Hon KRIS FAAFOI (Minister for Broadcasting and Media): On Friday last week, I launched a $55 million fund to be administered through New Zealand On Air to support public interest journalism. The fund will ensure local, regional, Māori, Pacific, and many other under-served audiences will get to see and hear stories that are important to them. Grassroots journalism has been on the decline in recent years for a number of reasons, and that has meant New Zealanders have been missing out on news that is important to their communities. The fund will help New Zealanders stay informed as well as supporting the sector to maintain a healthy democracy and, of course, create and protect jobs. The funding is time-limited to three years, in order to give media support for content and jobs as they transition to new platforms and business models that are necessary to ensure a strong and sustainable media sector in the future. 