New public media entity Establishment Board confirmed

“The Establishment Board will oversee the detailed design of the new entity and the change required to create it,” Kris Faafoi said.

The Minister for Broadcasting and Media has confirmed the nine-member Establishment Board to lead the work on creating a new public media entity in New Zealand.

“The Establishment Board will oversee the detailed design of the new entity and the change required to create it,” Kris Faafoi said.

“The make-up of the Board reflects the importance of its work. Its members have extensive change and governance experience and knowledge of the current state broadcasting entities, as well as the private media, the production sector and Māori and Pacific media. All of them bring a commitment to the new public media venture.”

The Minister reiterated that the new entity would be multi-platform and designed to reach new and existing audiences. Built on the best of Television NZ and Radio NZ, he said it would be a future-focused public media entity which could better meet the challenges of technology changes and global competition.

The Establishment Board includes the two sitting Chairs and a current board member from each of RNZ and TVNZ and four former members of the Business Case Governance Group (BCG) which considered the viability and characteristics of a new public media entity.

The Establishment Board is: Tracey Martin (Chair), Michael Anderson, Andy Coupe, Barbara Dreaver, Bailey Mackey, Dr Jim Mather, Peter Parussini, John Quirk, and Aliesha Staples.

The members are appointed until the new entity is created in legislation and a new entity board is in place.

“We know what we want this new entity to achieve, and a legislated charter will set out the entity’s purpose and objectives, but the task of creating the entity is ahead.

“The Establishment Board has three main areas of responsibility. Firstly, it will look at operational matters such as entity structure and organisational strategy and it will provide advice on these for the entity’s operational board.

“The Establishment Board will oversee the development and implementation of a change management plan, together with TVNZ and RNZ, to enable the transition of existing operations and staff into the new entity.

“The Board will also provide me advice on the implementation of the entity’s financial model, monitoring framework, legal issues and accountability arrangements. 

“This is a large programme of work, which we want to progress effectively, efficiently, and with minimal disruption to the existing entities and their staff. The Board will be supported by an Establishment Unit. This is a similar structure to that which was in place for the last phase of work that produced the Business Case.”

A Programme Steering Group and subject matter experts will also support the Establishment Board.

Kris Faafoi said the establishment work would run parallel with the legislative process and legislation to create the entity would be introduced to Parliament in the next few months. The public would then have the opportunity, through the select committee stage, to give their views, including on the charter. 

Establishment Board Biographies:

Tracey Martin (chair)

Tracey Martin was a Member of Parliament for nine years and was New Zealand First’s Broadcasting spokesperson from 2011 until 2017.  She served as Minister for Children, Seniors, Internal Affairs and Associate Minister of Education from 2017 to 2020.  

Tracey has considerable knowledge of public policy development and government processes and was the Chair of the Strong Public Media Business Case Governance Group (BCG)

Michael Anderson

Michael Anderson is the former Chief Executive of MediaWorks NZ and Austereo  Group. He oversaw the sale of Mediaworks TV to Discovery and the acquisition of QMS Media’s New Zealand out-of-home, digital media and production business.

He has experience across print, digital, radio, and television both in Australia and New Zealand and is an experienced chair and non-executive director. Michael was a member of the BCG.

Andy Coupe

Andy Coupe is a professional director who has had more than 30 years’ experience in business and capital markets experience. He is the current Chair of the TVNZ Board and was Chair of the New Zealand Takeovers Panel until March 31.

A chartered member of the Institute of Directors, Andy is a director of several commercial enterprises, including Briscoe Group Limited, Kingfish Limited, Barramundi Limited, and Marlin Global Limited.

Barbara Dreaver

Barbara Dreaver is the Pacific Correspondent for TVNZ and has previously worked at RNZ.

A journalist with over 30 years’ experience, including eight years in Rarotonga where she co-owned a newspaper, she has worked in television, print and radio winning numerous awards including for sports and economic stories. Barbara also designs and provides training to Pacific regional broadcasters.

Bailey Mackey

Bailey Mackey is co-founder and CEO of independent production house, Pango Productions.  He has worked in broadcasting for nearly 25 years, holding positions at Radio Ngāti Porou, Māori Television, TVNZ and TV Three.

Bailey is a Director of NZ Rugby and was a member of the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Council. He is a member of the Māori Broadcasting Advisory Panel and was a member of the BCG

Dr Jim Mather

Dr Jim Mather is Chair of the RNZ Board and Lakes District Health Board. A qualified accountant by profession, he has held a variety of private sector roles and, as former Chief Executive of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, Māori Television, and Pacific Business Trust, he has strong executive, media and business experience.

Jim is also a strategic Māori development consultant who specialises in the facilitation of Te Tiriti o Waitangi wānanga, strategy workshops, leadership development, board reviews, and integration of tikanga Māori.

Peter Parussini

Peter Parussini has more than 35 years of experience in the communications and marketing industries. He is an executive at ANZ Bank New Zealand and was previously part of the executive team at TVNZ.

Peter is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a member of the RNZ Board. He is also on the Board of the Manukau Institute of Technology & Unitec.

John Quirk

John Quirk has spent the last 20 years involved in strategic investment and corporate advisory roles. A Chartered Member of the NZ Institute of Directors, John has had extensive governance experience specialising in high growth, high tech companies. He is currently Chair of Portainer.io, Cumulo9 Limited and a director of Aeroqual Limited.

John was the Chair of Kordia Group and was a member of the BCG.

Aliesha Staples

Aliesha Staples has a 15-year background in the film industry and is a producer of VR/AR, gaming and technology solutions for a global audience. She is the founder and CEO of Staples VR, an emerging tech consultancy and development company.

Aliesha is a director of TVNZ, Toi Mai Workforce development council, New Zealand football foundation and Click Studios.

(With Inputs from New Zealand Government Press Release)