TVNZ reply in reponse to the Petition

Hi Kim Let me start by acknowledging your petition and the many people who signed it. I’ve read through the comments and appreciate the depth of feeling around this issue. It brings home to us the important role we have as a news organisation to inform New Zealanders about their voting choices as they head to the ballot box next month. There has been a development on the captioning front since we first announced our coverage plans, which we hope will be welcomed by many hearing impaired New Zealanders. I’m pleased to advise all four of TVNZ’s live debates will now carry live captions. As you petitioned for, the Young Voters debate will be accessible via live captioning. It will be broadcast live on our free to air TV channel DUKE to enable this to happen. Unfortunately, for logistical reasons, we are not set up to accommodate an interpreter in our live news presentation so sign language won’t be incorporated into the televised debates. Thank you for raising a valuable public discussion about the accessibility of news coverage at Election time. We believe the provision of captioning extends the accessibility of our news coverage to the largest number of New Zealanders who are deaf and hard of hearing. Kind regards Brent Brent McAnulty General Counsel and Corporate Affairs Director