through funding cuts, a brand-new editorial system, and an election,” Amy says.
“The people at the top made this mess. It’s time they owned it, instead of making workers pay for it.”
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/11/11/e-tu-slams-rnz-bosses-and-government-for-dodging-responsibility-e-tu/