19784 (2026). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister for Media and Communications

19784 (2026). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister for Media and Communications: What advice, if any, has the Minister received regarding any proposed merger of their department, agency, crown entity or any other body that they are responsible for, if any, listed by title and date?

Hon Paul Goldsmith: The public sector transformation announced in the Minister of Finance’s speech on 19 May is included in Budget 2026. Further details of this and other Budget 2026 initiatives will become public on Budget Day – 28 May 2026. The Budget will be followed by a proactive release of documents informing budget decisions, including advice related to public sector transformation. In 2025 I publicly consulted on a suite of proposals for Media Reform. One of these proposals included the potential merger of NZ On Air and the New Zealand Film Commission. I received a range of advice before and after public consultation that dealt with the potential merger, among other proposals. The titles and dates of papers I have received in my capacity as Minister for Media and Communications from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage are proactively released on a monthly basis and are available here: https://www.mch.govt.nz/publications/titles-advice-ministers.