Prime Minister John Key said yesterday that TVNZ had told the Government the job losses reflected changes in the industry and speeded up changes that were already planned for later on.
"They in part reflect the cyclical nature of what's happening at the moment - advertising revenue is weak - but they actually also reflect the structural changes occurring in the industry (to internet and electronic media)."
The Government still expects a dividend from TVNZ because not doing so would effectively be a bailout, Mr Key said.
But Labour's broadcasting spokesman, Brendon Burns, said the changes were driven in part by the Government demanding a dividend from TVNZ.
"The Government's agenda is now unmasked," he said.
"We have seen the first step towards gutting TVNZ and selling it off to the private sector."
All through the election campaign, Labour banged on about National's "secret agenda", and how John Key couldn't be trusted. On 8 November 2008, the voters of New Zealand showed what they thought of Labour's paranoia.
However, doubtless those reputable sources of left-wing rhetoric such as The Standard will today be parrotting Brendon Burns' words as though they were Holy scripture, carved into tablets of stone. Which, of course, they are not! It just goes to show how little Labour has learned from its election defeat - and no number of trips to the West Coast (now a National-held electorate!) will change that.
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