Kris Faafoi’s reappointment as Minister of Broadcasting and Media is welcome news, but now he has to deliver.

He was not dealt a particularly good hand when he inherited the portfolio from Clare Curran in the Ardern government’s first term. 

On her watch there was the expectation of a new RNZ TV channel plus a new funding body to disperse government funding to media. However, only a fraction of the necessary funding was forthcoming in Grant Robertson’s first budget. Policy was a long way from practice. Then she fell from grace after a series of blunders.

Faafoi had the chalice in his hands but he needed to have it forensically checked before he was ready to put it to his lips. As a former television journalist, he had the knowledge and experience to know it was likely to contain dangerous impurities.

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