Christopher Luxon rules out RNZ bailout after $11.8m deficit, demands MoJ accountability over damning review

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Christopher Luxon says he will not support a Government bailout of RNZ after it posted a surprise multimillion-dollar loss, as he criticised the recent string of failings across…

Christopher Luxon says he will not support a Government bailout of RNZ after it posted a surprise multimillion-dollar loss, as he criticised the recent string of failings across public sector agencies.

Last week, RNZ posted an unbudgeted $11.8m deficit for 2025/26 – versus an earlier forecast loss of $470,000 – with its board launching an independent review as the public broadcaster announced it would cut almost 60 roles instead of the 25-30 initially planned.

Appearing on Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking Breakfast this morning, National leader Luxon said RNZ’s internal financial problems were clearly apparent but refused to bail it out.

“We’re not bailing them out or anything like that. That’s their problem to deal with.

“And they should. As they should. We shouldn’t have to bail out, you know, their mistakes there.”

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has been roiled in its own scandals this year, beginning with revelations that $50 million of public funding was wasted on a botched IT project, prompting allegations of officials deliberately misleading ministers and calls for ministry chief executive Nic Blakely’s resignation.

Paul Goldsmith – also the outgoing justice minister – ordered the review in August, describing the revelations as “a comedy of errors” that had “severely shaken” his confidence in the ministry.

Luxon said MBIE’s investigation into the failed IT project was ongoing, and he would wait for the inquiry’s findings to be released before commenting, but the Justice report was what “frustrates [him] like hell”.

“It looked like, from me reading that report, that there were moments where someone could have intervened and made decisions to do something different.”

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