KEY POINTS:
The National Party has changed its mind about new rules banning television from using parliamentary footage for satire after the networks said they would defy the ban.
National leader John Key said yesterday it was clear the rules were "unworkable" and made the MPs look "precious".
National would
try to get the issue back before the standing orders committee for reconsideration and had asked the Commonwealth Press Union for a suitable solution.
Mr Key's comments came after a joint statement by TVNZ, TV3, Sky News and Maori Television saying they would ignore the rules restricting the use of the footage and face the consequences.
The new rules broaden what can be filmed in Parliament but specify the footage must not be used in any way to denigrate, ridicule or for satire.
Only the Green Party voted against the new rules and Nandor Tanzcos' amendment to drop the phrase on satire failed. Act, which did not vote on the rules, also argued against the ban.
Mr Key said the decision by the networks indicated the rules were unworkable and it would also be impossible to enforce them on internet sites such as YouTube.
"I don't think there is any point in having rules the media feel so strongly about that they're going to disobey them. The media are either wrong or they have a point. And I think they have a point."
The new rules gave the impression MPs were trying to control how they were viewed whereas the real intent had been to make Parliament more transparent.
"While the intention may have been right, I think there's room for us to be a little less precious. We live our lives in a goldfish bowl and we will be taken out of context sometimes anyway."
Green MP Sue Kedgley also said the rules should go back to the standing orders committee and the offending ban omitted.
"So far, this episode has served only to heap further ridicule upon Parliament," she said.
A spokeswoman for Speaker Margaret Wilson, who chairs the standing orders committee, said she was happy to continue discussing the rules and had invited those affected to write to the committee and ask to be heard.
She said the rules would have to be revisited eventually, because they were in a sessional order, which only applied for this term of Parliament.
The TV networks had not approached Ms Wilson before making their announcement, therefore she was not going to comment on it.
TVNZ head of news Anthony Flannery said the ban was a "precious over-reaction".
"The public has a right to see how their elected representatives behave and perform in Parliament, warts and all."
TV3 head of news Mark Jennings said satire was a valid form of journalism.
"Light-hearted and satirical coverage of politics by the news media is as old as reporting itself and New Zealanders should have this approach to politics available to them."
The rules come into effect when Parliament next sits, on July 17, and the Speaker can refer breaches to the privileges committee, which has the power to impose penalties such as bans.
