Deputy PM says he did not know RNZ chief executive planned to resign

Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour says he did not know RNZ's chief executive had plans to resign when he earlier suggested changes were coming for its leadership.

In a surprise statement on Friday morning, RNZ's board announced Paul Thompson would step down at the end of the year, after 13 years in the role.

The departure was foreshadowed by Seymour last month, when he criticised RNZ's management during an interview on The Platform and suggested Thompson would not be "answering the call at RNZ for much longer".

As an associate finance minister, Seymour has shareholding responsibilities for both RNZ and TVNZ,

Speaking on Friday, Seymour said those comments were not informed by any prior knowledge, but that Thompson's departure was not surprising.

"I wasn't pre-announcing that. However, I just make the observation, if your numbers are going in the wrong direction and your board is changing, then I wouldn't be surprised if other changes came with that," Seymour said.

"As it turned out, I was right. I didn't need to be Nostradamus to predict it. I think anyone could have seen that coming."

Seymour said he did not have "an emotion" regarding Thompson's exit one way or the other.

"Clearly there's been a decline in listenership. There's been a decline in trust. He's had a very long run, and I think it's probably a good time for RNZ to change its direction slightly."

RNZ National's radio audience numbers have been under scrutiny over the past year after a continuing decline in listeners since 2021.

Survey results show the station's cumulative audience peaked at just over 607,000 in 2021, but slumped each year since to a low of about 468,000 last year.

Numbers have recently ticked up above 500,000 listeners again, though still trailing NewstalkZB by some margin.

The latest AUT Trust in News survey found RNZ was the country's most trusted news brand, followed by the Otago Daily Times and TVNZ.

On Friday, RNZ board chair Jim Mather said Thompson had informed the board last December that he would leave at the end of 2026, and that it was Thompson's decision alone.

The board had planned to make the news public in the second half of the year, but Mather was sharing the news on Friday "as there has been recent unhelpful external commentary" about Thompson's future.

"Paul and the Board agree, given the current circumstances, that it is appropriate to make his announcement earlier to avoid further conjecture and distraction."

In a brief statement, media and communications minister Paul Goldsmith said: "I thank Mr Thompson for his service and wish him well in his endeavours. All my interactions with him have been very positive."

Labour's media spokesperson Reuben Davidson said Seymour had demonstrated multiple times that he would "unashamedly" wield influence over public media.

"It's the latest chapter in a series of concerning incidents where David Seymour publicly called for things to happen, be it for Maiki Sherman to resign from TVNZ, or for the BSA to no longer exist, or for Paul Thompson to no longer be the CEO of RNZ, and on each occasion those things have happened."

The Green Party's media spokesperson Hūhana Lyndon said she was disappointed the departure announcement had happened this way.

"The government continued to put pressure on RNZ over time, and now we've got this announcement that's come out early.

"There was a clear indication that he was finishing, and the board was well aware of that, but because of the conditions that they're currently operating in, you know, not fair. And now we're at this point where it's an early announcement of resignation."

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