MELISSA LEE’S MEDIA HAIL MARY COMES UP SHORT

Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis.

On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job would be picked up by Paul Goldsmith, who already holds the ministerial portfolio for arts, culture and heritage.

Meanwhile, beleaguered Disability Issues Minister Penny Simmonds has also been demoted, with Social Development Minister Louise Upston taking on the role.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he had made an executive decision to demote the two ministers, and replace them with their more senior Cabinet colleagues.

The move came after “ongoing conversations” during the past few “weeks and months”, Luxon said, adding that while Lee was disappointed to lose her Cabinet spot the captain’s call was appropriate given the increased complexity in the media industry.

“I want to make sure I’ve got all my aces in their places.”

Newsroom understands Lee’s sacking from Cabinet came after another failed attempt at presenting a paper to Cabinet Committee.

On April 8, Lee took a paper to Cabinet Committee – the third paper she had prepared since the February 28 announcement of Newshub’s closure.

Sources told Newsroom that Luxon – who is a member of the committee – believed the proposals in Lee’s paper did not adequately deal with the complexities of the issues facing the media industry.

Lee presented her first paper to Cabinet on March 4 – at Luxon’s request. It gave senior members the lay of the land, following the announcement of Newshub’s closure and the impending job cuts at TVNZ.

But things got rocky for Lee after she started proposing ways to fix these problems.

Newsroom understands Lee got ahead of the Cabinet process when preparing her next Cabinet Committee paper and was ordered to carry out further consultation with coalition partners – specifically NZ First.

After almost a month of working with officials and consulting with coalition partners, Lee tried again. But she came up short.

Her attempt to take a refreshed proposal to Cabinet committee on April 8 would have been a factor in Luxon’s Cabinet reshuffle.

When Newsroom asked the Prime Minister whether that sub-par paper played a part in Lee’s demotion, he said: “It’s not about that”. 

“It genuinely is about the fact that there is innately more complexity and if you’re sitting in my position, leading a leadership team, think about what I’ve tried to do about the casting ministers and responsibilities that they have.”

Luxon said it was important to have the right person for the job. There were “synergies” with Goldsmith’s other portfolios.

Lee missing in action

While the timing of the announcement may have come as a surprise, the writing was on the wall for Lee.

The minister’s initial reaction to the Newshub announcement was widely criticised for its lack of empathy.

Subsequent, lengthy press conferences, where she refused to divulge any details of the work she was doing to address the challenges faced by the industry created a vacuum, which was filled by the Opposition and negative media reports of her performance. Her decision to pull out of media interviews at the last minute, saying they would have been “boring” added to the speculation about her ability to do the job.

On Wednesday, Luxon said it had become clear in recent months there were significant challenges in the media sector.

“While there are limited levers for Government here, I look forward to Paul [Goldsmith] progressing work to ensure regulatory settings are appropriate to enable the media to modernise and adapt to a changing media environment.”

The Prime Minister repeatedly said he wanted a more senior minister to take on the role.

However, Lee was one of National’s most experienced MPs, with 16 years in Parliament. She was also opposition spokesperson during the previous government. She had the portfolio during a difficult time for magazine publications during the Covid-19 pandemic, and her questions in the House were instrumental in Clare Curran being sacked from Cabinet.

There was a sense that if anyone should have understood the media landscape and what could be done with the limited levers available, it was Lee. However, her inability to step up to the plate following the Newshub and TVNZ announcements quickly became a problem for both her and the Government.

Newsroom understands Luxon had been considering removing Lee from the media portfolio for a while – he decided to make both changes in one go to avoid another potential reshuffle down the road should Simmonds not bounce back.

A reshuffle fewer than 150 days into the term was not a good look for the Government – something Newsroom understands Luxon’s staff raised with him.

However, the Prime Minister was steadfast in his decision to make the changes as soon as possible.

“This is how I roll. This is how I lead,” he said.

Luxon called both Lee and Simmonds on Wednesday morning. And while Lee was disappointed, Newsroom understands Simmonds’ reaction was more pragmatic.

Simmonds had real-world experience – having a sibling with an intellectual disability and a daughter with Down Syndrome. She was also spokesperson for carers while in opposition. 

However, she did not have experience running a department – especially one that had been returning deficits each year.

Simmonds in over her head

As Tertiary Education Minister faced with the disestablishment of mega polytechnic Te Pukenga and universities in a deficit death spiral, Environment Minister in the face of red-tape cutting and fast-track legislation, Disability Issues was the portfolio Penny Simmonds probably thought would cause her the least grief.  

However, an apparent lack of attention and focus on this sector proved her downfall.  

Simmonds had been on the back foot since Whaikaha announced it was changing its rules around purchasing, severely limiting what people could buy with their entitlements.  

It came without consultation and was effective immediately. Simmonds managed to unify the disability and caring community in collective outrage by placing the blame on carers for spending up large on haircuts, massages and pedicures. 

It was later revealed Whaikaha had told the minister it would struggle to make its appropriation last the year. While Simmonds was told before Christmas, she’d done nothing about it.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis was forced to intervene following the March rule changes, confirming the ministry would receive a top-up to see it through until the end of the year, but that any further funding or eligibility changes would have to be signed off by Cabinet.  

That decision was seen by many as a vote of no confidence in Simmonds’ ability to oversee her own ministry.

While in opposition, Simmonds appeared in touch and in tune with the challenges facing the sector. There were high hopes the challenges and concerns of carers and those with disabilities would be elevated under her watch.

The Ministry of Disabled People is a departmental agency within the Ministry of Social Development, so Louise Upston would take responsibility for the disabilities issues portfolio.

But there would likely be concerns around disability services being lost in the seas of wider social support likely to be raised; however it aligns more closely with what disability carers recently asked, which was to be overseen by the Ministry of Social Development, not Whaikaha.

Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts would make the move into Cabinet, to fill the spot left by Lee. This will be the first time a climate minister has been in Cabinet. 

The changes came into effect on Wednesday.

The post Melissa Lee’s media Hail Mary comes up short appeared first on Newsroom.

2024-04-24T06:14:46Z dg43tfdfdgfd